An overhanging handcrack that starts in a steep cave and is only 5.8?--You betcha!   

  Steep and imposing at first, Clutch and Cruise delivers a dose of surprising enjoyment for the first 25 feet of climbing.  It is then capped by some more moderate and less appetizing vertical rock grappling above.  

  Start the route on the right side of the large alcove on the Lower Beer Walls in the steep wide crack.  Surmount the steepness using good jams, stems and layback techniques, then relish in the glory with a victory romp to the tree anchor above and to the left on a nice ledge.  (Note:  There is a 2nd pitch, but not a soul does it.  It is on much easier terrain that clocks in at around 5.4.

Clutch and Cruise

Pat Tricks

Supercharged

Anteater

Coors Corner

Detoxification

Blacksmith

Wandering Lunatic

Another Beer Walls Black Streak

Equis

Redrum

Pats' Blue Ribbon

Turbocharge

Joey Baggadonuts

Diagonal Chockstone Chimney

Backs against the Wall

Draught Dodger

Afternoon Delight

Pegasus

Octoberfast

Rockaholic

Lichenbrau

Sword

Miller Light

Good moves with a very long reach at the crux.

 Move up to some jugs (shared with Pats' Blue Ribbon), then straight up jugs to a good flake-block. Make a big reach to a right-hand pinch and some tiny left-hand crimps, then make a huge move (short person's dyno) to a sharp-edged ledge. Move left into a shallow left-facing corner, then straight up to the fixed anchor.

A hidden route, but one not to be missed.   

  Pat Tricks begins below a low bolt that protects the routes' technical crux.  Move up the wall on hidden incuts and tricky moves to a solution pocket/bucket.  Take a quick rest then finish off the technical crux by smearing out to a shallow left-facing flake/corner to your left.  Protect this and take a plum line straight up passing a couple large horizontals and small overlaps.   

  From the small cedar, continue up the face past several more committing moves to the top.  The route can be done as one, long, mega-pitch, or split into two by stopping at the small cedar with the ratty tat. 

  If you practice the art of sport climbing, you will enjoy this crimpy crux, if not, slip it into 5th gear and cruise through it...fast!

Start as for Turbocharged and traverse right under the roof to the apex, then step up and left onto the face. Follow a seam/crack up to easier, but extremely runout climbing and finish on bolted anchor left of tree. If leading consider traversing left to finish on Turbocharged and allow for more reasonable protection.

Start to the left of Pegasus underneath an overhanging block. Climb the fingercrack past the block and slightly right to the pegasus ledge. For the second pitch head up the giant right facing corner and break off to follow a smaller right facing corner to the top.

Pitch 1, 5.2G   Go up ramp and and take a left up to a 2 tree belay ledge below the Sword.   Pitch 2, 5.5   Anyone does it?

P1 5.7G 120' Climb a left facing corner to a crack/ramp that goes up and right, crossing Rockaholic and Equis (Dos Equis, get it?).  Continue the rightward traverse to a right corner above an open book.P2 5.4G 50' Climb towards a chimney then up the chimney to the top.

Follow the shallow arch and thin crack to larger holds and a bolted anchor shared with Rockaholic.  

  Not sure if I went off route, but this seemed like nice moderate face climbing to me leading up to a fun overhang/bulge.  I climbed it twice to try different ways to get over the overhang, and I found the moves easier center left.  Fairly dirty, but well worth it.

General: Blacksmith offers a fairly sustained section of gear protected face climbing on great rock with great movements. If you're comfortable at this grade of face climbing, don't miss this route! 

Pitch 1 (5.10a): Take the line of weakness up the face passing the small tree ~6' up and head  up between the hanging cedar on your right and the small vegetation on your left. Climb past many horizontals (protection), past an overlap, until the first bolt appears. Climb to a stance and a small placement and then lock in to find the line and make committing moves (crux) to gain the first bolt. Continue up following the weakness in the face to a piton, a second bolt and a second piton to a welcomed stance below the left side of the roof. From here either find the right-most of two left-to-right finger cracks and make an unexpected hard move to gain the finger crack and follow easier rock to the top. Alternatively, head straight up from the stance (bearing slightly left) to the roof and traverse to the bolt and then past it pulling the roof on the edges formed by a right-rising thin seam/crack (5.10c). Head up on easier rock albeit somewhat spare on protection.

This route used to be a top-rope climb until Steve Mergenthaler and Todd Morgan bolted it in 2003, and it forces you to wander (thus the name of the route) a bit to reach each bolt.Reach the start of the climb by 4th-classing your way up to the ledge at the base of The Sword. A belay can be set up below the face with a couple of green and red Camalots.The section between the 1st and 2nd bolt is PG13, as a fall from here would have you landing on your belayer almost definitely!Now, climb up past 7 bolts to a crux comfortably placed right above the 6th bolt.Clear the top of the route and walk back about 5 yards to the trees to build an anchor. (Note: At the time of this entry there are no fixed anchors at the top of this route.)

Start in the depression in the wall and climb the corner crack, clearing a few small ceilings along the way to the top. There are jugs a plenty through most of the route so you'll find lots of good stances. Belay off one of the many trees at the top. This is one of those really fun climbs where every where you wish there was a bomber hold, there pretty much is. This would probably make a great climb to "climb out" of the Lower Beer Walls if it's free.

