Gunks Climbers' Coalition

04/14/2026

The GCC is looking for volunteers to be Gunks Climber Stewards at Peter's Kill this season.

Climber Stewards are volunteer ambassadors who show up on weekends during the climbing season to connect with fellow climbers and promote responsible, sustainable access at the Gunks. Modeled after successful programs by the Access Fund at New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Indian Creek, and Yosemite Valley, this initiative brings together climbers who are passionate about protecting the places they love.

In return, stewards receive valuable perks including free park passes, guided tours of special areas within the park, access to climbing clinics, and a dedicated educational day with a guide. With a commitment of just three days over the season, it’s a rewarding way to give back, connect with the climbing community, and help ensure sustainable access for years to come.

Learn more at

Join us for the 2026 Climber Steward Program at the Peter’s Kill climbing area of Minnewaska State Park. Modeled after successful programs by the Access Fund at New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Indian Creek, and Yosemite Valley, this initiative brings together climbers who are passionate about pr...

04/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DEjWgnBWh/

Thacher is open for the 2026 climbing season, as of THURSDAY APRIL 9!

Be sure to fill out a permit before climbing - you can find the digital form on our website or on the Thacher State Park website.

NOTE: Cave Wall is closed until May 1 for the bats 🦇 - all other climbing walls are open!

Also, we have a new Google form where you can report issues with the bolts, routes, trails, etc. Head over to climbthacher.org/climb for more info

We cant wait to see you all out there. Be safe, enjoy, and tag us in your climbing pics! 🤗

P.S. we hope you can join us for our fundraiser on April 25 for the Mellow Film Tour, conveniently being hosted by us at the Thacher Park visitor center .. maybe tell your friends and plan a little climbing day, followed by the TCC film night?? 😬 Your attendance at this event helps us keep open and expanding! 👀🤭

04/03/2026

The Mohonk Preserve has announced a reduced climbing/bouldering closure in the Trapps, now that the Peregrine Falcons have begun breeding activity.

From the Preserve:
We are lifting our broad closure and moving to a reduced, temporary climbing and bouldering closure effective Friday, April 3rd:

Climbing – No climbing from and including Thin Slabs (5.7) to and including Lakatakissima (5.10b).
Bouldering – No bouldering from and including Atlas (V10) to and including Mini (V1). Exception: Andrew Boulder and Slug’s Life Boulder problems starting from Undercliff Carriage Road will be open. To minimize noise close to the eyrie, at any given time no more than 10 people can be present at this location.

We look forward to working together to enable another successful breeding season and help ensure the continued protection of these remarkable raptors.

04/03/2026

The GCC's fourth WinterFest is a wrap and it was a great success!
For less than the cost of a couple of climbing gym day passes, people climbed, learned, got free massages, mingled, and enjoyed pizza, with
26 climbing clinics taught by licensed climbing guides and Gunks veterans, on the walls and in the classroom, for beginners and experienced climbers alike.
Read our recap and check out some photos of the event.

Many thanks to the climbing guides, volunteers, Jackie of HV Rapid for therapeutic massages, Rock and Snow for sponsoring the pizza party, and The Gravity Vault Poughkeepsie for hosting this annual event.

Hope to see you at the next WinterFest in 2027!

https://gunksclimbers.org/gunks-news/2026-winterfest-recap

03/17/2026

This Friday or Saturday, don't miss the No Man's Land Film Festival, screening at the DENIZEN Theatre in New Paltz (in the upper part of the Water Street Market). The fest consists of 8 curated short films by and/or about women in the outdoors telling stories about climbing, arctic guiding, bad ass skiing, aerial silks, historic alpinism and more in beautiful international places in this thoughtful and stoke-filled lineup. Get your tickets for 2 hours of adventure films, brought to you by the Gunks Climbers' Coalition and the Denizen Theatre.

This year’s WinterFest 2026 kicks off with two nights of the No Man’s Land Film Festival tour. Eight curated short films by and/or about women in the outdoors telling stories about climbing, arctic guiding, skiing, historic alpinism and more in this thoughtful and stoke-filled lineup. The 2 hour...

03/02/2026

WINTERFEST TICKETS ARE LIVE

https://pretix.eu/gunksclimbers/winterfest2026/

3/22, 11am-7pm
Gravity Vault, Poughkeepsie

Rope drag – it’s a real drag huh.

You’re finishing out your route, top of the cliff within a few body-lengths. Your partner is out of sight, under a roof and a long traverse back to the belay.

Each step becomes more tedious like you’re dragging an elephant from your harness – and you find yourself yarding up armloads of slack just to move. We’ve all been there, but did you know there is an easy fix?

