Westward Ha! is definitely one of the best 7's at the Gunks.
This route is almost directly under the rap tree. This, in turn, is quite close to the carriage road that ends on top of Millbrook. This spot can be located by the place where the trail leaves the cliff edge and ascends a short rocky band to the road. Instead of going up, follow a climber's trail (past an ominous "go away" sign) for a couple hundred feet.
The rap tree is not immediately at the edge - it's about 15' below and requires a short downclimb. Rappel about 150' down to the ledge at the base of the route. You'll see everything as you come down. The obvious corner just right of the rap is most of it.
P1: Climb through broken rock and a small overhang to a good ledge with a tree. This leads to a perfect corner system - lots of pro and exposure. A small belay ledge is found at the top. 5.7, 130'.
P2: The second pitch is short - up a face and short crack to the ledge with the rap tree. 5.7, 40'.
It's possible, and in fact a great idea, to rap only to the tree that's above the rotten rock on the first described pitch. Then you can link the rest of the first pitch with the second pitch, for one long pitch of continuous climbing. Doing it this way increases the exposure / feeling of being alone on the cliff at the crux of the second pitch, which is really just fantastic.
I agree, about doing the corner and last pitch as one, but I would still do the first part. We did the first section to the ledge and tree as one pitch, then the corner and 'second pitch' as one pitch. It seems more logical this way. Great climb!
RSS Feed
