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Fat Stick

5.8-, Trad, 200 ft (61 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 2.4 from 57 votes
FA: Jim McCarthy, Hans Kraus, 1957
New York > Gunks > Near Trapps > a. Beginning of cliff…

Description

The first pitch of this route is a nice, deceptively hard 5.7. Starting on the left side, climb an elegant arete to a notch in the roof above and pull through into the short open book above. Traverse left to a corner and belay; this is as far as most people go (a rap anchor is usually here).

The second pitch can either go up and left to Baskerville Terrace or up and right to Yellow Ridge: Traverse left under the roof about 30' to an obstructive tree. Go up and right to link to the fantastic P3 of Yellow Ridge, or swing out left to link to P3 of Baskerville Terrace.

Location

Left of Yellow Ridge a long roof is broken by a nose - this is Fat Stick.

Protection

Standard Gunks rack

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

My partner Sam tries to piece this mystery together. Curious.
[Hide Photo] My partner Sam tries to piece this mystery together. Curious.
Gene Smith making the crux move.
[Hide Photo] Gene Smith making the crux move.
Ben making the traverse at the start of P2
[Hide Photo] Ben making the traverse at the start of P2
Update: after taking the time to contemplate the available holds and possible solutions to move through them, she came up with a more elegant solution. Instead of using technique, just muscle through with poor feet and less than ideal holds. Nice.
[Hide Photo] Update: after taking the time to contemplate the available holds and possible solutions to move through them, she came up with a more elegant solution. Instead of using technique, just muscle throu…
Gene Smith protecting the crux.
[Hide Photo] Gene Smith protecting the crux.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Chris Duca
Dixfield, ME
[Hide Comment] This is also a great route to climb if you are looking to get out of the rain. Short, but fun and hard for the grade. Dec 27, 2007
Michael _
  5.8-
[Hide Comment] ...or easy for the grade if you go by the Dick Williams 5.8 rating. Jul 13, 2009
Galen Rahmlow
Woodbury, MN
  5.8
[Hide Comment] I found the crux to be after the notch (the "awkward move"), mainly because I got jammed in the flare had trouble moving anywhere after that. I also had trouble with gear. Could be PG but the gear all seems to be the same size - small. I burned through most of it moving up to the notch and only had a less than ideal nut to protect the awkward move above (wrong size). My follower loved the climb. May 21, 2012
Andy Moss
Portland, OR
  5.7+
[Hide Comment] Had plans to take a group of 3 up this, but top-roped everybody after pitch 1. Tight, cramped belay and awkward to organize. Jul 16, 2013
Gail Blauer
Gardiner, NY
[Hide Comment] Kind of strange. Worth doing once. The moves through the notch are awkward. Apr 22, 2014
Pawel Janowski
Seattle, WA
  5.7+
[Hide Comment] Small cams (C3s) useful. May 25, 2015
[Hide Comment] I had fun on this (only did P1). Pulling into the notch seemed easy to me and I thought the "awkward climbing" above it was harder. Looked simple at first but I got stopped short of exiting it. Made it through (backwards?) after and didn't feel graceful, but it was amusing! Jun 27, 2016
Kai Beattie
New York, NY
  5.8-
[Hide Comment] Fat Stick does indeed stay completely dry in the worst rain conditions (thanks Chris Duca for your comment)! Bring extra small camming gear, e.g. 0.1-0.2, to keep the climbing PG before and after the "awkward move" through the notch Oct 22, 2023