Bonnie's Roof 

Man O Man, what a sweet long 1st pitch. I got to lead the direct variation the 1st time and fell in love with it. The Direct finish has great gear and will keep your attention until the top. I remember looking over my shoulder 1/2 way throught those roofs and the exposure was awesome.

I can't believe the first pitch is harder than 5.8. Do you really think it deserves a 9+?

absolute must do, gunks classics, especially when finished via the direct line!

5.8 or 5.9 who cares.. this route is simply fun-friggin-tastic and should be done by all who climb 8's and 9s

The direct finish is so awesome. The gear is bomber and you can place a piece below and above the roof before you commit. Too bad the thin crack was so short though.

Absolutely awesome route.
Some pull-off hints:
You can get a no-hands rest just below the P1 crux roof. This is tres good for setting pro before tackling the pump. I won't go into details, but it takes a bit of flexibility with the legs...
The Direct finish P2 is the only 5.9+ move I know that you can protect standing on a ledge without needing handholds. Face outward and fit a cam in that lovely crack above your head, sliding it up, away, and down just a tad. Tada! Bomber pro.
Get a good stem after pulling the initial roof and you can do the same for the last one, though it isn't quite as comfortable.

do the direct in one long shot! its not bad

The exposure on leftward traverse out to the arete on P2 of this route rivals that of High Exposure and is definitely wild and fantastic. From the belay ledge atop P1 it looks improbable and thin to traverse out that way. It turns out not to be difficult and extremely airy. Simply awesome.
The first pitch is great but this second pitch makes the climb.

Bonnie's Direct is my favorite 5.9 in the Gunks.

The guidebooks have had confusing ratings in the past, but the current guidebook gives the first pitch 5.9, the regular (traverse to arete) finish 5.7, and the direct finish 5.9. I don't see how any harder numbers can be justified; I don't think p1 is as hard as Ant's Line or p1 of the Spring, and I don't think the p2 roof is harder than MF p2, or Commando Rave.

As others have said, though, regardless of the numbers, this is one of the best of the best climbs the Gunks has.

Great Route! Be weary of some loose flakes on the wild traverse on the second pitch (regular finish). They are marked, but I didn't notice either of them till i put a hand on them.

Awesome route. A favorite at The Gunks for sure!

We climbed to the belay station under the big roof and my partner tried to take on the direct variation. He backed off, and instead went around the corner, following some chalked holds. It made for an easier, but still high quality finish.

Deserving of all 4 stars. This route is an intimidating onsite, but the moves are much easier than they look from the ground. Indeed, the quality of the entire route is stellar no matter the rating numbers.

A must do! This route is Classic.

I see the FA, Bonnie Prudden, passed away two weeks ago. I had no idea I lived next to her.
www.skiinghistory.org/index.php/2011/12/bonnie-prudden-fitne>>>

article says she had 30 FA's in the gunks

R.I.P. Bonnie, thanks for all the great lines.
Love this route!

One of the best 5.9's on the east coast. It's too bad for visitors that so many large groups toprope the first pitch and tie up this destination climb.

Wow, what a great two pitches. The direct finish is simply superb. Bomber gear all the way, so don't hesitate to give it a go!

Perhaps it was the conditions at the time (wet and cold), but I thought the first pitch was harder than the direct last pitch. It was also at night so the exposure of the direct finish was diminished too.

This route is pretty much as good as it gets.

I'm glad to see the rappel beta here, which the guidebook doesnt mention. We rappelled from the station directly on top of the climb thinking we would use the station about twenty feet right of (and at the same height as) the p1 crux. Price is wrong. The upper roof is so big i was free hanging, way way too far away to reach. So i rappelled all the way to the knots still hanging in space. Luckily, I was able to fashion a grappling hook out of two 4' runners and a #3 cam and snagged a boulder to pull myself onto the ledge 25' off the ground. We made an easy down climb from there. It made for an interesting finish to a classic climb. DO NOT RAP BONNIE'S ROOF WITH ONE ROPE!

I've worked on making sure every route has FA & descent information -- nice to see it noticed ;-). Glad you got down ok in the end.