PRINT: Rock Climb Fun House, *Cathedral Ledge

Fun House

5.7, Trad, 150 ft (45 m), 2 pitches,

Avg: 3 from 455 votes
FA: J cote, L Poorman
New Hampshire > Cathedral Ledge > Lower Left Wall / Ven…

Description

NOTE- See recent comments on rockfall. The route appears to have not been directly affected but you may want to consider the option in the comment.

This is a very popular route as a first Cathedral climb...It can be very busy on weekends and should be avoided at these times if you don't like crowds (and who does?)....

One of the things that makes Fun House a great beginner route is that the climbing is challenging but well-protected and not too exposed...It has tree cover much of the way and that makes folk feel more comfortable....

Pitch 1: Climb the corner past a pin...Stemming and using really nice holds.... Mantel and climb the next corner section break left slightly to a crack, a tricky move puts you on a very brief slab and on to a very nice ledge where you belay from trees....

Pitch two: From the ledge, easy climbing will put you on another nice ledge.... Climb the short corner to a few cracks, climb the cracks ranging from fingers to wide hands to yet another ledge....

Continue up cracks until you can break right to a ledge and belay at a cluster of trees....

From here, choose your way to the tree ledge...The normal finish from here is Upper Refuse (5.5) or you could do any number of other great routes at harder grades than 5.7....

Location

On the lower, left slab to the right of the obvious arch of Three Birches (5.8).... Scramble up (40ft) to a ledge at the base of the right-facing corner that marks the first pitch of Fun House.... Be careful if you don't rope up, there are a few ways to get up there and you don't want to fall from any of them....

Protection

Normal rack to #3 cam.... Long slings are useful for slinging trees....

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Christa stemming out the first pitch.

Funhouse and Bombardment topo from Selected Climbs In The Northeast Guidebook.

Preparing to clip the pin before the first ledge on the first pitch.

Placed a cam in a horizontal crack and a nut in a constriction before a great stance. From there I reached above me to clip the pin.

Mike on the end of pitch 2

Perhaps useful for out-of-towners trying to find the route for the first time.

Unknown climber on the moves leading up to the bulge on the first pitch.

Me on the crux of the second pitch

Unknown climbers on Funhouse. The leader is just past the bulge moves on the first pitch.

Looking up from the first belay on a particularly nice day, photo by Arthur Kehas

Unknown climber spread-eagled on the crux dihedral of Funhouse.

Mike Garrity approaching the first belay of Fun House, Photo by Arthur Kehas.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Todd Harris
Lakewood, CO

Climbed this route 08/2008. Solid 5.7. The first dihedral can spook a beginner leader due to the vertical nature of the rock. About 20 feet up the first dihedral, a perfectly placed pin allows for a nice quickdraw for additional security. The pin is solid. Looks like it's been there for years. While the dihedral has a slight overhang feeling to it in the middle (near the pin), the holds are perfectly situated to allow for ladder-like movement up the rock. Great climbing. It's my favorite 5.7 in the northeast. Get there early on the weekend. As soon as you finish the first dihedral, the climbing starts to get more slabby with good and varied holds. Mar 21, 2009

cjdrover
Watertown, MA

Todd is right - the pin is very solid. A new partner and I did this route 7/25/09 - I slipped of some nasty oozing slime while placing a piece higher up and took a surprise whipper onto the pin. So much for warming up on an easier route... Aug 2, 2009

Chris Graham
Bartlett, NH

5.7+

I have always loved this route, it was my first 5.7 lead back in the early 80's so I have fond memories. I find it is a great climb to take with less experienced climbers as there is little exposure and big ledges to chill on. It is a blocky route and could easily snap ankles on any part of the climb at any given moment, so early leaders should stay focused when making the moves up...particularly on the second pitch (pooh link-up which most parties do). Still, they are fun moves, it protects well and offers one of the few easier ascents up the lower left wall. Aug 7, 2009

Ryan Barber
Rumney, NH

Just climbed it yesterday (first rock climb of the year), and it was nice and dry where others were still quite wet from the winter thaw. Havnt been on this since summer of 2,000. The pin was the first pro for me (I think it was only about ten feet from where I started), and I backed it up with a nut and from there, pushed through to the ledge. There is definitely room for more gear above the pin, but the stances are less solid. After, we did Upper-Refuse (a classic combo), but it was tricky to get onto becauce of the big bleeding ice column that looked ready to colapse. Mar 14, 2012

Barrett Stetson

5.7

Great route, protects plenty and especially where you need it. The start of the first pitch was a bit damp/slimy when we were there too, guessing it doesn't dry out as quickly as the rest of the route. Probably a good idea to anchor your belayer before starting P1, a bad slip on some dampness before your first piece could take you both for an unpleasant ride. Aug 5, 2012

