Has anyone been climbing in the Dak's? I was went there and did some back country hiking/camping...on the way i stopped at Chapel Pond and some of the other surrounding climbing places..how is there?
Greg

Look through the forum-there are hundreds of posts about climbing in the daks.

I just got back from my first trip to the Daks. Lots of fun but steep, intimidating, and sandbagged. I wrote a TR (although it deals more with my lead head problem than climbing at the Daks). You can see it at:

http://www.tradgirl.com/daks

I'm planning on going back for the Labor Day weekend.

Dawn

Just passed through Chapel Pond the other day and the only climbing I did was a quick TR on a delightful roadside boulder maybe 1/4 mile downhill (north) from the beer walls parking area. There in the woods, at road level and all of 40' off the shoulder, is a stellar handcrack about 25-30' tall. To the boulderers it is probably a highball, but to sprained-ankle-paranoid me, it was a top rope problem. It isn't in Mellor's book, and I'm curious if any of you Keene Valley regulars have done it. It overhangs a bit and felt like stiff 5.10 to me. But I suck at strenuous cracks, and given the North Country penchant for stiff ratings, it's probably a 5.9 . In any event, look for this next time you have an hour to kill. It's on the left side as you walk down towards the Roaring Brook Falls overlook.

I've always known that to be "Crack in the Woods" (yeah, just like the one in N.H.), and I remember seeing it listed in one of Mellor's guides as 5.10.

for climbing go to the beer walls or the spiders webb which is accross from the beer walls. it is the one with the slideof bolders. for great hikeing go on pitch off or the trpe dykes. look in mellors book for futher info