Thursday, May 23, 2013

Brant Lake (A.K.A. Gnarnia) Back in Early May

On Thursday May 2, 2013 I had to travel to Brant Lake to do some field work on a potential job for my office.  The site we were working on was right on Brant Lake and I could see the cliffs and talus fields behind the Palmer Brother's Marina all afternoon and knew that I would get a chance to boulder at Gnarnia once again.

I had only been to the Brant Lake boulders once before, back in October 2010 with Murph, Pooler, Kippy and Strazza.  Needless to say, I was eager to get back there and climb some of the boulder problems again.  I called the marina in advance to make sure that I could still park there to access the climbing area and just like in the past, the Palmer Brothers were very nice and accomodating.  They even gave me the contact information of the landowner so I could get ahold of him regarding my Adirondack Bouldering Guidebook and the possibility of including Brant Lake (Gnarnia) in the publication.  They were under the impression that the landowner would love the idea as he currently has hiking trails that he allows visitors to use.

The post work solo bouldering session was stellar, despite the high temperatures (lower 80's) and the swarms of bugs.  The climbing at Gnarnia is unique as the boulders sit high on the mountain overlooking Brant Lake.  This spot is not what I would consider a destination climbing spot, but if you are in the area it is definately worth a visit.  The monster boulder that has the climb "Unicorn of the Sea" no longer has the old wooden platform which makes the climb that much more intimidating.  I will have to venture back there with more pads and spotters to give it another go now that the platform is no longer standing...it will feel like a totally different boulder problem for sure!

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10 comments:

  1. What grade is unicorn of the sea? Keep the good work!

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    1. "Unicorn of the Sea" felt like V5 from the highest stand start and maybe V8 from the lower start. The sit start is going to be one of the best and most difficult boulder problems on the east coast! Thanks for the comment

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  2. good sends at Brant. The room felt pretty hard to me... Can't wait to get back and try the sit to Gnar wall.

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    1. Thanks buddy! I struggled on "The Room" on this particuar visit. I recall doing it second try back in 2010, but kept falling this time on the big move out left to the jug. The sit to the Gnar Wall is going to be epic mate!

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  3. Would you be open to give me a tour of the place?

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    1. sure, but it wouldn't be for a few months. With the rising heat, humidity and the bugs, I plan on replacing my crash pads with the harness and rope for awhile. Keep in touch and we'll get out there this fall or late summer. Thanks,

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  4. Are there any unofficial guides to this place yet? I have a camp just up Grassville Rd in Brant Lake and I'm going to be up there a lot this fall, in fact next weekend I'll be stopping by here to climb. Just wanted to have some sort of an idea of what I was getting on.

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    1. Brad-

      I haven't begun refining the guidebook for Brant Lake yet, mainly because I need to talk to the landowner about potentially including it in the Adirondack Bouldering Guidebook. The landowner does allow hiking and climbing on this land and I do have some overview sketches I could send you next week to help you out. Post another comment with your contact info and I won't publish the comment for everyone to see your info. Thanks!

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  5. Any recent activity? I live just over the mountain from these and could use a spotter!

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    1. I personally haven't been to these boulders since May 2013. I might make a trip up there later this month before the bugs takeover the forest. How has the bouldering been going?

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