Same start as Gorilla Traverse --(Climb the slab at the end of the wall before the base of the cliff starts going uphill to the walk-off. Traverse the horizontal crack to the left. Get high right feet until you can swing your legs over to the left to avoid the slippery bare section in the middle of the traverse. Use the undercling beneath small roof and/ or finger crack on the right side of the overhang to pull to a nice jug.)-- but continue traversing left past the big ledge. There is a good horizontal crack for an offset nut before you continue left. Follow the left upwards sloping crack, step out to a left foot, and pull a nice textured sloper to top out to the right of the bolted anchor for Off The Wall (12a).

 The horizontal crack is pretty dirty in some sections and can get muddy from run-off

Wet Willy

Laddins Problems, Far Right

Crossing I95

Cigarette

On Ramp

Off Ramp

Laddin’s Leap

A 180 on I95

Backslider

Boof Pack

Straight Jacket

A Laddin Sane

Out for Coffee

Snot Nose

I-95

E-Cigarette

Ramp Traverse

Laddins Chimney/OW

Yellow Jacket

Reparation

The Gully

Scorpion

Pullup

First Responder

Out to Lunch

Kym's Corner

Off the Wall

Gorilla Traverse

So Low aka Salamander

First Aid

Brian Drypolcher and I (John Goolrick) used an old trash can, to stand on and reach the obvious mantle, below the V slot gulley to the right of "First Aid." We did not have a rope and the rock was wet. A few years later, Haskins and I sent this free, and the the crux is right-off the ground, climbing thin-to-non-existent holds, up to the mantle.

Veasy-Vfun   Numerous variations are available to traverse or go straight up. 

Left-to-right traverse with the low start. First moves are the crux, especially for tall folks. Remember to be honest with yourself about dabbing the floor...

I believe this problem is called “cigarette” - sit start on the low right hand side pull and the left hand on the under cling. Stay right on the arête as you climb, topping out at the point of the arête.  

Follow the obvious crack up the right side of the ramp. 

Climb up cracks and jugs immediately to the left of the blue graffiti towards the highest point of the ramp. Tall warmup with a flat landing. Could use a good brushing. 

Follow shallow crack up to horizontal then flakes and exit right

Start at the low hold (don't dab), throw right to the sidepull, and from there go straight up. on the 2nd rail travel left until the slope

This is the obvious line drifting left and up through the middle of the Dinosaur Egg boulder.

Sit start with right hand on the arete and left hand on a small crimp. slap your way up the arete, using decent crimps on the left. finally rock over onto the slab to top out.

Start on A Laddin Sane. Climb to the horizontal crack and break left for 10 ft. Then climb straight up passing a bolt, to a two bolt anchor. The R rating is only for the start of A Laddin Sane where there is no gear for the first ~15 feet. Otherwise the gear is great but a bit strenuous to place on the traverse.First ascent info: The horizontal crack was aided left to right in the 1970's by Johnson, Goolrick, and Haskins. The free variation was established by Vuono in Sept 2020.

Same start as for Out to Lunch and Snot Nose. Climb up the slab on the right side of the Main wall, through the flaring V-slot to a stance. Break left on the horizontal crack (same as Out to Lunch) but exit early before reaching the hand crack, climbing up a seemingly improbable face, protected on cams, to a two bolt anchor at the top of the cliff. First ascent info: The upper headwall may have been aid climbed previously.

Start on the bottom right of the main cliff, right of Gorilla Crack Start, climb the slab bottom, through a V-slot, to a nice ledge, then up the face or arete, passing a bolt that protects the crux. Fun variety of moves. This climb has been retrobolted to protect a ledge fall that was R/X. The two pitons previously fixed on the climb have also been removed. There is now gear placements where they used to be.

Same start as Boof pack, but when you reach the last hold on the arete make a big move out left to a good pinch then fire to the lip to top out. 

Sit start with left and right hands on the arete, climb sharp crystals and small feet. Arete is off after the start 

Left to right traverse starting right facing side-pulls above the black graffiti. Stay high across the middle which has bad hands, good but hard to see feet and a rocky landing. Finish on the right side of the ramp. 

Wide Chimney/OW,squeeze.Starts really wide,then narrows/flares. 

  I have left the grade to be subjective and name unknown,until proper information is given from previous ascents.There are some small copperheads/old stoppers and fixed pins in various places that give confirmation of early ascents.

