Rock Climbing Areas in New Hampshire

Chauvin Guides International

Rock Climbing Areas

Guide to Classic New Hampshire Rock Climbs

Chauvin Guides International climbs primarily on the cliffs located a few miles west of North Conway NH. These cliffs, Cathedral and Whitehorse, are two of the premier granite crags in the country. Each has its own character and together they provide one of the best locations for learning the art of traditional or adventure rock climbing in the country. New Hampshire rock offers the only concentration of long multi-pitch routes in New England. This area with its White Mountain scenery and large cliffs gives you a western feel only a short drive away.

Cathedral and Whitehorse are very accessible requiring only short approaches so that your time is spent climbing not getting to the start of a route. Cathedral, with its road to the top and Whitehorse with its many rappel routes, reduce descent time thereby increasing your time climbing. With experience often being touted as the most important thing to make a good climber these cliffs allow you to gain that climbing experience in a shorter time.

Cathedral Ledge Cathedral has many fine climbs ranging from cracks and corners to steep face climbing. With face climbing routes like; Thin Air 5.6, 450 ft, Upper Refuse 5.5, 300ft and No Man's Land 5.6, 250ft, Cathedral offers many fine multi-pitch climbs for the first time climber. With moderate crack and corner climbs like; Toe Crack 5.7, 200ft, Funhouse 5.7, 200ft, Bombardment 5.8, 150ft, Pine Tree Eliminate 5.8, 130ft and Black Lung 5.8, 120ft this cliff also offers great routes at moderate grades. Some of these routes can be joined together to create 5 to 6 pitch routes. For example a popular combination is Toe Crack to Thin Air, this 6 pitch route starts with a curving 5.6 flake to a 5.7 hand crack for the first pitch. The second pitch rated 5.6 is in a spectacular setting, it continues up the crack to its end then face climbs left to join Thin Air. Three more pitches rated 5.6, 5.6, 5.1 on the Thin Air Route end with the option of finishing up on Pine Tree Eliminate 5.8.

Whitehorse Ledge Whitehorse, on the other hand, is noted for its friction slabs. These low angle slab climbs are long and exposed. Because of their angle though, the fear factor of climbing an 850 foot vertical, 1200 foot linear cliff is manageable. Many routes exist between 5.6 to 5.8. Our favorite is Sliding Board 5.7, 9 pitches. Located above the curving arch of Standard Route 5.5 or 5.7, 10 pitches, Sliding Board is in a beautiful setting. Because of its open slabs, Whitehorse also offers a great place to master the skill of multi-pitch rappels. Often we will choose to use a rappel descent instead of finishing the last 3 pitches so you can learn about and perform a multi-pitch rappel. This is a critical skill in rock climbing and there are few places that offer a better opportunity to practice and learn than Whitehorse.

Another area we frequent is Cannon Cliff, this 1000ft cliff is located 1 hours drive from North Conway and is the home of NH's great stone symbol, The Old Man of the Mountains. With a 45 minute to 1 hour approach this cliff is less accessible than Cathedral or Whitehorse but offers a more alpine feel. With routes like the famous Whitney Gilman Ridge 5.8, 5 pitches, Moby Grape 5.8, 9 pitches, Lakeview 5.5, 8 pitches or Lakeview's variation Consolation Prize 5.8, 8 pitches, Cannon offers great climbs in a more mountainous setting.

People often think that many of the climbs that exist on these larger cliffs are inaccessible to the beginner climber. They could not be more wrong! With the proper instruction and a well trained guide you can find yourself high on one of these magnificent cliffs not only enjoying the challenge, but also the scenery and accomplishment of multi-pitch climbing.

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