Soloing Chapel Pond Slab

The view of Giant Mountain from Chapel Pond Slab. Photo by Phil Brown.

After days of cold rain, we received some sunshine in Saranac Lake on Sunday. On the spur of the moment, I decided to solo Chapel Pond Slab, perhaps my last rock climb of the season.

By solo, I mean I climbed it without a partner and without ropes or protection. I did wear a helmet, and I let a friend know what I was doing.

Some people see soloing as foolhardy, but if you stay within your comfort level, it’s not as big a risk as it might seem to a non-climber.

The base of the slab.

In my case, I combined two easy routes. I climbed the first three pitches of Regular Route and then traversed right to Bob’s Knob Standard. The two routes join near the top of Bob’s Knob, a prominent bulge that overlooks the slab and Chapel Pond. By combining them, I avoided the hardest pitch on Regular Route.

Was I nervous? Yes, a little, because I haven’t done much soloing. During the ascent, I listened to Keith Jarrett’s Koln Concert on my iPod. I thought his piano solos would help relax me. And it’s great music.

Despite the recent rains, the slab proper was mostly dry, so I had no trouble avoiding the wet spots. Climbing this part of the slab is largely a matter of smearing your sticky soles against the rock and finding small toeholds.

The hardest part of the climb came later on Bob’s Knob Standard. At the base of the knob, you must execute a tricky move to get onto a rocky prow and then ascend through a chimney. It’s not terribly difficult, but on this day, the prow and chimney were cold and wet. As I felt around for small holds, my fingers started to get numb.

After the chimney, I enjoyed some more slab climbing to the top of the knob, with its wonderful view of Chapel Pond and Giant Mountain. The knob is named for Bob Notman. He and John Case, a pioneering climber, ascended Bob’s  Knob Standard, the first known route on Chapel Pond Slab, in 1933.

I descended through the woods, coming out on the highway near Chapel Pond. Keith Jarrett was still playing. It occurred to me that Koln Concert was the perfect choice for my climb. Jarrett was soloing, too, and improvising. Of course, Jarrett is an artist. I was playing Chopsticks.

Adirondack Climbing Film Festival

Tommy Caldwell tries a new route on El Capitan. Photo by Corey Rich/Courtesy of Reel Rock Film Tour.

It may have snowed in Lake Placid this week, but it’s not time yet to put away those sticky-soled shoes and get out the crampons. High Peaks Cyclery is offering free rock-climbing clinics as part of the second annual Adirondack Climbing Film Festival in Lake Placid this weekend.

The festivities will kick off with a presentation by Adirondack photographer Carl Heilman II. His slide show will run from 7-9 p.m. in the High Peaks Mountain Guide House, which is located next-door to High Peaks Cyclery on Main Street in Lake Placid. Beer and cheese will be served. High Peaks Cyclery is converting the building into a museum celebrating Adirondack guides.

On Saturday, High Peaks Cyclery will host a number of events, including a “Yoga for Climbers” clinic from 7:30-8:30 a.m., outdoor rock-climbing clinics from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a slack-line walking competition from 4-5 p.m. Click here for a full list of activities.

Unfortunately, rain is forecast for Saturday, and the rock-climbing clinics will be canceled if it does rain. Although the clinics are free, participants are asked to tip their guides. Attendance is limited to six to ten people, depending on the clinic.

On Saturday night, the Reel Rock Film Tour will show a series of short climbing films at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts at 17 Algonquin Drive. The films feature such top climbers as Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold, Chris Sharma, and many more. The films start at 7:30, with music by Split Rock in the half-hour preceding.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at High Peaks Cyclery for $15 or at the door for $17.

Climbing without a rope

A month ago, I went rock climbing with Mark Meschinelli at Poke-O-Moonshine. One of the Adirondacks’ most experienced climbers, Mark led a friend and me up an easy (but classic) route called Catharsis.

Mark went first and belayed us at the end of each pitch, drawing in rope as we ascended. If we had slipped, we would not have fallen far, if at all. But Mark climbed the cliff without a belay, meaning if he had fallen, he could have died or at least got badly banged up.

Mark Meschinelli, relaxing on Catharsis.

 I don’t think I’m nuts. I don’t think Mark is nuts. But I marvel at climbers who free-solo some of the most difficult routes in the country–routes that at one time would have been considered impossible with or without a rope.