Half ropes are not popular except in the UK, where they are the technique of choice for trad, and for good reason with their wandering pitches – just like someplace else we know…

Everyone knows they have the potential to reduce friction, but is that the whole story? Do the Brits know something we don’t?

As a 30+ year user, Dr. Goldstone will share his insights on how this seasoned practice applies in the Gunks, both pros and cons.

Thanks as always to our host partner and for sponsoring our pizza social at the fest!

02/27/2026

WINTERFEST TICKETS ARE LIVE

https://pretix.eu/gunksclimbers/winterfest2026/

3/22, 11am-7pm
Gravity Vault, Poughkeepsie

This will be the year, right? Spring motivations are riding high, you’re super stoked to push your limits maybe with some bigger objectives, advancing your grade, or becoming more confident with anchors.

Most climbers don’t have a plan to get better or get feedback; they have a “hope” plan.

Join Dustin Portzline from in this very intentional clinic that could possibly provide the roadmap you need to make 2026 a turning point in your climbing career.

This workshop introduces the C.R.A.F.T. Framework—the same system he teaches his clients—to help you identify exactly where your opportunities and limitations are before you climb outdoors this spring. Participants will spend the session participating in a 10-point “Autonomy Audit”, and reflecting more deeply on their aspirations and boundaries.

Participants will finish the session with new awareness, new skill development and empowering momentum for the season.

We have THREE times available for this offering, making it a perfect companion to any of our hard-skills clinics

Thanks as always to our host partner and for sponsoring our pizza social at the fest!

02/25/2026

WINTERFEST TICKETS ARE LIVE

https://pretix.eu/gunksclimbers/winterfest2026/

3/22, 11am-7pm
Gravity Vault, Poughkeepsie

Four years ago, we launched WinterFest on the heels of our super successful flagship GunksFest with the explicit aim of accident-prevention.

Our 1-day compressed event featured a revolving-door of clinics that brought our passion for education to life, riding firmly on the shoulders of some of our greatest local guides and their expertise. Since then we’ve met the needs of hundreds of climbers, and grown into an even larger offering in partnership with the .

Our attendees come to learn technical hard skills like anchor-building and self-rescue. They come to work on their movement skills and their mental skills, polishing both before the start of the spring climbing season.

We welcome beginners with clinics that help them navigate getting started in the world of climbing – taught by people with up to six decades of experience.

More experienced climbers can find classes as well, like navigating exceptionally challenging gear/anchor scenarios or developing movement skills to push redpoint grades.

We’ve got clinics focused on going up, like climbing in a party of three and mastering multipitch efficiency, and going down, like improvising rappel strategies and safe descent techniques.

One thing is for certain – no matter your climbing ability we’ve got a clinic that will leave you a better climber.

The GCC is proud to have guides from , , , , and the leading our sessions, and as always welcome representatives from our local JEDI spaces available to offer affinity-specific clinics.

We’ve also got a robust scholarship program for our JEDI partners – please DM us if you’re part of an organization you think would benefit from our programming.

And if that isn’t enough, we have plenty of climbing, and our pizza social sponsored by our friends over at .

Check out the link in our profile for ticketing and clinic info, and be sure to do it soon – with intimate group sizes nearly 90% of our clinics sell-out!

01/29/2026

It's that time again for a broad peregrine falcon temporary climbing closure in the Trapps. Please see details in this post from the Mohonk Preserve.
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2026 Peregrine Watch Season: Based on our experience, current scientific research and raptor protection strategies of conservation partners, the Preserve will continue applying a responsive management approach during the early breeding season to optimize successful eyrie (cliff nest) site selection.

Starting Sunday, February 1, 2026, the Preserve will be implementing a temporary closure of climbing and bouldering at the Trapps Cliff as follows:

- Climbing: The sections between and including Laughing Man (5.11) and Clunies Jollies (5.12)
- Bouldering: The Buddha, Nameless, Murray and Boxcar areas. This includes all problems from Atlas (V10) to Little Death (V10)

Please visit our Peregrine Watch page for updates, additional information and videos from our Preserve Peregrine Cam: https://www.mohonkpreserve.org/what-we-do/conservation-programs/conservation-science/peregrine-watch-updates/

Photo by Carl Mueller

01/17/2026

The Gunks Climbers Coalition and the DENIZEN Theatre in New Paltz will be screening The North Face Presents: First Descents on January 28, 30, and 31.

Travel from the Himalayas to The Great Trango Towers in an unforgettable evening of high-altitude storytelling—featuring two films (LHOTSE and TRANGO) that celebrate the spirit of exploration, resilience, and the raw beauty of the vertical world. Together, these films showcase two expressions of mountain adventure, both driven by the same passion for the unknown.

https://www.denizentheater.net/