Type: Trad, 70 ft
FA: Dick Bonker and George Lewis 1956
Page Views: 10,108 total · 65/month
Shared By: Adam Catalano on Mar 29, 2006
Admins: JSH

You & This Route


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Description

Start about 20' right of Laurel at a crack behind a tree stump. Climb the hand to fist crack (and even larger crack climbing) with many ledges on either side.

Location

Right of two prominent cracks just left of the Uberfall.

Protection

Standard Gunks rack, including one or two 3"-4" cams. Bolt anchors on top, can be accessed by the 5.0 chimney to the left of Laurel.

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Photos

Sending the lady up after a lead
Sending the lady up after a lead
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Katie Lung rapping down on Rhododendron.
Katie Lung rapping down on Rhododendron.
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Rhododendron crack.
Rhododendron crack.
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Great layback moves on this one
Great layback moves on this one
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Rhododendron on TR
Rhododendron on TR
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The view from the top of Rhododendron.
The view from the top of Rhododendron.
 0
me workn up the fantastic lieback section
me workn up the fantastic lieback section
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The feel-good climb of the year: Rhododendron.
The feel-good climb of the year: Rhododendron.
 0
Right crack
Right crack
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11 Comments

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Joe M
Beckley, wv
  5.7+
Joe M   Beckley, wv
  5.7+
This is a very fun route, but very busy. Get on it very early or very late in the day or plan to wait a long time for it. A top rope can be easily set up from Dirty Chimney about 20' to the left. Sep 2, 2007
Jason Antin
Golden, CO
  5.6
Jason Antin   Golden, CO
  5.6
This route is a classic for it's features, accessibility, location and quality. I will climb this on almost every Gunks visit on the way back to the parking lot. Aug 10, 2009
doligo
  5.6
doligo  
  5.6
Finally got on it (I never even top-roped it before!). What a great little route - finger, hand and foot jams all the way up. Not sure you need big cams though, I think it adequately protects with up to #1 or #2 camalots. Jun 6, 2010
Mike McLean
 
Mike McLean  
 
Not sure I agree with the 'no need for big cams' comment ... of course, I put in too much compared to others (I saw some guides put in only 2 pieces).

If you're like me (chicken shit and n00b), I used both a #3 and a #2 and could have used both my #3's.

Didn't feel like 5.6 at all though (felt more like a 5). Loads of foot holds and rests. I cruised up without much hesitation. Aug 12, 2010
saxfiend
Decatur, GA
  5.6
saxfiend   Decatur, GA  
  5.6
Fun lead with nice fist jams, a rarity here. Wish it was longer. Oct 13, 2010
Ben C
Portland, OR
 
Ben C   Portland, OR
 
excellent moves in a classic setting! definitely felt better carrying the #3 camalot, and had one of the rare hand jam moves in the gunks. very cool route! Oct 31, 2010
Alicia Sokolowski
Brooklyn, NY
  5.5
Alicia Sokolowski   Brooklyn, NY
  5.5
Super fun route that is relatively sustained throughout, but I think it is more of a 5.5 sustained. I currently mainly climb around the 5.5 to 5.7 level, so I tend to actually feel the difference between 5.5 and 5.6. Apr 18, 2011
Ancent
Reno, NV
  5.6
Ancent   Reno, NV
  5.6
Great quick climb while waiting for other nearby longer routes to open up. Can lead, follow, and rappel pretty quickly due to its straight-forward nature, the great protection, and the easy bolted chains. Aug 31, 2015
wivanoff
Northeast, USA
wivanoff   Northeast, USA
Fun lead with nice jams. Good pro. Even some places for threaded runners.
Someone (assume GCC) has replaced the worn quicklinks at chains as of August 2016. Thanks! Aug 25, 2016
Matthew Gill
  5.5
Matthew Gill  
  5.5
So much fun! Get on it and jam out! That being said, jamming probably is not necessary if that is not your jam yo. Feet and hands and gear everywhere you need them. Jun 11, 2018
David Kerkeslager
New Paltz, NY
  5.5
David Kerkeslager   New Paltz, NY
  5.5
I agree with Alicia re: grade. This would be a 5.7 in some places, but in the Gunks this definitely is 5.5.

It's nice climbing, but I think most of the popularity of this route is that it's quick, and the approach is so convenient. If you have the choice, do neighboring Horseman instead--it's a much cooler route. Sep 10, 2018