Last year, for example, Alex Honnold free-soloed a two-thousand-foot route on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. And then there’s the French climber, Alain Robert, who has gained fame for scaling skyscrapers around the world.

I asked Meschinelli about Honnold’s climb during our outing at Poke-O. Mark noted that Honnold and his kind are elite athletes. Honnold felt confident on Half Dome just as I felt confident on the Eagle Slide.

Still, all it takes is one slip to end a free soloist’s life. And how long can anyone climb without making a slip? We were reminded of this last week when John Bachar, a legend in climbing circles, fell to his death near his home in the Sierras. He had been free-soloing for years, and it seemed that if anybody could beat the odds, he could. As it turned out, he couldn’t.

I’ve appended a few links for those who want to find out more about Bachar. Whatever you think of free soloing, he led a fascinating life.

• New York Times obituary
• Remembrance on Salon.com
• A video of Bachar (in his younger days) on a solo climb
• A discussion of Bachar’s death on Views from the Top, the forum for Northeastern hikers

Climbing the Eagle

Nearing the top of the Eagle. Photo by Phil Brown.

In the Adirondacks, we don’t have much terrain above tree line, but for those hikers who want to experience a little exposure, we do have slides. These are formed when a rainstorm saturates the thin soil on a steep slope and washes away the vegetation, creating a scar of bedrock and a natural pathway to a summit.

Perhaps the best slide climb in the Adirondacks is the Eagle on the west cirque of Giant Mountain. It’s the only slide given five stars (the highest rating) in Adirondack Rock: A Rock Climber’s Guide. The book calls it “a great introduction to East Coast mountaineering.” It’s 1,300 feet and rated fourth class.

I climbed the Eagle yesterday (6.25.09) for the third time. The first time I wore hiking boots and picked my way up by the easiest routes possible. The other two times I wore rock-climbing shoes, which made the ascent much more enjoyable. I was able to scramble straight up the rock without much fear of slipping.

Rock shoes or approach shoes are recommended, because if you do slip, you’re likely to tumble a long way. Since my first ascent of the Eagle, I have done several fifth-class roped ascents on Wallface, Poke-O-Moonshine, Rogers Rock, and Chapel Pond Slab. These all required friction climbing similar to that on the Eagle. As I ascended the Eagle, I found myself thinking, “Hey, this is just like rock climbing–except I don’t have a rope or a helmet.”

So if you’re thinking of doing the Eagle, don’t undertake the trip lightly. It’s much steeper than most slides in the Adirondacks, such as those on Whiteface, Dix, and Nippletop.

I did the trip solo yesterday. I’m embarrassed to say it took me nine hours. I was on the Roaring Brook hiking trail for the first mile or so. I then began a long bushwhack up the brook, which took me more than three hours. I later discovered that I could have saved a lot of time by continuing on the hiking trail and picking up a herd path that leads to the brook. I’m not sure when this herd path was established. I didn’t notice it on my earlier trips several years ago.

When I got to the base of the Eagle, I changed into my rock shoes. With these on, I felt confident going more or less straight up the face. The rock doesn’t have an abundance of cracks, but it has plenty of pockmarks and tiny ridges and bulges for grip.

I spent about an hour on the face. This includes stops for lunch, photos, admiring the views, and changing into and out of my climbing shoes. As you ascend, you can see most of the High Peaks–all unbroken wilderness–as well as parts of Lake Champlain and Vermont. The golf course of the Ausable Club is conspicuous in the valley below.

At the top, the slide narrows into a slot between the trees. This takes you to a boulder with a flat top, a good place for changing shoes or taking in the scenery. From here it’s less than a minute to the hiking trail. Turn left, and you’ll be at Giant’s summit ledges in maybe two more minutes.

The descent by the trail is only 3.6 miles, but it took me two and a half hours. It’s steep and often rocky or muddy, so it’s hard to make good time on this route. On this day, I was further slowed by tight-fitting boots that jammed my toes going downhill.

I’d wager that fit and experienced climbers who shorten the bushwhack by taking the herd path could do the Eagle in five to seven hours, depending on how much of a hurry they’re in. But even if it takes nine hours, it’s worth it.        

I bushwhacked up the valley in the center of this image. Photo by Phil Brown