Realm of the Fifth Class Climber is one of the classic routes at Millbrook. It is generally reputed to be on the easier side of 5.9. I thought the crux second pitch had some solid 5.9 on it, but only for a few moves. The climb is highly worthwhile. Pitch one is good. Pitch two is excellent. Pitch three is adventurous and requires careful attention to avoid loose rock. 

  Pitch 1 (5.7), maybe 50-60 feet? Climb up a shallow right-facing corner to an alcove, where the corner increases in size and leans out over your head to the right. Belay in the alcove, or continue; the first two pitches can be easily combined. This first pitch is pleasant and mellow, and the rock isn't bad. 

  Pitch 2 (5.9), maybe 60-70 feet. The money pitch. Climb up the obvious corner above you. The crux comes quickly off the belay as you move up the leaning corner and escape to the right out from under what is effectively a ceiling. Once you move right and up on some thin moves, continue more easily up the corner to an obvious ledge. This is a very good pitch, with excellent rock and gear throughout. 

  Pitch 3 (5.9), again 60-70 feet. Make an awkward move to get up on a sloping shelf above the belay ledge (crux). Continue climbing up and left, easily skirting two roofs, and then up a left-facing corner to the top of the cliff. When I did this pitch (in 2014), I moved left to avoid the final corner because there was a large hornet's nest near the top-out. I climbed the right-facing corner twenty feet to the left of the regular top-out. This pitch is of lesser quality than the other two. After the initial move, the climbing is casual, but look out for some very loose plates on the face.

Realm of the Fifth Class Climber

Cruise Control

New Frontier

Westward Ha!

Time Being

Ladder

Great White Throne Judgment

Abram Believed --- Innumerable Stars

Access/Exit Chimney.

Parousia

Toprope lines

Today you will be with me in Paradise

The Old Route

Headstone of the Corner

Detached Flake

Redirectionalism

Remembrance of Things Past

The Time Eraser

Nuclear Waste

High Plains Drifter

Northern Grand Traverse Ledge Access

Schlemiel

I find it amazing that in 1935 Fritz Weissner made this the first known climb at the Gunks. This climb is a garbage dump!  Worst climb at the Gunks in my opinion. I seriously cannot think of anything worse anywhere; even the climbs in the middle of the Trapps are more interesting.  Lots of loose rock.  I would not repeat it because there is nothing there worth it.   Don't waste your time, do something else, like Strange City instead.

Start 30 feet right of Westward Ha! on discontinuous left-facing corners and cracks beneath two small roofs.P1: Head up towards the crack in the middle part of the upper small roof, with a stemmy, technical crux over an old piece of tat.  Pull the roof belay in the right-facing corner.P2: Head up the corner through some foliage, and break left on to the face when you can, on face holds through a small roof on a bunch of semi-loose blocks.The second pitch is 5.8ish and has killer exposure, the first pitch climbing is excellent and technical.

New Frontier is an adventurous outing that has some really great climbing on the last pitch which weaves an improbable path through one of the biggest roof systems in Millbrook. Surprisingly, there is little roof climbing at all - rather a series wildly exposed corners and traverses that are almost reminiscent of features one might find on granite. Unfortunately this fun pitch is guarded by one-to-two pitches of dirty, loose rock. If only there were a way to rap in and just sample the upper bit... 

  For this route to deserve the classic status it has been given in various guidebooks, I really think it would take a ton more traffic to clean it up, but what do I know? 

  Rap down to the GT Ledge and find your way to the base of the route which can be identified by a patch of yellow, broken rock with a long, 3' deep roof about 30' off the ground. Above this roof is a long, narrow right-facing corner and to the right of this corner are two large bushes, one above the other. Your goal is to pull through the roof directly below this corner, and then climb the corner squeezing past the bushes on your right, eventually working back left and up into the massive right-facing corners and roofs at the top of the wall. 

