Gunks Temporary Hazard Report, 5/15/2021

Last year we started posting regularly about the temporary hazards at the Gunks, reported by climbers. By temporary, we mean hazards like snakes and wasp nests. Now that the 2021 climbing season has started, we’re starting with a fairly clean slate, although we left in list any hazards that regularly occur or that had so many reports it may be worth looking out for this year. We’ve also added a new section related to loose rock and rock fall hazard areas that climbers should be very careful about avoiding, or ledges prone to kicking rocks down on people below. If you have a new hazard to report, please use the form here: https://bit.ly/gunkshazardform.

No matter which climb or approach or descent – deer ticks and lyme disease are a serious hazard here. Don’t forget to check yourself and use bug repellent.

The list is in alphabetical order by crag, with the newest additions to the list in red font.

Hoping that these warnings can help you decide which climbs you may want to avoid for a bit. Thanks to everyone who submitted reports!

Gunks Temporary Hazards

Trapps

• Erect Direction – Snake (4/14/2021) – Unidentified snake at the top of P1
• 2020 Notable Reports
  • CCK – Snake – 3 reports in July 2020
    • Copperhead in the approach stairs just before the base of the climb, at the very top of the CCK trail
  • City Lights/Frog’s Head Wall/Pas De Deux – Snake – 3 reports from July to September 2020
    • Copperhead was reported  in various places on the access trail up to the base of the Frog’s Head Wall/Pas De Deux area.
  • Madame G’s – Wasps/Hornets – multiple reports of nest & multiple stingings on Pitch 2, July through September 2020
  • Northern Pillar – Wasps/Hornets – 2 reports, people getting stung on 1st and 2nd pitch in July 2020
  • Red Cabbage – Wasps/Hornets – 2 reports in July 2020 of a ground wasp nest in the rocks next to the steps at the base of Red Cabbage.
  • Sixish – Wasps/Hornets – 2 reports in July 2020, wasp nest in finger crack of 2nd pitch about 3/4 of the way up.

Near Trapps

• 2020 Notable Reports
  • before King of P – Snake – multiple reports in August and September of 2020, adult copperhead lounging on a rock in the middle of the trail on a slab just before King of P.
  • Yum Yum Yab Yum – Wasps/Hornets – Ground hornets nest spotted in 2019 and 2020 at base, just to left of the start, also start of P3 underneath a block 12′ above belay ledge.

Gunks Rockfall Hazards

Trapps

• Middle Earth – Large unstable rock on the climb that injured a climber is no longer there, but there is still loose rock on pitch 2.
• Moonlight –Very loose microwave sized block on pitch 2, shortly after leaving the belay on the right side of the route. Part of the route shared between Moonlight and Erect Direction. Felt like a natural place to grab and pull up. Pulling hard would likely tip it off the ledge, angle of the cliff there makes it likely that it would bounce past GT and down to bottom. (4/17/2021)

Near Trapps

• Yum Yum Yab Yum – Remnants of massive 2020 rockfall from Predator (nearby climb) left lots of loose rock on ledges.
  
  Rockfall from Predator on an upper ledge of Yum Yum Yab Yum, March 2021.

If you have a hazard to report, please use the form here: https://bit.ly/gunkshazardform.

This is a public service for the Gunks climbing community. Please do not spam it with jokes and bogus entries, those of us monitoring this have better things to do than delete multiple bogus comments a day. If there is too much abuse, we’ll have to shut it down.

Want to see the entries that have been posted recently? See the responses in a Google Spreadsheet here: https://bit.ly/gunkshazardsheet.

Have fun and be safe out there!