Josh Wilson climbs solo on the first pitch of Regular Route. Photo by Phil Brown
Few rock-climbing cliffs in the Adirondacks are as popular or as storied as Chapel Pond Slab, located a stone’s throw from State Route 73 south of the hamlet of Keene Valley.
John Case, the pioneering American climber, and Bob Notman ascended the first route on the slab, perhaps in 1933. It’s called Bob’s Knob Standard, referring to the rocky bulge at the top of the route.
Over the years, climbers tried variations of Bob’s Knob Standard, and the permutations eventually led to the establishment of a separate route known as Regular Route. The authors of Adirondack Rock give Regular Route five stars, their highest rating for the overall quality of a climb.
Although Regular Route is indeed a spectacular climb, ascending clean rock for 775 feet, it is not especially difficult. On the Yosemite Decimal System, it’s rated 5.5—which is harder than Bob’s Knob Standard (5.3) but easy enough to attract beginning climbers. Some experienced climbers solo the route—that is, they ascend it without the protection of a rope.
Most of Regular Route is a friction climb. You ascend the open slab on all fours, relying on the sticky rubber of your climbing shoes to prevent a slip. The hardest moves occur on Bob’s Knob, where the rock is more vertical. Like its predecessor, Regular Route ends on top of Bob’s Knob, with a great view of Chapel Pond directly below.
Regular Route is usually done in six pitches. There is a descent path through the woods, with a fixed rope in two steep sections.
In all, there are nine routes on Chapel Pond Slab, ranging in difficulty from 5.3 to 5.11. One other, Empress, also is given five stars in Adirondack Rock. Like Regular Route, Empress is rated 5.5 on the Yosemite scale, but it is not for the timid: it includes a ninety-foot section where there is no place to put protective gear. A slip would mean a long fall.
You can hire climbing guides at several outfitters in Keene Valley and Lake Placid. Among them are Rock and River, Alpine Adventures, Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides, High Peaks Cyclery, and Eastern Mountain Sports.
Directions: From Northway Exit 30, head north on Route 73 toward Lake Placid. The herd path to the base of the slab is on the left, on a small rise just before you reach Chapel Pond. It’s on the opposite side of the road from the Ridge Trail to Giant Mountain.
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