Pine Ledge Guide
Brian Phillips

Warning: Bolts may or may not be there.  This area was chopped once before.  This is page is not indexed by the search engines. Do not
post anything on Mountain Project about the cliff so that the bolts stay there.

Directions
Pine Ledge is located in the Cockaponset State Forest on the Deep River-Chester border with the main cliff in Chester and the south cliff in Deep River.  From RT 9 take exit 7 (old exit 5) at Deep River.  If coming from the south, at end of exit take a left on RT 80.  If coming from the north take a right on RT 80. Don't follow GPS or Google Maps to Pine Ledge as it will direct you to exit 8 and Hoop Pole Hill Road which is impassible and you will never be heard from again.

Walking in: Go a half-mile or so west on RT 80.  On the left (south) is a distinct pull-out next to a pond. (234 West Elm Street, Deep River, CT in your GPS.) Park there. Continue west on foot on RT 80 for a hundred feet or so.  There is a indistinct trail  on the right (north) side of the road.  It is marked with a small orange CT state land triangle and yellow blaze.  Follow the yellow blazes. You will come out on the access road and see the main cliff.  (The trail at the junction of RT 80 and West Bridge Street is on private land and is now closed and posted no tresspassing.)

Driving in: It is also possible to drive in depending on the condition of the road and the time of year. As of the Summer of 2023 the road was re-graded by CT DEEP and no longer requies a high clearance vehicle. The gate may be closed at the entrance in the winter. Driving in takes about the same amount of time as hiking in from RT 80. To drive in continue west on RT 80. At a stop sign take a right (still RT 80). Go a few miles to the next light and take a another right on Cedar Swamp Road. This will turn to a dirt road continue on this for 2.7 miles bearing right on (unmarked) Pine Ledge Road when the road forks.

Description

Pine Ledge was a seldom climbed obscure crag before it was bolted.  Christopher Beauchamp started bolting it in 2009 and others have added routes with it now having 39 sport routes. It is visited by climbers from as far away as New York City and Boston.  There was bolt chopping here a few years back and many of the routes were re-bolted with half inch galvanized glue-ins.  There are two areas: the Main Cliff and the South Cliff. The Main Cliff is the most popular with many people, either unaware, or seldom making it to the South Cliff.  The Main Cliff has the most moderate routes and the South Cliff tends to be harder. The main cliff faces west and is 75 feet at its highest point.  It consists mostly of a series of juggy, overhanging roofs. The South Cliff faces southwest and is a good sunny day winter crag as long as it is dry.  It consists of a series of overhangs and roofs on a cliff 50 feet high. There are some possible new hard routes here. All of the routes are well bolted with bolted top anchors. Routes shown below are from left to right (north to south) in their respective areas. A subjective rating of one to three stars is given.

Many climbers assume that the bolts are someone else’s responsibility. Your safety is ALWAYS your responsibility when you are climbing outside. Climbing is inherently dangerous. Fixed hardware is installed and maintained by individuals who pay for the hardware out of their pocket. I advise you to always inspect a bolt before trusting it and review your anchor before lowering off. If you know of any bolts/hardware in RI or nearby CT in need of replacement report it to me and I will probably know who put it there and/or who is qualified to address the problem.

Main Cliff

Main Cliff Left

L to R – Pink-Girls With Guns 5.8, Red-Sideways Glances 5.6, Green Park and Play 5.11b, Yellow-Triple Lindy 5.11b, Blue-Life of Brian 5.11b
(Scramble up the start of Kinky Women and walk left to start these climbs or climb bottom of Life of Brian.)

*Girls With Guns, 5.8, FA Brian Phillips Sep 2015, 7 bolts and anchor
*Sideways Glances, 5.6, FA David Fasulo Nov 2014, 9 bolts and anchor
Park and Play, 5.11b, FA David Fasulo Nov 2014, 6 bolts top out on Sideways Glances
**Triple Lindy, 5.11b, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2010, 5 bolts top out on Sideways Glances
**Life of Brian, 5.11b, FA Brian Phillips Nov 2016, 9 bolts top out on Sideways Glances. Bring sling for under roof.

Lorisa White on Girls With Guns

Brian Phillips on Life of Brian (Photo by David Fasulo)

Main Cliff Center

L to R -  Kinky Women 5.7+,  Jamie 5.10c

Nicole Mancini on the classic Kinky Women

***Kinky Women, 5.7+, FA Brian Phillips Jun 2010, 9 bolts and anchor. I added the + after a hold at the top (crux) broke off making it more of a sloper. 

***Jamie, 5.10c, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2009, 6 bolts and anchor. Bring sling for under roof.

