Allamuchy Mountain, Stephens State Park Rock Climbing Inventory of NJ’s State Parks and Forest Prepared by Access NJ Contents Photo Credit: Matt Carlardo www.climbnj.com June, 2006 CRI 2007 Access NJ Scope of Inventory I. Climbing Overview of New Jersey Introduction NJ’s Climbing Resource II. Rock-Climbing and Cragging: New Jersey Demographics NJ's Climbing Season Climbers and the Environment Tradition of Rock Climbing on the East Coast III. Climbing Resource Inventory C.R.I. Matrix of NJ State Lands Climbing Areas IV. Climbing Management Issues Awareness and Issues Bolts and Fixed Anchors Natural Resource Protection V. Appendix Types of Rock-Climbing (Definitions) Climbing Injury Patterns and Injury Epidemiology Protecting Raptor Sites at Climbing Areas Position Paper 003: Climbers Impact Climbers Warning Statement VI. End-Sheets NJ State Parks Adopt a Crag 2 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Introduction In a State known for its beaches, meadowlands and malls, rock climbing is a well established year-round, outdoor, all weather recreational activity. Rock Climbing “cragging” (A rock-climbers' term for a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing) in NJ is limited by access. Climbing access in NJ is constrained by topography, weather, the environment and other variables. Climbing encounters access issues . with private landowners, municipalities, State and Federal Governments, watershed authorities and other landowners and managers of the States natural resources. The motives and impacts of climbers are not distinct from hikers, bikers, nor others who use NJ's open space areas. Climbers like these others, seek urban escape, nature appreciation, wildlife observation, exercise and a variety of other enriching outcomes when we use the resources of the New Jersey’s State Parks and Forests (Steve Matous, Access Fund Director, March 2004). Descent by Rappelling: NJ Highlands NJ’s climbing resource is rugged, often with sustained approaches through talus slope woodlands uncleared since the early 1900’s. Found in these largely, more often then not undisturbed woodlands are numerous unexplored and often unclimbed boulders, cliffs and crags . Balanced against these fragile woodland areas is climbing’s foundation. Conservation and environmental protection. The enclosed climbers resource inventory (CRI) is submitted to the NJ State Park and Forestry Service. 3 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ NJ Climbing Resource NJ's geological history is traced to the Precambrian Era (570 million years to 1 billion years ago). Lava flows were transformed to methorphic rocks which in turn allowed a base of limestone which then allowed the formation of the Appalachian Mountains (Paleozoic Era). In the Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era NJ’s landscape was assaulted by lava flows which formed the Watchung Mountains, diabase ridges, the Palisades, the Sourlands and other landscape features that are found today among NJ’s climbing resources. From this base came periods of glaciers w/ the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin Glacier traversing NJ from modern day Perth Amboy to near Belvidere on the Delaware River. The glacier when it retreated left behind huge glacier erratic boulders (ie: bouldering areas) such as those found in Morris County Parks Pyramid Mountain. Today NJ is composed of five physiographic land regions. The Ridge and Valley of Kittatinny Mountain, the Highlands, the Piedmont and the Coastal Plains. NJ’s climbing resources are found throughout the first three landforms. The type of climbing one does is dependent of the type of rock and landform. Commonality among these features are basic and fundamental climbing skills and techniques. NJ’s diversity of climbing resources is what makes NJ an appealing place to climb. Effort maybe required to reach a NJ climbing site. Such effort limits those who venture into NJ’s wild-areas. However this is changing. Mans footprints impact the fragile wild areas of NJ’s climbing resources. Mitigating access issues and preserving climbing access at these threatened spots led to the forming of Access NJ. 4 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Approaching NJ’s Climbing Resource Approaches to NJ’s climbing areas are often “stiff”. To reach climbing areas on Windbeam Mountain one must first ascend a 900 foot elevation gain in ¼ mile, Green- Pond West’s climbing area has a rather steep out hike. There is no easy access to the Farney Highlands. Conversely access to say a Hacklebarney State Park type bouldering area is via a well patrolled parking area and down a sloped, paved and graded footpath through a picnic area and crowds wading around the parks waterfalls. Such is climbing access in New Jersey. Yet when reaching climbing sites in NJ you are often hard pressed to see or hear another person except those with who you are climbing. That is the beauty of climbing in NJ. You put the effort in