A climber moving into the corner on Horseman, one ...
Description
This is probably the best single pitch of 5.5 at the Trapps. The climbing so steep, you can't believe you are on a 5.5. The start is to the left of Uberfall and to the right of Nosedive, at a crack system with a tall skinny tree about 15' up.
P1: Start in the obvious crack system leading to the large right-facing dihedral that starts 25' off the ground. Clip a fixed pin at the roof and continue up the fun dihedral. At the tiered roof above, angle left through the overhang to a small ledge. (Optional belay here).
Continue up the crack and face to the top of the cliff. A real gem...
Rap with two ropes or walk down right to the Uberfall descent.
This is a great route, with what seems like a lot of exposure on the traverse left to the arete, above the large roof. You can establish a somewhat hanging belay at the arete, at the end of the traverse, if your second will need a lot of encouragement on the traverse. This is the "optional belay" that is referred to in the route description. I once enountered a very large black snake in the horizontal crack that you use for your hands as you do the traverse. I shouted "Shoo! Shoo!" at the snake, until it retreated far enough into the crack that I could (very, very quickly) traverse past it. My partner on that day, Bryan MacDonald, who has a serious snake phobia, was horrified. Folks who come from afar to climb at the Gunks should be alert for unusual wildlife encounters at the crag.
For the descent a single 60m rope will get you within 12' of the ground, then you can down climb very easily to the carriage road below. Don't forget stopper knots!
Very busy, but worth it if you can get on it. The traverse is one of the easiest parts of the route in terms of climbing difficulty in my opinion, but it can be intimidating. If you use your slings properly, you'll have no troubles with rope drag doing this in one pitch.
Given how busy the carraige road is, I'd recommend using the Uberfall descent rather than throwing rap ropes.
One 60m rope will get you all the way to the ground, althought you might have to rap off the ends to egt you rap device off, remeber to hang on to those rope ends, remember your rope will only reach when you have it weighted.
Try to find one route in SE Arizona that is that cool. You can't. It is climbs like that that make the Gunks so fun. Steep enough to feel like real climbing. More than one pitch. Nice air and it is so easy even a total beginner can succeed. I love this route.
The Trapps
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