Ian Dibbs
Lake Placid

5.7+ PG13

There is a trail which runs along the base of the cliff underneath the route where you can look up through the trees and confirm the starting location which can be seen shown in the other pictures. Getting to the base from the trail (40 feet up),can be slippery business after a rain, spacious area at base of climb when you get up to it. Aug 23, 2012

Eric Embree
Asheville, NC

Havn't done this route yet, but can someone tell me how tall in feet this route is? Sep 10, 2012

Edge
Boulder, CO

Eric, the first pitch is about 80', and the second maybe 100'. Sep 10, 2012

john strand
southern colo

You can make it to the tree ledge with a 60m , but i wouldn't..too much drag. Sep 10, 2012

Ryan Nelling
Gunks NY

5.7

Brown's First is NOT a good route to warm-up on while waiting for the crowds to thin out on Funhouse..

Easy, fun, rad climb! Aug 9, 2013

Russ Keane
Salt Lake

So much fun!! What a great climb! The first pitch has two dicey issues for the leader: The dihedral, because it's a bit awkward and cramped/overhangy at the middle (thankfully you can clip a pin). Then the bulge above it is a rather interesting sequence of moves, with thin protection. Sep 17, 2013

Stephen Bittner

If you like climbing perfect hand crack pitch 2 will throw a big smile on your face. Nov 1, 2013

Peter Lewis
Bridgton, ME

Just a tiny clarification. As written, the description describes the first pitch of Funhouse (to the big ledge) and then the second Pitch of Pooh (up the obvious crack). This is the way most people do the route, and they think they're on Funhouse all the way (and that's totally fine). However, the true second pitch of Funhouse is not to be missed! From the nice comfy ledge atop P.1, start 10 feet left of the hand crack (Pooh), surmount a tricky little bulge (.7) to a tree, scoot left then up and back right, and then climb a beautiful little 25' face that goes straight up to the red pine tree at the top at 5.6. The moves are great and the gear excellent. It's a nice little pitch in it's own right, and an easy and polite way to pass people gummed up on the second pitch of Pooh (which they think is Funhouse, remember, lol). Also, you can reach this same little face from Three Birches---another seldom done and awesome combo (see my comments for Three Birches). And, just to be nit-picky, the locals write Funhouse as one word (the winters are long here, not much else to do but misspell stuff.) Apr 28, 2014

M Bageant
Los Angeles, CA

I climbed this a while ago and I can't quite remember the details of the route...

I'll be out there soon with a beginner whom I'd love to give some trad leading experience, but 5.7 might be a little hard for her. Could anyone recommend where the second pitch crux (the Pooh pitch) occurs, and if there might be a belay spot above it that I could use to allow her a really easy lead up to the big tree ledge? May 6, 2015

john strand
southern colo

I would say the upper part of Refuse would be a better easy lead than Fun House. A screw up on FH can easy result in ledge fall. May 6, 2015

M Bageant
Los Angeles, CA

Cool, thanks, John. I'll play it safe. May 7, 2015

PJ Benson
Jackson, NH

Great climb, ran up it today as my first Cathedral multi-pitch. Be strategic with what tree you anchor off of at the top as I climbed a bit too far and zig-zagged around trees, resulting in tremendous rope drag! I'd say just scramble the last bit rather than be roped in. May 26, 2016

BCA
michigan

5.7

Hi there. Could be wrong because I was only there one time, but the route description says to head right at the end of the second pitch to a ledge with trees to belay.

I definitely didn't recall seeing a place to break right. I found the line naturally trended left, with a sweet traverse move left to the ledge with trees.

Was I off route there or does anyone have some insight to what I missed? Either way, it was fun as hell. Sep 26, 2020

Hangdog Steve

As mentioned by john strand, this route has several ledges that can make for a nasty fall.

Case in point, a recent accident where a leader fell onto one of the ledges and was injured:

nhfishgame.com/2020/10/12/i… Oct 16, 2020

Dylan Day
Salt Lake City, UT

5.7+

Really fun climb, expect traffic on a nice saturday. Tree anchors you can place gear anywhere you need it Sep 21, 2021

Big Red
Seattle

Beware massive rockfall debris from Retaliation, the ledge at the end of Funhouse is likely covered in debris. See thread: mountainproject.com/forum/t… Apr 12, 2022

Lee Cullivan
Maine

5.7

Have done route more than a handful of times now and it keeps getting better. Since the Retaliation rock fall though, the pitch 2 anchor area is no longer ideal - you have the option of a couple dead or dying trees. I'd personally like to see a 2-bolt anchor at the base of Retaliation to belay from. Jul 10, 2023

Mike Gagnon
Plymouth, NH

Any update on the anchor for P2? How are the trees looking Oct 3, 2024