Gunsight Notch (Trad Climbing at Seneca)

OVERVIEW

It has been SO long since I’ve been to Seneca, and I’m itching to get back to those super stiff grades and high exposure adventure routes. With the recent boom in trad climbing the club (boom is relatively speaking, of course), I thought this would be the perfect excursion for a small squad of up-and-coming trad climbers.

The plan is to summit Seneca’s South Peak from Gunsight. This is at least two pitches of Seneca-level 5.4 climbing. Note that Seneca is known for climbs that are significantly harder than their number grade (: We will feel out how we want to get to Gunsight Notch depending on who signs up for the trip, or we may opt for a different climb altogether depending on the weather and peoples’ moods. You can expect high exposure, adventurous climbing that feels kinda fun and kinda heady and super legit.

This is a trad climbing trip intended for experienced climbers. Abby and I are prepared to lead each of the pitches, so trip attendees should at least be able to follow trad and be comfortable in a multi-pitch setting. If there are any folks who are already comfortable leading trad or who are ready to start getting some leads in, we can certainly swing leads. I’m envisioning two teams of two either block leading or swinging leads, but we could also do a three (or hopefully not four) person caterpillar depending on who signs up. In the trip questionnaire, please describe your trad/sport climbing experience in detail (convince us you’re ready for this ;p).

Seneca is about a 2.5 hour drive, and the approach is somewhat long, so we’ll be setting early alarms for a 6:30am start. We’ll pack lunch, water, and snacks (efficiently, so they fit in our multipitch packs, right?), have a nice day pulling rocks at a chill pace, enjoy the summit, and take our time descending and returning home. We’re aiming to be home by 8pm, but it could be much earlier or somewhat later depending on how the day goes.

You should bring:
– climbing harness
– helmet
– guide ATC + locking biner
– climbing shoes
– chalk bag + chalk
– PAS/lanyard/slings
– nut tool (if you have one)
– multi-pitch pack
– water (>3 L)
– lunch
– breakfast/dinner (optional)
– snacks
– sunscreen/sun hoodie (we will be in full sun most of the day)

We will bring:
– climbing ropes x2
– trad racks x2
– nut tools
– guidebook
– fun + safety