A
pond in northern
New York State which is a popular site for
ice climbing as well as
rock climbing in the
Adirondack Mountains near the
small town of
Keene Valley.
The Chapel Pond slab is the main site for rock climbing. The cliff is approximately 700 feet high and virtually crackless in many places. The vertical offers routes with six to eight pitches of climbing on terrain that is engaging but manageable with good equipment.
Routes on the Chapel Pond slab include (increasing in difficulty):
- Bob's Knob Standard (5.3)
- Regular Route (5.5)
- Empress Route (5.5)
- Greensleeves (5.6)
- Victoria (5.6)
- Thanksgiving (5.7)
The pond itself is also my favorite spot in the mountains along with the Cascade Mountain summit. Both, particularly in the fall, are examples of why the area has gained a reputation for beauty. In the spring through the fall, the pond is usually as smooth as glass, stretching from the sloped bank across to the sheer verticle rise of rock which attracts the climbers.
Update: I finally took some photographs of it on June 30, 2002. They can be seen here: http://www.geocities.com/raindropup/chapelpond