Absurdland is a wonderful little route just right of Never Never Land. Climb the obvious short right-leaning finger and hand crack, make a step right, then continue up the face to belay tree. It is quite a sandbag at the grade, but a #2 Camalot and a good belayer will help you negotiate the first crux, just a short distance off the deck.
By Adam Catalano From: Albany, New York Mar 28, 2007 rating: 5.7+
I thought this was much easier than some of the other 5.8s at the Gunks. I think Modern Times, Double Crack, Son of Easy O and Pas De Deux are all much tougher. The gear is abundant, the climbing is super fun. I think the route is a new favorite of mine, albeit overrated at 5.8+.
This route was formerly rated 5.9. It's not as continuous as the other routes mentioned as harder, so it seems a bit easier; however, placing the right gear at the crux is critical.
Just did this yesterday. There is a short (about 3-4 feet)crack at the bottom, but no real hand/finger crack that is prominent or used to climb the route.
A big tip, a gold camalot is not the best piece of gear to use the first move. Instead, stick a blue TCU in the pin scar less than 2 feet above the pocket for the gold cam.
I don't think it's a sandbagged route. It's definitely 5.8 range with some of sustained 5.7 climbing, then ease off when getting to the top. A gold camalot works fine, you can also plug many other pieces in, but the gold is the most obvious one.
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