Gunks in February!

 

 

Gunks

 

 

 

February 26th? High of 45F? Rock Climbing? Gunks?

YES PLEASE!!

 

So after getting out on the ice a few times and ripping my hands up on plastic all winter long I was itching to get back on the rock.  Without knowing exactly what we would find I decided to call up Tina and head for the Gunks on Tuesday.  I pulled up to the Stairmaster at 900am and looked up to see dry rock and sunshine.  Sweet.  New Jersey commuters kept Tina from arriving until just about ten and by then I was about ready to sprint to the cliffs.

 

With the cool temps and having not been on the sharp end here since early November we decided to keep it tame tackling the classic Frogs Head first.  Turned out to be a nice climb with a bunch on thoughtful moves and an exciting finish for the grade.

 

Frog's Head


Moving on in my usual ravenous way about the Gunk I decided we would check out an easier route, another classic moderate  Arch.  Well this climb looks really cool and lives up to its name from the ground.

The route Arch wanders up from the left to the right and has an exciting exit right to a ledge before the top.  From here you are supposed to go right on easy climbing around a pine tree.  I didn't know this so I took on the crack left of the nine tree.  This was actually the crux of an intersecting route called Billy Shears but was well protected and over quickly.  Even if it was a full four grades harder than what I set out to do I have a hard time resisting good looking cracks.

 

A Grey Day

Next I wanted to step it up a little bit and do the first money pitch of Strictly From Nowhere.  The best part about February is no lines on the popular climbs.  Everything went okay here for me but Tina had to leave a cam I had slotted in the crux overhang section. This made for an interesting recovery with me having to climb back up to it on rappel. 

Tina Entering the Crux Section

I feel I should mention that cleaning gear is a skill that takes time to learn and master.  Sometimes panic sets in when a follow wants to send cleanly and they don't take the time to study the placement and how it went in.  People on lead with their own expensive gear will greatly appreciate a second who cleans well and will gladly give pointers on how to remove "stuck" or tricky to clean gear.  That shit is expensive! and we are not going home without it!!!

It was getting colder and we decided to make a slog for Limelight, a climb that caught my eye when I did Arrow a few month back.  The first pitch was good but nothing special and I really wanted to press on into that gorgeous white rock I knew was up above on P2.  Oh Well.  It was getting colder and we decided it would be easier to just set a TR up on P1 of Arrow and get to town for something warm to drink. 

All in all a great day with decent chilly temps on dry rock.  Rock climbing preseason season is upon us.