  P1: Climb hollow, yellow rock and pull the low roof with some difficulty. Climb easily up the right-facing corner above, passing the first bush. At the second bush, step left out of the corner, around the arete, and onto a narrow ramp that leads up and left underneath a double-tiered, clean white roof - this is the "Gottlieb Variation" (recommended) - the original route continues all the way up to the top of the corner. Climb through the center of the clean white roof at a thin crack and pull up to a long, shale-filled horizontal. Traverse straight left for 25' in this horizontal to a series of huge, frightening, stacked blocks. Gingerly climb up over these and belay on a small ledge at the base of a large, clean right-facing corner capped by a massive roof. This is a long pitch and to do it without rope drag one must runner their gear extremely well. Otherwise an intermediate belay may be required. Also, despite guidebook descriptions, the Gottlieb Variation is well-protected and only about 5.9. All in all, this pitch checks in at mid-5.10 and possibly R due to loose rock, but there is adequate pro. 

  P2: Climb up the corner above and undercling and crimp rightwards around the roof. It may be best to use extra long runners here or back clean all of this gear to eliminate rope drag on the crux. Continue up flakey rock to an incut slot (crucial large nut and/or 1" cam - Red Alien or 0.5 Camalot is perfect). Get ready: Bust a series of powerful moves on great side pulls to gain a hanging corner with a thin crack and more gear. A fall from here would be massive, but if you miss the small slab it would be otherwise clean. If you hit the slab... well... it could be 5.11 R, but it's hard to say. The important consideration is you're doing the crux of the whole climb pretty far out (10+ feet) from your last pieces. Once in the corner, arrange great gear and work up to the next roof, traverse left out the roof and around an incredibly exposed arete. Continue up another corner and once again work left out the roof and around another, even more exposed arete. Continue up the final corner and mantle over the top onto pine needles and duff. All of the climbing post-crux is well protected. 5.11b-ish, R-ish.

Westward Ha! is definitely one of the best 7's at the Gunks.

 The top of the route is quite close to end of the carriage road that ends on top of Millbrook. This spot can be located by a place where the trail leaves the cliff edge and ascends a short rocky band to the road. Instead of going up, follow a climber's trail (past an ominous "go away" sign) for a couple hundred feet.

 Old Dead Tree Coordinates: 41.7081537,-74.2256743 Use two better trees 30 feet to the left of this tree.

 Rappel about 150' down to the ledge at the base of the route. You'll see everything as you come down. The obvious corner just right of the rap is most of it.

 P1: Climb through broken rock and a small overhang to a good ledge with a tree. This leads to a perfect corner system - lots of pro and exposure. A small belay ledge is found at the top. 5.7, 130'.

 P2: The second pitch is short - up a face and short crack to the ledge with the rap tree. 5.7, 40'.

No stars in the guidebooks?  What an oversight... but perhaps understandable because of the first pitch.  Begin at the right end of the section of wall that is home to Nectar Vector, Manifest Destiny, and New Frontier.  A guide is essential for determining the location of the route, most easily identified by it's path through the roofs on the second pitch. 

  P1:  It's hard to describe exactly where this one starts, but it generally weaves up and right through lichenous rock to a cruxy white corner, and then steps up and right again, past a small tree, to a belay on a pillar-like feature.  This pitch protects with a #2 and #3 Camalot in a horizontal, but the white corner is 30' above this and unprotectable.  A 60'+ fall onto ledgey rock is X in my book.  5.9, 120'. 

  P2:  Hopefully your partner led that one so you get this one.  Head up and left off the belay into the roofs.  There's a hard move about 20' out pulling over the small roof, then good stances as the route underclings out left to a flake in the big roof.  Pull through here with heel hooks and exposure.  Above this step into a long, left-facing, left-leaning corner and take this to the rim.  This corner is the easiest way to ID the climb from the ground.

Climb the diagonal crack that leans up left 90' to top. If it is dry, it is just like climbing a ladder.  If it is wet -- then forget it.  Years ago I remember a giant Rhododendron bush growing out of the top of it, with a lot of moss and slime on it.  When I did it this fall it was dry and the bush was gone.

