Positive Thinking
Location: Poke-O-Moonshine, Adirondacks, NY
Grade: WI 5
Height: 420
Directions: Poke-O lies on the west side of
Rte. 9 between Keeseville and Elizabethtown. It can easily be seen from I-87
(take the Keeseville exit and drive 1 mile south on Rte. 9 to the ledge). Park
and hike in at the campground - please do not walk through the private property
north of the campground.
Season: Positive Thinking faces east and
receives the morning sun. Its first pitch is often not in shape; but, the
column is usually climbable from December till March.
Route Description: P1(150) climbs the
sustained (typically thin) smear to a large ledge and fixed belay on the right.
P2(120) steps up the bulges and surmounts the short vertical column to an
ice/rock belay (often in the off angle chimney on the left). P3(150)
continues up to the trees with decreasing steepness. (Alternates include the 5.9
handcrack to the near right of the smear, and the Half Mile traverse dike from
the far left.)
Gear: When in good shape, nothing but a
normal/thin ice rack will suffice. Half Mile requires an alpine rock rack. PT
Handcrack requires a full set of cams and large nuts (PT Pillar takes a fat nut
where it can be reached; the shallow roof on the right at 1/3 height takes a
medium nut (fixed)).
Descent: Hike around to the south and down
the prominent descent gully just north of the Waterfall.
Photo by Doug Millen |