Go up a steep bit via a nice finger crack that leaves you with a couple of slab moves to finish.  Short but it was always one of my favorites.  Don't you dare add a bolt to the finish!History:  John and Gahan's first try was defeated by yellow jacket stings.  John came back with a large amount of liquid pesticide and poured it down the route from above.  Then they led the route.  Talk about top-down route prep.....

Boulder up past a seam right of First Aid to a stance below the headwall.  Hand traverse left to a ledge and scramble to the top.

This route had been reclaimed by a carpet of moss as it last saw a thorough wire brushing almost 30 years ago.  It was re-cleaned in Nov. 2020.It is possible that this was scrubbed before the 90's and had reverted to moss, but the crumbling of key holds while working this route early on suggested that no one had yet climbed this line found left of the 5.12 Off The Wall.Once again prepped for climbing

Climbs side pulls/undercling flakes and jugs to a slopped ledge into a  bulge/roof. 

  I have left the grade to be subjective and name unknown,until proper information is given from previous ascents.There are some small copperheads/old stoppers and fixed pins in various places that give confirmation of early ascents.

Start a few feet right of First Aid. Climb up flakes and crimps to a high first bolt. Supplement gear placements till the next bolt on the upper triangular headwall. Climb the headwall on the right arete, passing 3 bolts, to a two bolt anchor at the top of the cliff.First Ascent info: It is unknown if the upper headwall was previously aided or free climbed. Due to the lack of natural protection and some loose rock that was cleaned, this may be a first ascent.

The upper of the two traverse cracks on the Laddin's' main face.  Start on a short slab, climb a groove to a pedestal, protect, and launch.  Finish up a short hand-fist crack that is one of the finishes to Gorilla Traverse.

Initial flakes lead slightly left up to first bucket marked by highest chalk mark in the photo. Intermediate moves bring you straight up to another great bucket about a foot below the top out. Reach up right to negotiate finish 

Climbs around laddins don't see much traffic so be weary of lichen/debry in cracks and on the face. The protection on this route is sparse, precise and small. Combined with the technical climbing, it would be a very strenuous committing proper lead (R/X) in its original state as a traditional crag (as pictured in my original pics) Currently, this route has been bolted and as a sport route. (6 bolts for 45ft of climbing 0_o......) 

Climb the slab at the end of the wall before the base of the cliff starts going uphill to the walk-off. Traverse the horizontal crack to the left. Get high right feet until you can swing your legs over to the left to avoid the slippery bare section in the middle of the traverse. Use the undercling beneath small roof and/ or finger crack on the right side of the overhang to pull to a nice jug. Hammer out this section of upward right hand traversing to get to the big ledge. Power through short vertical wide hands crack to the top.

Route generally climbs diagonally up and right towards a VW Bug sized boulder perched atop the cliff.Begin about 15 feet left of the fall line dropping below perched boulder. Follow a crack / right slanting feature up through rounded bulge to rightmost of two trees on a ledge at 20 foot height. A few feet right of the tree, climb a crack through the smooth face leading up under the perched boulder.  Exit right under and around edge of the boulder to finish up.

Tucked away in the Laddin's Rock Sanctuary in a residential neighborhood in Old Greenwich, lies a 60 foot crystally granite wall, with several routes on it. The wall is hidden by the canopy of the forest from the sun. The rock has a tendency to be wet in areas due to run-off from above. The only real crowd one might expect to see are people walking their dogs. Interesting enough, there are several rusty pitons scattered in different parts of the wall. There are also a bunch of boulders in this area as well. There are several trad climbs, and everything is top ropeable. Several classic lines now have fixed anchors to minimize rope drag and prevent further erosion on top of the cliff. Otherwise, extended anchors to minimize rope drag may be necessary. This crag is also a great location for folks who have learned to climb in the gym and want to take their first steps to climb outside. It's has something for everyone: classic cracks, heady trad routes, mixed routes, and boulders.

 Crag maintenance: Due to the location of this crag, other user groups including graffiti "artists", homeless people and people that like to leave their trash and broken bottles everywhere, it will quickly become grungy and disgusting. Upon visiting, please pack out any trash or broken glass that you might find during your visit. If we can all take care of this great little historical piece of rock, we can ensure a fun experience for the local climbing community.

 Local ethics: This is one of CT's most historical crags, seeing many of its first free ascents in the 1970's and 80's. While there is still room for new free routes on the wall, any new routes requiring fixed hardware (i.e., bolts) must be done on lead. Rap-bolting is not permitted. Hardware placed next to natural pro is also not permitted. New routes not following these ethics will be chopped.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Laddin's Rock