Sloatsburg — Torne Mountain is the beacon, and nestled down along the valley of its southeastern face, they come, rock climbers from near and far. With rock climbing routes named Crankenstein, Rachel’s Crack and The Red Knob, the area of Torne Valley is known as the Powerlinez and has been a secret favorite for rock climbers for years.

Secluded by the Torne Valley power plant and a single road entry just past the weigh station along Torne Valley Road, the sheer out-of-the-wayness of the scattered boulders and rock cliffs of granite gneiss make for a perfect day of climbing for NY/NJ adventurers. The whole topography along this area of Torne Valley was named The Swath by climbers and includes at least 15 separate rock wall faces, each containing numerous approaches and routes, not to mention any number of climbing boulders and rocks of interest. Scattered throughout the area are boulders with names such as Briar Patch Boulder, Tarzan Swing and Oliphant Boulder, shaped like an elephants’s rump, that provide beginner to moderate climb expertise while the High Electricity Wall is considered the “joyride of the ‘Linez'”.

Tower Wall, the highest rock face wall along the Powerlinez at 100 feet and the centerpiece of The Swath, is the clump of reddish rock that can be seen along I87. The whole area is host to a vigorous local climbing community. Adjacent to Harriman State Park, it features high-grade south/southeast facing rock walls — perfect for winter warming and drying — formed when glaciers carved through the whole Hudson Valley Region. The course rock contains cracks and pockets and walls that makes for great climbing without using much chalk or bolting, although there are currently some bolt routes at the Powerlinez.

All this climbing is done in and around and under the immense power lines that run through Torne Valley.

There’s even a recent self-published guidebook by Jon Crefeld called Powerlinez Guide or Torne Valley Climbing Guidebook devoted to the cliffs, with detailed illustrations, pithy summations and breakdowns and ratings of the different climbing routes. The book itself has stirred some controversy among climbers who want to keep the area secret.

But the secret is out. The Palisades Interstate Parks Commission (PIPC) Executive Director James Hall said “the area is covered by regulations, which would prevent climbing. We’ve become aware of it more recently and are concerned about understanding what’s going on, who’s doing what, and regulate it. There’s not a specific enforcement activity at this point.” But Hall added that anybody caught climbing could be subject to getting ticketed or fined.

The PIPC was originally created back in 1900 by New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt and New Jersey Governor Foster Voorhees to halt the growing number of stone quarries operating along New Jersey’s Palisades Cliffs. The Palisades park system now oversees 24 parks — including Bear Mountain, Harriman State and Minnewaska Preserve — that cover over 100,000 acres. The Powerlinez area at one time was privately owned, belonging to The Ramapo Land Company. But the Town of Ramapo recently purchased the land to act as a continuing parkland corridor around Torne Valley, although the final designation of the land by the town has yet to be determined.

A coalition of climbers has formed the Torne Valley Climbers’ Coalition to open dialogue with the PIPC to try and establish official recognition and sanctioning of the area for recreational rock climbing. The idea is to enact a climber community that oversees responsiblity for keeping the area clean and safe for public use.

“I don’t think there’s any view that something couldn’t be fashioned,” said Hall in reference to any climbing proposals. “We would just have to understand exactly what it is they (the Torne Valley Climber’s Coalition) would want to do — and where it is. We’re concerned about protecting whatever sensitive areas there may be and whatever species that may be around, such as rattlesnake habitats. They would have to start talking to us first.”

Which brings into focus the conflict between soft use of parklands, such as hiking, and more interactive recreational use. Climbing is a popular sport throughout the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains, with the ‘Gunks’ in Minnewaska State Park attracting rock climbers from around the world. Sloatsburg, with its rail and highway transportation hub and built-in college market, is in a perfect position to help cultivate a rock climbing haven and build on a popular location already known as a premier climbing spot.

Source and Photos: Powerlinez and Torne Valley Climbing Guidebook.