2024 GCC GunksFest Recap

Our third annual flagship GCC GunksFest is a wrap!

Over 200 people descended upon the beautiful Center at Stone Mountain and were treated to two packed days of clinics and amazing films in the area’s largest celebration of climbing.

Learn by Day

The GunksFest is an education-first event, and backed by an amazing roster of local guides we hosted 35 mostly sold-out clinics designed to meet all levels of climbing ability.

Beginners got a good introduction to fundamentals with courses like “First Steps: Gym to Crag,” “How to be a Good Second,” “New Gunks Leader Primer,” and the ever-popular “Intro to the Gunks.” Welcoming spaces were created to let newer climbers learn without the intimidation that often comes with rock climbing – something our attendees have come to count on. Joining guide services EMS and Alpine Endeavors was Rise Outside, fielding many guides including Marian Perez who led the affinity-space specific “Anchor Cleaning and Lowering” – a hot topic intro clinic applicable for every climber from gym to the outdoors.

This doesn’t exclude the more advanced climbers however. Most of our masterclass clinics were completely booked, including “Funky Gunks Junk,” which focused on advanced tactics for non-textbook gear placements, a half-day of “Multipitch Strategy and Efficiency,” and our “Women’s-Specific Self Rescue” course taught by the inimitable Patty Lankhorst.

But our education doesn’t stop with climbing. One of the things that makes GunksFest so special is the full slate of classes that go beyond ropes, racks, and rappelling. The always sold-out “Intro to Mushroom Foraging” clinic and walk was a packed success, with the bonus of uncovering not one but two venomous snake species here in the area. Speaking of walks, we offered three other walk-and-learn opportunities: a “Cliffside Ecology” clinic taught by a specialist in invasive species, the Mohonk Preserve-led “Naturalist Walk” featuring their Associate Director of Conservation Science & Research, and a course on Leave No Trace principles that left each participant officially certified in caretaking for the outdoors.

Our pro photographer-led “Fundamentals of Climbing Photography” clinic was a first-year sellout-success, as was the packed veteran “Emergency First Response” clinic with the Mohonk Preserve Ranger team where clinic attendees got their hands dirty with real-life rescue scenarios.

On the bouldering front we were super stoked to welcome guest guide Paul Jung to our waterworks tours.

And for those who went a little too hard, climbing specialist Dr. Miguel Zavallos was on-hand with his mobile PT rig providing FREE injury assessment/rehab consultations!

Celebrate by Night

Born from a legacy of the legendary Gunks Climbing Film Festival, the GunksFest held true to its roots in welcoming all attendees back to the stage for two nights of amazing films covering everything from bouldering to alpine. A true highlight was Genevive Walker and D. Scott Clark introducing their Climb Malawi documentary, talking about how their project in Africa has led to spreading climbing mentorship around the globe.

Getting us geared up for night one of the films we had the amazing local band Lost on the Sidewalk with an hour set full of their token grooves before our presenting sponsor Arc’Teryx took the stage to introduce the first act of films, which included the powerful transition tale of Jaime and Amity Warme’s conquest of El Cap in Ground Up.

Our Gold Sponsor Patagonia was on hand to introduce Act two, opening with the Katie Lamb blend of conservation and hard bouldering piece In Sequence.

Our evening program also featured Gold Sponsor Black Diamond sponsored book signing by Russ Clune, two very competitive contests of blindfolded knot-tying and swinging ring hangs, and a ton of local craft vendors. We were extremely happy to welcome back both Brown Girls Climb and NY3C were on-hand tabling to represent our JEDI affiliates. BD also unveiled their Golden Carabiner event coming to the Gunks later this fall – definitely not to be missed!

Contest and raffle winners were treated to incredible sponsor prizes including top-tier packs, puffy jackets, a set of cams, and more! And thanks to Arc’Teryx just about everyone in the crowd got either a technical chalk bag or t-shirt in our swag launch.

Night two opened with the always-anticipated Mohonk Preserve PSAR presentation, which outlined climbing accidents over the past year and ended with a very interactive Q&A on what climber responsibility looks on the scene of an accident.

A Conservation Commitment

Both Arc’Teryx and Patagonia were on hand with their gear repair pop-ups, fixing all brands of clothing and gear for our attendees for free. Whether the fast hands of the Patagonia/Rock and Snow crew working behind sewing machines or the Arc’Teryx Re-Bird marvel heat press for technical gear – festival guests were able to give their gear a second life, putting it back on their shelves and keeping it out of a landfill.

This year we expanded our conservation track, with clinics focusing on the outdoors. Our naturalist-led walk had attendees learning bird calls, identifying wild edibles, and getting a hands-on understanding of our shared ecosystem. Building on that clinic was “Cliffside Ecology,” which shed light on what threats are facing our region. This included the very aggressive wooly adelgid, which the GCC has been actively fighting through volunteer and donation campaigns to treat our hemlock trees up at the Antlion crag.

It was also the inaugural year for our Leave No Trace certification clinic, led by Mohonk Preserve Chief Ranger Dan Cassidy.

It Takes a Village

As many of you know the GunksFest is a nonprofit event, led by a team of dedicated volunteers dozens deep that works tirelessly for months to plan the fest. From cliff-cleaners to event planners, AV to parking, this event would not happen without the hard and selfless work of all those who gave up their time to make it happen for you.

We are also eternally grateful to our presenting sponsor Arc’Teryx, who stepped up big this year to provide clinic support, transportation, and gear in addition to their Re-Bird setup. They even provided a fleet of demo harnesses, and demo shoes for their ambassador-led trailrun!

The GCC was proud to welcome Patagonia and Black Diamond on as Gold Sponsors, joining the support of Rock and Snow that goes back as long as the GCC has been holding events. DANK stepped up big to donate tiny loafs of deliciousness to benefit the GCC and the Kinship Climbing Collective – thanks to all who purchased and be sure to support anywhere you see the DANK logo.

Additionally Evolv sent along some awesome raffle prizes, outfitting lucky winners in their new shoes of choice, alongside Summit Journal who joined our list of sponsors this year – check out their amazing work!

And to all of our remaining sponsors, all our volunteers, the kind folks at the Center at Stone Mountain Farm, clinic leaders, vendors, and the hundreds of attendees – thank you for making GunksFest 2024 one for the books – see you next year!