Abram Believed --- Innumerable Stars  

FA: Donald Perry, November 2016 (TR)    FA: Donald Perry January 21st 2017 on lead no followers 

  Pitch 1:  From the start of Remembrance of Things Past, climb up to right-facing corners 15' to the left.  Follow the line of right-facing corners over a little roof.  At the left-facing notch in the big roof, go up to the roof on the right to place protection.  Climb back down a few feet, and then approach and turn the roof left the aforementioned notch.  Climb straight up to the ledge and traverse right to the belay of Remembrance of Things Past. 

  Pitch 2: Traverse back left and climb up the right-facing corner capped by a roof.  After some easy climbing, go up between two parallel right-leaning cracks to a large overhang. Go around the overhang on the left by means of a nice ledge, up to a nice face and a nice tree.  Alternatively, you can go around on the right of the overhang, but it is not as fun.  

  Pitch 3: Climb over a pile of dirt with rocks in it to a deep inside corner made by a block on the right, to the top. 

  Warning: This climb involves commitment and has 4 runouts, each more committing and serious then the next.  Do not underestimate the climb, it is complex. If you have not been climbing regularly for a long time it would be better that you toprope the climb and not attempt to lead it.  You don't want to be taking falls on it for a number of reasons.  By the time I finished this climb I was wearing a helmet.  You have to take out all the bottom gear before you do the roof so you don't get flipped on your head from the rope running under you at an angle.

To explain how to walk off and up from the South Side of the GTL ledge is easier to do than to try and explain how to down climb from the top of the cliff.  

  From the South side of the GTL, ascend up at the point where the top of the cliff disappears and there are only trees. Here there is shorter cliff a few hundred feet up the hill. Go up here and left, but do not climb directly to the cliff (trying to exit straight up and right in the corner near a chimney is more difficult). You will come to a large flat topped sloping boulder just before the cliff face. The cliff in front has a chimney at the right and there is a right-facing corner on the left, which slopes down from left to right to make a ramp. Climb the ramp to the top. There is a chimney next to the ramp, which is more awkward then the ramp, though the chimney is more secure. The hard part of the chimney is turning around after you enter it, which is not fun especially when wet.

P1: Climb up past two separated right facing corners to an overhang. Traverse right a little under overhang to another right facing corner over the roof. Climb through right facing corner to the base of a white sickle shaped ramp. Climb up the sickle left to its top and a small ledge. 

  P2: Traverse right a few feet and up to the roof. * Continue the traverse right 20' and turn the roof just right of a the pine tree in the corner over the roof.  Belay at the tree.  * Variation 1. Follow Redirectionalism over the roof and traverse right past the black sickle ledge to the Parousia belay at the end of pitch three. 

  P3: Traverse left a few feet and climb up to the beginning of a black sickle shaped ledge which faces left. Climb past the sickle and over some small roofs to then traverse off to the right down a long straight crack that makes up the border along the top of a giant block. Place gear over the block for a hanging belay.  

  P4: Move back to the Z (the overhangs here form a Z as seen from the road) and climb up and left and left again under overhangs to their end, to then climb up a few feet midway before the giant roof. Move left and down to a hanging belay at the top of a hanging block, we called this block the tuning fork. Variation 2. At this point in our climb when we finished the fourth pitch we top-roped the tuning fork below, which is that block in the smaller roof below the larger Manifest Destiny roof. 

  P5" Climb up to the roof and traverse left to climb into the feature we named The Bombay Chimney to the top.

"Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Mark 15:32 and Luke 23:40-45)   

  Aid rating: No hooks, no pins, no bolts, only the use of a 10' pole.   

  1st Pitch: Climb the red rock into the red hand crack to a stance below a small lose block, and continue until you are under the overhang. Turn the roof (you can bypass the rotten hold over the lip that flexes like rubber by means of an undercling) and climb past a short left-facing block to a right-facing corner and two tri-cam placements in holes. Before the overhang, traverse low and left to two sharp right facing edges, to go up and circle clockwise around the forementioned overhang. From here circle counter-clockwise around the next overhang past a right-facing crack and corner. At the top of the corner keep circling around and then up a crack to traverse left onto a small ledge. Using two ropes for this pitch is the only reasonable way to deal with the protection.  If you use a single rope it will zigzag, which means if you fall all the pro will all pop out. 