to access a climbing area (see CRI Data Page) and one is rewarded with sweeping expanses of (remote) undeveloped wild areas inside public open space areas. Winter Tempest Wildcat Ridge WMA 5 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Demographics NJ’s climbing community is expansive and diverse. Economically College Outing Club anchoring the regions climbing community are numerous outdoor stores retail outlets: Ramsey Outdoor Stores (2), Eastern Mountain Sports Stores (4 stores), Campmor Inc. (1 store, one of the USA’s largest outdoor retailers), Blue Ridge Mountain Sport Store Chain (2 stores), LL Bean, REI and other outdoor recreation stores and chains. Top-Roped Climber, Found associated to these demographics are a plethora of private and publicGreen Pond indoor climbing gyms. A review of commercial guides and guiding groups clients lists throughout the world appreciates a solid client base of NJ’s residents. Climbing outing clubs are found in the majority of NJ’s schools of higher education, in numerous high schools and among community groups. Access NJ a Statewide climbing advocacy group has approximately 2,500 names on its e- mail list serv. The number of actual climbers in NJ is unknown w/ an estimate (2004) placed at around 7,500. Outdoor climbing in NJ is found for the most part in the North Jersey Highlands and on State Owned and Managed lands and forests. Climbing in NJ appreciates a traditional climbing ethic with a strong in-grained low- key, emphasis on conservation, preservation and stewardship of NJ’s fragile wild areas and sensitive climbing areas. There are no climbing areas in NJ South of Princeton, NJ. Climbing gyms and indoor walls are not counted in this calculus. Allamuchy State Park 6 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Not all of NJ’s cliffs, crags and boulders are those areas and landforms that should be climbed. Rock gardens inside flower gardens, inter-State cliffs, road cuts and inside the State Parks natural areas are not appropriate places to boulder and or climb. Access in these areas is treated on a case by case basis. Generalizations on access is not a valid argument. NJ’s climbing strength is the Hunterdon County Park System: 2007 diversity of the States climbing resources. This CRI identifies selected climbing areas in NJ and lists access issues. Included are public service announcements and position papers all focused on access issues inside the State of NJ. This list of actions is not comprehensive. Access NJ (ANJ) and or its precursor have been active in access and Hacklebarney climbing resource issues in NJ since the mid 1980’s. ANJ is a grassroot organization in the truest sense of the word. ANJ membership spans a diverse demographic and lends credence to Eric Becks (pro-typical 1960’s Yosemite Big Wall Climber) statement, “ that at either end of the social Central NJ Bouldering spectrum is a leisure class”. 7 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Throughout this inventory the reader will note that specific and exact location of climbs are not listed. Rather listed are the general locations of climbing sites. NJ’s historic climbing tradition is such that climbers tend to follow the words, “leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures”. Climbing has been directly documented in NJ in the early 1950’s w/ strong, direct evidence of roped climbing in NJ in the 1930’s. NJ’s Climbing Season NJ bears the imprint of various highly Morris County, Green Pond Cliffs, West varied evolving, geologic processes, some traced back hundreds of millions of years. The States diverse climbing resources mirror NJ’s unique geologic history. Environmental characteristics Green Pond: 1976 impact climbing techniques and styles. (See CRI for listing of selected climbing areas and associated photoGreen Pond:credit: john rogers 1978 climbing). Climbing techniques vary widely and are dependent on prevailing weather conditions. 8 www.climbnj.com CRI 2007 Access NJ Insects, weather, foliage, humidity and ice are among other objective hazards found in NJ climbing areas. Arguably, NJ’s climbing season runs from mid-September through mid- July. The best months for climbing in NJ are in the late Spring and then after the heat of the summer into the Fall and early Winter. Tradition of Rock Climbing on the East Coast The East Coast of the USA Cannon Cliff, New Hampshire has a strong tradition of rock climbing. In 1927, Appalachian Mountain Club members all made belayed ascents of the steep rock faces of the Cannon, Cathedral, and Talus Whitehorse cliffs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Seven years later, a group of New Yorkers climbing Breakneck Ridge (the Eastern Border of the Highlands), on the flanks of the Hudson River, looked to the north and saw a white cliff band, which constituted the Shawangunks. Soon after, climbers began flocking from around the world to test their skills along the East Coast and in and about the Highlands.