Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, and I spent it on the best ways possible: outside climbing. Aleya and I met up with Mike and Katie at Seneca Rocks on Saturday. The Friday night rain made for difficulty getting a fire going, but after a healthy dose of lighter fluid, we had coals at least. After a very nice sunset, the sky was mostly clear, with a bit of haze evident when looking at stars near the horizon.

Sunday dawned cool and sunny. At 8 we split up and went to climb our respective routes. Aleya and I started on “Skyline Traverse”, a classic route. We had climbed the first pitch together last time we were there, before rappelling off (I had climbed the whole thing a year or two before). We got there early enough to be the first ones on the route and climbed our way up. It was fun leading all the pitches. I was quite proud of Aleya, overcoming the psychological crux of the route (stepping off a bit comfy ledge onto a face ~100ft above the ground).

The 3rd pitch of Skyline brought us up to the lower end of Broadway ledge. A short walk down the ledge brought us to the base of “Up and Coming”. We climbed this without too much trouble, other than a spontaneous variation I added in the middle (which upped the “spicy” grade). This relatively easy climb brought us to the base of the Cockscomb where I (briefly) met up with Mike and Katie. After bringing Aleya up (we broke “Up and Coming” into two pitches), we followed Mike and Katie across the second pitch of “Old Ladies Route”.

That second pitch ends at a nice vertical crack, presenting us with a choice. We could either head up the crack (“Windy Corner”) or finish on the relatively easy third pitch of “Old Ladies”. Aleya opted to head up “Windy Corner”. It was an enjoyable climb, with the exception of pulling over a chockstone. I don’t particularly enjoy them, especially on lead. Other than that it was a fun pitch.

This brought us to the summit ledge where the 4 of us met up and went to the summit. It was absolutely gorgeous the whole day, and the summit was no different. Perfect temperature, and great views with the leaves changing color on the hills around us. While sitting at the belays I’d just gaze out over the hills and take in the beauty. Occasionally a falling leaf would get caught in a thermal and I would watch it spiral upwards.

We spent a half hour or so on the crowded summit before rappelling off on the West face of the South summit. To cap it all off we had pizza across the street and watched folks standing on the summit. Couldn’t have asked for a better Fall day…