  2st Pitch: Climb around the loose block on the right (same as Great White Throne Judgment) and then climb up and left along its crack system until you reach the end.  (The lose block has historical significance, so it has to stay there, do not touch it and it will stay there.)  Then traverse left a little more to a pocket.  From the pocket, traverse left again via two holds, then climb up to a second pocket in the horizontal.  From here traverse directly right to a bucket and then climb straight up past a wobbly block sitting in the wall (the block is in a small ledge and will not come out unless you deliberately pull it out) to go over an overhang and up to a stance, with larger gear on right. It will be helpful to note that at the stance there is a very odd friend placement on the right that appears to be bomber for setting up the belay, but for some unknown reason that gear is always popping out, possibly because the crack is lined with shale which is as slippery as soap.  

  3rd Pitch:  Directly above the 1.75 - 2.5" cam placement just right of the belay, stick-clip gear or replace the 1 - 1.5" cam in a pocket above with a 10' pole.  The cam goes in deep, and more than halfway, when you find the pocket it will be obvious. (You can use a 10' x 1" piece of steel conduit you can buy at Home Depot, tape, and some string with a shoe lace knot to do this.)  Do not be tempted to place gear in the slab.  Do not weaken the slab by hanging on cams in the slab, this will more than double your weight on the slab, and if you fall then it will be more then double.  Sound protection can be found in the corner where the slab meets the wall, in the wall, and in the aforementioned pocket above.  The cam on the pole goes in the pocket easily.  If you cannot figure this all out, or see the reason for keeping gear out of the slab, you do not belong on the climb because your efforts will set a pattern that will destroy the climb by weakening the slab. And if you risk or take a leader fall on it you have no good brain.  

  Climb up to the forementioned giant slab under the roof, and traverse out right, halfway to turn the roof to the aforementioned pocket.  Turn the next part of the roof (reaching out and left) and then traverse left for 8' at the lip by heal hooking up to the horizontal cracks.  Lean right and climb a short left-facing corner to a ramp at a hole in the rock, and up to the tree.  

  4th Pitch.   Traverse right 23 feet and climb right-facing corners to a roof, and traverse around the roof on its right.

The climb is named after the giant block at the corner of the cliff: The stone which the builders refused has become the head stone of the corner (Psalm 118:22).  

  Climb up just right of The Ladder in the chimney until you get to a ledge system just a few feet off the ground. Traverse right and up to and through the left facing corner next to the giant block. At the top of the block go far left to a hand crack and climb to the top of the crack. Expect a pile of dirt or mud there. You can go around the corner right to finish on The Detached Flake-Saucony.   

  Thirty years ago trying to exit out of Millbrook in the dark, I looked up at this climb and thought it might be a good way to get out.  It is still a very scary climb today.  

  I recall Rich Romano telling me back in the 70s that he may have climbed up and out that way ... but he could not remember back then.  So we are not sure if Romano has done this first solo or not.

Climb up and through the giant flake left of Saucony.  Climb straight up to the giant right facing flake to ledge, go up right and then left to climb blocky corner to top, or just finish on Saucony which is surely 5.2.  

  The word Saucony comes from the Lenni Lenape Native American word “saconk,” meaning “where two rivers run together. If you want to get off Millbrook fast, then you climb together with Rich Romano and Russ Clune on their climb to get out.  

  As you start the climb there is a dirt ramp the runs just left of the climb up to the Beach. It maybe more desirable to hike up on the left and then traverse into this climb higher up. In the beginning of the climb the small lose rock on the climb is entirely avoidable but there are some big blocks down there that I climbed on or around.

Redirectionalism is a direct line over The Parousia, it was first done as an aid climb, and thereafter freed on lead. 

  P1, 5.9: Climb up past two separated right facing corners to an overhang. Traverse right under overhang to another right facing corner over the roof. Climb through this right facing corner to the base of a sickle ramp. Climb up the sickle ramp left to its top and a small ledge.  