L to R - Champ's Channel 5.10a, Syndication 5.9+, TV Party 5.10b, Change of Heart 5.10a, War of the Privileged 5.10a

John "Whitey" MacLean on Syndication

**Champ's Channel, 5.10b, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2012, 7 bolts and anchor. A hold broke off this in 2021 making it a letter grade "b" harder.  
***Syndication, 5.9+, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2010, 8 bolts and anchor
*TV Party, 5.10b, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2009, 7 bolts shared anchor
Change of Heart, 5.10a, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2010, 6 bolts to shared anchor
War of the Privileged, 5.10a, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2014, 6 bolts and anchor

Michol Mendonca on Syndication

Lisa Wang on Change of Heart

Main Cliff Right

L to R - Kickapoo Joy Juice 5.11a, Shabbat Elevator 5.10-5.11

Murphy Chang on Kickapoo Joy Juice

***Kickapoo Joy Juice, 5.11a, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2010, 6 bolts and anchor
Shabbat Elevator, 5.10-11a, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2009, 6 bolts top out on Kickapoo Joy Juice (contrived boulder problem/height dependent dyno)

Amber Waves of Pain 5.10b, Fireball 5.10b, Moped Voyeur 5.11a, My Mother's Father's Hammer 5.10b

Amber Kaltenstein on Champ's Channel

Amber Waves of Pain, 5.10b, FA Brian Phillips March 2018, 7 bolts to anchor. Surmount initial overhang at shared bolt with Fireball

Fireball, 5.10b, FA Dave Curry June 2018, 5 bolts to shared anchor on My Mother's Father's Hammer

Moped Voyeur, 5.11a, FA Amber Kaltenstein October 2019, 5 bolts to shared anchor on My Mother's Father's Hammer
My Mother's Father's Hammer, 5.10b, FA Alison Chambers March 2018, 5 bolts to shared anchor

Slabs 
To the north (left) of the main cliff are some slabs with a few short routes.

Port 5.6, Starboard 5.8

Pine Ledge Playground 5.11a

Awkward Glances 5.7

Port 5.6, FA David Fasulo August 2019, 5 bolts to shared anchor

Starboard, 5.8, FA David Fasulo August 2019, 5 bolts to shared anchor, Variation, climb right of third bolt 5.9+

Pine Ledge Playground, 5.11a, FA David Fasulo April 2017, 6 bolts to anchors (Clip the bolt immediately under the roof with a sling or unclip it after clipping the perma-draw to avoid rope drag.)

Awkward Glances,  5.7, FA David Fasulo April 2017,  5 bolts to anchors. (You may want to use slings to avoid rope drag.)

Coastal Connections, 5.4, FA David Fasulo April 2017, Starts on slab, 5 bolts to anchors.

Dark Arts Boulder
Located about 50 feet west of the main cliff.

L to R - Kill Your Television 5.9-.  Audible 5.9

Kevin Sweeney pulling the cruxes on Kill Your Television

Kill Your Television, 5.9-, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2009, 5 bolts and anchor
Audible, 5.9, FA Christopher Beauchamp 2010, 4 bolts to anchor

South Cliff

Directions

Walk on the road past the main cliff heading east (right facing cliff)..  Take the first right on the trail going down a short hill.  Follow the road until you see a white rock (below) on the left side of the road.  Across from the rock is a faint trail (shown below).  If you go on the road as far to an  intersection with another trail you've gone too far. Follow the path southwest to skirt the north end of the cliff. A little bushwacking will bring you to the bottom of the cliff where you will immediately see the first climb Ocean State. 

***Ocean State 5.11a, FA Brian Phillips Dec 2014, 7 bolts and anchor

***Little Rhody 5.11b, FA Brian Phillips May 2017, 5 bolts and anchor. Bring stick-clip and scramble to ledge below route.

***Hope 5.11b, FA Brian Phillips Mar 2016, 6 bolts and anchor. Bring slings for under roofs.


Buttonwoods Trundler 5.9, FA Brian Phillips Mar 2021, 7 bolts and anchor

Lady Glow 5.8, FA Alison Chambers Jul 2016, 5 bolts and anchor. Nicole's 26, 5.9 FA Brian Phillips May 2020, 8 bolts to anchor.

***Business Time 5.10a, FA Dave Curry Dec 2015, 7 bolts and anchor

*Rocky Point 5.10b, FA Brian Phillips Apr 2015, 6 bolts and anchor

Soccer Mom, 5.6, FA Dave Curry Dec 2015, 6 bolts and anchor

*50 Is The New 30, 5.10a, FA Dave Curry Dec 2015, 4 bolts and anchor

Bucking Frian 5.9+, FA Noel Chambers Jan 2016, 6 bolts and anchor

Are We There Yet 5.10a/b (height dependent), FA Noel Chambers Sept 2019. *Road to Rhode Island 5.10a/c (height dependent), FA Dave Curry Dec 2014, 7 bolts and anchor

Tearing It Up 5.10b, FA Dave Curry Oct 2016, 5 bolts and anchor