This past Sunday thanks to my friends Katie and Dan I got the opportunity to check out a crag that I had never been to. High Rocks in Ralph Stover State Park. The park is situated Southeast of the Allentown area of PA.
I met up with Katie and Dan around 10:30 am and we promptly scurried down the trail to the cliff. I was immediately taken back by the size of this place. I had heard that that climbing was pretty good here, but I didn’t realize there was so much of it. This cliff boasts over a hundred routes and several walls, Definitely more than you can handle in a weekend.
The cliff line was littered with groups learning to climb for the first time, so we made our way down to an empty spot near the end. Here we set up 3 top ropes. We managed to set up on Obnoxious Partner (5.8+), Phone booth (5.10a) and Far Face (5.7+) Dan hopped on Phone booth first and made his way up this severely overhanging route with relative ease. We continued to shuffle partners throughout the day and jump from route to route with no real agenda. I really enjoy these lackadaisical climbing outings where no one is really trying to impress anyone or prove anything. We were just a few friends having fun.
Near the end of the day we busted out the camera and Dan and I each took turns snapping some photos from the top of Far Face, of course we had to do some playing around for the camera by busting out unnecessary dyno moves.
All said and done, this was a great “no pressure” climbing day at a new place with some great people, I encourage everyone to get out and enjoy your local crags and just play, fun is the name of the game. Oh and if you are in the area, Check out High Rocks. I promise you will enjoy it.
-Patrick
More info on High Rocks here.
Patrick is a lover of all things adventure and photography. When he is not at home in Northeast PA, he can be found traveling with his camera and climbing. One of his most memorable experiences outdoors is his recent summit of Mount Rainier.