Climb up and sling a birch, then continue on to the corner of "Draught Dodger". Make a couple of moves up the corner until you can traverse left across the face(crux) to the triangle shaped stance on the arete. Trend up and right of the cedar tree on your way to the top. No fixed protection here!

Tough opening moves to reach the corner/ramp and small tree about 15 feet up.  Then continue up and left until you are below a crescent shaped right-facing corner.  Face climb just to the right of the corner for a bit, then move over to the corner once it's within reach.  Staying too far right for too long is stiff 5.8+ climbing.  At the top of the corner begins the flake system (continuation of the corner) on the left, which is followed to the top.

Head up a left leaning, low angled corner with a wide hands/fist crack in the back. Belay at the top of this feature and for the second pitch head up and right to a right facing corner. The first pitch makes a great approach pitch for The Sword, although rope drag may be too much to allow the pitches to be linked.

One of the only pure sport lines at the Beer Walls and what a good one it is!

 Pats' climbs out a steep cave/roof-like feature on good one to two-pad incuts and large pinches.

 Begin the route via a right to left angling traverse that leads the climber into steep surfing past several bolts to a no-hands rest on the arete that forms the left side of the buttress/cave. Climb right of the arete and fight your way to the chains!

A stout, fingery crux off the deck and an exquisite crack system highlight this hidden Adirondack gem.   

  Turbocharge is a great way to safely break into Adirondack 5.10s.  It offers well-protected crux moves in the first 15 feet, and moderate crack climbing above to a dead tree and 2-bolt anchor to the left. 

Start just right of the overhanging fist crack of Clutch and Cruise, at a black right rising diagonal crack. Climb the crack up and right to jugs. Weave a path(5.7PG) up to a small right-arching ceiling with an orange spot and a bolt just underneath. Step left around the small arete(crux) then climb pretty much straight up(some 5.6PG/R) on jugs and textured face/slab all the way to the top. Belay from trees on top.

Scramble up the dirty, left slanting, right facing chimney to a ledge, belay here to avoid rope drag, then cruise up the corner above to a big ledge out left.

P1 is nice climbing. Rappel from the top of P1 or finish on P2 of one of the neighbors. 

  Start: 3' Left (And around the arete) of the overhanging wall that defines the clutch and cruise cave, at the base of a handcrack in the back of a flared groove. 

  P1 5.5G: Climb the handcrack up to the V-groove up to a large cedar tree on the right with a fixed anchor (shared with clutch and cruise) 

  P2 5.2G: Step left and climb broken rock to join up with clutch and cruise (or one of its variations)

Climb up and sling a birch, then continue up to the V slot corner. Follow the finger crack in the back of the V(crux) to a ledge. Trend up and left to the top. No fixed anchors here!

Choose your own adventure on this unlikely wall, with a variety of ways to the top.   

  Afternoon Delight is a very pleasant face climb slashed with many diagonal cracks that run the entire width of the face.  The route presents very little challenge in the way of difficult or cruxy climbing, so you won't mind a more frugal approach to gear placement.   

  Build an anchor on the trees 20 feet from the cliffs edge.

A "must do" for first-time visitors to the Adirondacks, steep for the grade with some nice exposure.  

  Pitch 1:   Start this route on the off-width size crack that leads to the large belay. (5.7 / 40 feet)   You can also reach this spot by easy 5th class on the flake/chimney on the right.   

  Pitch 2:   Leave the belay and head off right aiming to turn the roof. The crux moves lead past this roof (bolt), then finish up easier ground to the rim of the cliff. (5.8+ PG / 110 feet)  

  Enjoy the big air below you, strenuous and thoughtful climbing all over the route, and clean rock abound. 

  History: This route was one of the classics of the region until the roof collapsed in 2008, taking with it the only protection through this section. What remained was a lone, unstable tooth hanging from the [now higher] roof. This finally fell too. A bolt was added in 2016, reinstating this classic upper pitch.

Climb up the flakes to a white horn beneath the first roof. Trend right and undercling the roofs to finally pull the second one(crux) to a small ledge. Climb the easy arete to the top. No fixed anchors here!

At the far left end of the Lower Beer Walls is a left leaning finger crack that splits an otherwise polished face--This is Rockaholic.   

  Start on low hands and smeary feet to the left of the crack below the obvious finger crack.  Easily climb up and right, pulling into the fissure using a few high feet out left and a good hand hold out right.   

  From here, the beta for the route is simple:  Try to keep your left foot pasted to the polished left face while fighting through the rattly and flaired fingercrack. 

  When the crack ends, move left around the steep block and up to the slung tree above.    

P1 5.6 G - Climb a right leaning crack to a small birch, then proceed up and right across many good horizontal cracks to a cedar tree (belay/rap). 60' 

  P2 5.7 PG - Climb straight up face above tree past bolt.  Can angle right to the left facing dihedral of "Backs Against the Wall," or head left under the ceiling to finish on easy rock on "Pegasus."  110'

A stunning pitch of juggy arete climbing.  Though rather short in length, it is certainly one of the best routes at it's grade in the park.   

  Climb juggy rock up to a small overhang.  Clear this on large holds and gain the razor sharp arete above.  Continue up on mostly large holds, until a balancey move past a bolt requires you to use some friction to access the much easier, but beautifully exposed, climbing above.

This is the left-hand portion of the Beer Walls.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Lower Beer Wall