In reply to Dave Garnett:
> (In reply to rgold)
> However, local custom demands that you don't walk on the snow on the path beneath the crag since this is exclusively reserved for hysterical New York cross country skiers who will collapse in a hissy fit if they find any footprints despoiling their vision of winter wilderness.
A bit over the top there Dave. It is just a matter of common decency---sharing a resource used by many people---not to walk IN cross-country ski tracks. Walk in snow on either side of the tracks, which usually go down the middle of the carriage road. Or ascend immediately to the cliff base and walk along that. In any case, purported hissy fits aside, it is the Preserve itself that asks walkers not to walk in the ski tracks.
Of course, this only applies to the Trapps. Other crags, for example the Near Trapps, do not have a cross-country track underneath them anyway.
Winter can be among the best times for Gunks climbing. A day with full sun and temps 40 degrees (Farenheit) and above will yield delightful conditions on the cliff, which warms up and heats up a layer of air near the face. By all means c'mon down, just be considerate of the skiers and don't ruin their tracks.