  P2, 5.11: Traverse right a few feet and up to the roof at a notch directly over the sickle. Climb upwards and then left around the left side of a wide black streak into overhangs above and protection. Move back down to belay on a narrow ledge to the left.  

  P3, 5.12: At the overhangs, climb slight right over small roofs, then left around a large white bulge and up to roof. Under the roof traverse right pasting a small hole 5' to turn the immediate roof in the middle of the next roof above Climbing straight up to belay under the last roof above.  

  P4, 5.12: Traverse left 6' just before the obvious break in the giant roof. Turn the roof through a hairline crack and small right facing corners that start 6' out over the overhang. Climb up into short right facing corners in the overhang and left a few feet until under another overhang just before the top.  

  P5, 5.11: Traverse left some more on good holds to a giant left facing outside corner facing New Frontier. Climb over the prow to the top.

This is an adventure route that contains some good climbing(especially in the middle third.) The hard climbing is clean but there is lots of dirty and loose rock throughout. 

Start up a short dirty corner for 15’ to a big ledge with loose rock. Choose your own adventure through the roof(seemed like at least 5.8R) and onto the face above, aiming for the obvious corner. This part is runout but easier. Climb the corner above and eventually it widens to a stem-box/chimney. Stem out the corner to the horizontal rail. Traverse about 20’ right and pull through the overhangs. Up dirty corners and faces to the top of the cliff.

A fantastic route with great climbing on a clean vertical face. 

  P1: Climb up the face trending left until you can find some protection. Continue up and left until you can hand traverse out left towards a large patch dark lichen with an abrupt vertical right edge. At the edge of the lichen, continue up a thin crack past an overhang. Continue up to a tree belay. 

  P2: Head up and right through a series a corners. Pull an overhang into a left-facing corner. Then head up and left to the top.

First pitch: Climb a vertical crack that runs on the right side of the scooped out corner. After reaching a stance where the crack turns dark climb left and onto bright orange rock around the corner. From here move up and exit off left and up directly after the first roof.  

  Var. 1 The Light, 5.12. FA: Frank Tkac & Don Perry, 1979. From here move up and right to turn the roof near its end. Start moving right again to grab the rock that we called The Tongue. Climb the overhanging vertical crack over the second roof to the end of The Fourth Belt.

High Plains Drifter is a great route, but like many climbs at the Bank, perhaps better suited to the seasoned Gunks climber or those that are just plain crazy.  The pro is generally good, but it's never quite as bomber as you want it and never quite close enough to the hardest moves.   

  Begin well right of Westward Ha! at a stretch of wall that is bookended by two large corner systems -- the right corner forms the wall and arete of Nectar Vector.   

  P1:  Ascend a weakness with good pro for about 30 feet before traversing up and right on good holds to the right end of a low roof.  The climbing here has some fixed pro/tat but should be runnered well as this pitch wanders.  Traverse back left underneath the low roof to a stance at the left end and load it up with well-runnered gear.  The rock here is white and flakey and loose, but the gear is all you get until reaching the belay.  Launch up over this roof onto the headwall above.  The good holds are hard to leave behind, but some positive crimps on the headwall are just enough to make it passable.  Continue up to a semi-hanging belay below the huge roof at the top of the wall.  5.10 R. 

  P2:  Undercling out right around the big roof, then continue up to the top of the wall past its right end.

It is best to approach Millbrook from the north end of the cliff at least once in your life when you visit Millbrook. This way you can know how to climb out of Millbrook if you need to or want to, especially in some kind of emergency. 

   To get to the North end of the Grand Traverse Ledge starting from Trapps Bridge follow the carriage road along the back of the Near Trapps and find the Bayards Path which will lead you to the ridge between the Near Trapps and Bayards. Follow the Ridge Trail along the top of Bayards to climb Millbrook ridge. [As a side note, in the wet seasons there is a spring that runs over the trail at this point just before the Ridge Trail starts to ascend Millbrook Mountain. You can fill up your water bottles here.]  

