This may be the best 5.8 pitch at the Gunks when you combine both pitches. You get thin face moves, jamming, a long traverse, and a thuggish roof.
Use the same access trail as for City Lights and Frogshead. The climb starts 45' left of City Lights, at a thin jagged crack with a piton about 15' up.
P1: Thin face climbing and jamming will lead to a 2' ledge. 5.8, 90'.
P2: Traverse 10'-15' to the right on a sandy horizontal. The feet are not as good as you would like. There is a piton at the start and end of the traverse. Fire through the steep rock above on well-spaced jugs. Pull right onto the face above and head to the fixed anchor. 5.8, 70'.
There is a fixed piton and gear anchor about 165' above the ground. Continue to the top or rap with 2 ropes.
Protection
Gear to #1 Camalot; extra finger-size pro for combining pitches...
By Adam Catalano From: Albany, New York May 17, 2006
Incredible climbing. The first pitch can feel pretty spicy down low. The second pitch is a great jug haul through roofs, much easier roofs than Modern Times. Continuing all the way to the top is my preference, because I'm not crazy about that old two-pin belay station. I don't think you can run it top to bottom in one pitch though. You'd have to stop at the big ledge if you were to go all the way to the top. Rap off Frog's Head bolts to the right.
For those of you looking to maximize your climbing and stamina you can link both pitches together. When I first led this way back when, I linked them together with a 60m rope and walked down.
To avoid rapping the route or "Easy O" which in my mind should never be done in the Gunks; it's just way to busy, walk left to the Uberfall Descent.
This is the best pitch of 5.8 I have ever climbed. I combined both pitches and did the route at the end of the day just when the sun began its descent past the horizon. The upper roof is interesting, but never so hard that you can't pause and look around to admire your surroundings. And what amazing surroundings they are.
Did this in one pitch with little difficulty. Be sure to bring lots of slings though. I wasn't much impressed with P1, but P2 was totally sweet. Really fun moves on huge jugs, with excellent gear and rock. When I topped out I was surprised to find handfulls of loose gravel precariously poised to fall on climbers below. This may have been due to heavy rainfall the night before.
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