LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 32 per Washbowl went, both swimmingly, and downed as much coffee as we could. Thank goodness, because up next we had to hike straight uphill. Wiessner Route, Noonmark Mtn (5.8+) (FA Fritz Wiessner, Garfield Jones) (1p) - Onsight for us Noah and I summited Noonmark, realized we were a bit too high and had missed the climbers herd paths, and scrambled our way around to the cliff below the summit. Many times these more adventurous and back- country routes — which Fritz loved — can be hard to find. Adirondack climbing nearly always involved some kind of bushwhacking and at least one wrong turn. At this point we are getting close to noon and the most tumultuous weather of the day with high winds firing up around us. As we looked around, the Wiessner route drew us in. It just looks so good. The main crack with flaring off-width as you go. Thankfully, I thought, it happened to be Noah's turn to lead. He racked up and stood into the crack and against the blustering wind which made his fleece look more like a purple sail. When I had caught Noah on a 5.13 sport route only a week before this, I honestly don't know which route he was working more for. Every move ap- peared stout and powerful. In true Fritz fashion, most moves involved some kind of grunt. I knew he made it to the top by the howl of victory I could hear over the wind. Oh yeah, my turn. I pulled on and immediately understood why the moves appeared tough, they are. I went back and forth from finding small edges and crimps near the crack to reaching in and digging my skin into the generous fric- tion of the sharp crack. Some popular areas for climbing have issues with the rock getting polished and glassy, not the case here. Each hold felt sharp and fresh. I pulled hard and felt like every move was a task. As I started to come out of what I thought the hardest part of the route was I looked up and somehow it just kept on going up! As the offwidth got larger and more flar- ing I was flip flopping from facing right to left and hav- ing alternately one foot in the crack and on smear or finding something on the edge of the offwidth. With a full arm deep in the crack, I finally stepped up and out onto a victory ledge of a horizontal before navigating the last few moves to the top. This route was the best climbing of the day. I cannot recommend it enough. Its consistent, has great cre- ative movement, and does not let you get away with anything. Noah described it as one of his proudest onsights, and I cannot wait to go back up and get on lead for that thing. We celebrated with a tin whistle song from Noah, shouts of stoke and excitement from me, and hiked down ready for what was next. Clockwise from the top: Noah Ball stashes a bike near Chapel Pond early in the morning. Photo credit: Jake Handerhan Some of Weissner's original pitons from Ed Palen's private collection. Photo credit: Phil Brown Climbing rope and cam. Photo credit: Eric Adsit

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