   Climbing up in elevation abruptly you will eventually reach the edge of the actual cliff edge of Millbrook Mountain by means of a few camel backs. Part way to edge of the actual cliff you will meet a rock that is 5 foot high and 10 long where the trail goes around it on the right. I am going to call this rock the "GTL Stone", because it is very near the level of the Millbrook Grand Traverse Ledge. Keep this in mind as you pass this rock. After you pass this rock on the Ridge Trail continue up the hill until you go over a hump of rock. [To identify this hump of rock note that there is a 12' long crack that is 4" wide and 3' deep that runs a few feet left and parallel to the trail on the top of this outcrop of whitish conglomerate. ] From here the trail goes down and along level through trees for a few feet before a long smooth ridge of stone that ascends up to a block a few hundred feet away. [By the way, this stone ridge and this part of the trail now make the actual stone ridge, the edge of the Millbrook cliff. Do not climb this ridge.]  

   At the base of this stone ridge depart from the trail going left and parallel to the trail to then traverse along the cliff South East past some small caves to a finger of rock that points south opposite a very short smooth North facing corner. Start descending directly down from here and below this smooth corner facing North. You will pass a ledge of rock to the base of this short cliff to a sloping hill of leaves and trees, and underbrush. Believe it or not, you are now on the Grand Traverse Ledge in less than 5 minutes from the time you left the trail! 

  This access is mentioned in the Art Grand Guide, but it is not so well defined.

P1: 100ft. Climb over humid moss to the small roof with the fixed tricam. Traverse easily rightwards under the roof (leave long slings to reduce drag). Go up aiming for the arching right-facing corner. climb up the corner. Move up the off-hands crack in the corner (great pro) then make cruxy moves left (#000) and up the beautiful face. Figure out how to get to the blocky roof, then pull the roof and enter the corner. Continue to the top, setup a directional cam, then hand traverse left to a belay tree.  

  P2: (~70ft)  Move 40ft left (west) on the ledge, to the 2nd tree.  

  P3: Climb a dirty, tricky 5.7 ramp to the clean left--facing corner, which becomes quite vegetated at the top.

Millbrook is remote by Gunks' standards, but the "grueling" 40-minute hike rewards you with some of the best climbing the Gunks has to offer. Many consider it to be the Gunks' best cliff, but I think that depends on what you're looking for -- if it's fantastic views, no crowds, great climbing (although characteristically run out), a sense of commitment, and adventure in general, then you will not be disappointed.

 "The Bank" was the first cliff climbed in the Gunks, via "The Old Route," by Fritz Wiessner in 1935. It's rated 5.5 and I've heard it's pretty chossy, but Millbrook isn't for sissies after all. Other "must do's" include Westward Ha! (5.7), Cruise Control (5.9), Time Eraser (10a), High Plains Drifter (10+), New Frontier (11-), and Nectar Vector (12+), along with a few others that, by tradition, aren't talked about too often. Millbrook has more than 80 routes ranging in length from 130 to 200 feet.

 The wall is generally dead vertical, and the white quartzite that it is composed of yields a slightly different climbing experience than the Trapps or the Nears. One interesting point to consider is that the climbs are typically approached via double-rope raps from above. This will not take you to the bottom of the cliff, but will instead land you on a "GT Ledge" of sorts. This ledge ranges from 2-20' wide, and the climbs begin from this point. This ledge is very different from its extension across the Trapps;  in Millbrook, it is often quite sloping and covered in loose pebbles - you generally cannot plan to walk on it. Also notable is that due to its "remote" location, rescue is much further away, and you may not be near other climbers. Due to lower traffic, you should be prepared to deal with loose rock.

 Access:  All of the cliff lies on private property. The Mohonk Preserve is the only entity that explicitly allows climbing, and they only own the top of the north half of Millbrook, but none of the cliff itself.

 For more on Millbrook, don't miss local climber Christian Fracchia's site WhiteCliff, where he provides excellent topos, photos, and select route descriptions. Christian is one of the Millbrook locals who you might contact to show you around, in the old tradition.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Millbrook