What's next?

(Photo: Gingerly exploring Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a). Photo by Andy.)

So what's next?

What do I want out of the 2016 climbing season?

I've been asking myself this question all winter.

2015 was a great year for me. I broke through to a whole new level, climbing my first trad 5.11's and knocking off a bunch of the most legendary tens in the Gunks, including Ridicullissima, Erect Direction, Fat City Direct, Coexistence and Graveyard Shift, just to name a few! The year was like a dream come to life-- every visit to the Gunks seemed to produce a new milestone.

In 2015 I also took really fun trips to Seneca Rocks and Indian Creek. At Seneca I felt instantly comfortable on my feet and on-sighted several classic tens. At Indian Creek I was much less sure of myself but I still had fun working on the amazing splitters and learning the ways of the crack climber.

My last big goal for the year was to climb Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a) at the Gunks. I spent the whole year wondering if I could do it and working up the courage. I did finally attempt it in late November, though it was far from a send. I ended up hanging all over it, in both crux sections. Still, when it was over, I could see that this climb was possible. I knew what to do. I just needed to go back and execute, without a lot of dilly-dallying.

So as the winter began I knew that Carbs would remain on "the list" for 2016. But what else did I want to accomplish in the new year?

I have a list of Gunks elevens I want to tackle (i.e., virtually all of them). And there are so many great tens in the Gunks that I have plenty of them left to do as well. (Matinee (5.10d), I am looking at you.) And there are even a few twelves I am considering.

But I need more than a list of climbs. I need a plan. I want to keep my trajectory of improvement going. I don't want to plateau-- I think I have plenty of room yet to get better.

Over the past few months, the climbing days have been infrequent despite the relatively mild winter. As a consequence, When I've been able to get out I've taken it easier and not pushed it so much, although nowadays when I'm not pushing it I'm doing climbs that used to be a big deal to me.

(Photo: Adam below the intimidating Wishbone (5.10+) roof.)

In December I went to Lost City with Adam and had a great time on some climbs that I'd long wanted to attempt, and we also had a lot of fun trying to lead a few lines that were a total mystery to us. I was happy to on-sight the Wishbone (5.10+?) roof. I also made a game effort at the nearby Resistance (5.10c), but had to hang at the crux. I think Resistance is one of the nicest face climbs in the Gunks. It has consistent, beautiful thin moves up a little seam. I need to go back to lead it cleanly.

(Photo: Adam on Resistance (5.10c).)

There are so many great leads at Lost City. Just to the right of Wishbone is a technical face climb called Cars That Eat People (5.11a), which I am dying to try. Further to the right, I have stared with wonder at Persistent (5.11+) on more than one occasion. The list goes on: I have never attempted the popular Lost City Crack (5.10), and I still have to go back and get the red-point on Stannard's Roof (5.10). And there are many awe-inspiring twelves and thirteens that can be top-roped and worked into submission.

Goal No. 1 for 2016: spend more time at Lost City!

I have also been out in the Nears a few times over these past few months. On a warm day in December I went there with Anna and Robbie. I was psyched to get clean leads on both Shitface (5.10c) and Transcon (5.10b). Shitface has nice climbing up a bulging, smooth face and then a brief but stout crux at the overhang. People say it is a scary lead but I thought the pro was good throughout, even above the crux where the route has a reputation for being necky.

Transcon, by contrast, was a frightening lead for me. I was quaking in my boots as I high-stepped on the low slab even though I had three pieces in. I know people have been injured here. Even with good gear it seems perilous. And at the top, above the well-protected roof, the finishing moves are truly run out and intimidating.

(Photo: Anna following my lead of Shitface (5.10c).)

I need to get used to Transcon, so I can run up it to set up the hard climbs that surround it. This part of the Nears is known as the "Workout Wall," because it is stacked with unprotectable hard climbs that are usually top-roped. In December, Robbie and I tried to do one of these, El Kabong (5.12c), on top rope, and neither of us was able to get past the crux-- it is steep, balancy and thin. But it was fun just working out the moves to get to the crux, and I think going back would be good for me.

(Photo: Robbie confronting the scary slab on Transcontinental Nailway (5.10b).)

I have barely touched on any of the hard climbing that is available in the Nears-- and actually I've not hit many of the cliff's classic tens like Elder Cleavage (5.10b) and Criss Cross Direct (5.10a).

Goal No. 2 for 2016: spend more time in the Nears!

In February and March we had some really good days for climbing. I got out a few times with Andy and sometimes a few others as well. I've previously described Andy as a person with a sport climber's mindset. He is still pretty new to the area, and trad hasn't been his big thing, so I have been acting as his Gunks tour guide for the last year or so. But I think I've been holding him back. He has been ripping it up in the gym lately and on our last few visits to the Gunks it has become clear to me that he is poised to do great things in our little trad paradise.

(Photo: Andy past the crux on Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a).)

In February Andy and I were out at the far end of the Nears. I wanted to take a look at some of the elevens out there. We checked out Harvest Moon (5.11a but it looks harder). The starting chimney was slimy/wet so there was no chance we could do it. Moving over to the Voids, I attempted to lead the one on the right, Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a). I hadn't been outside in a while and I felt tentative about committing to the move, even though the gear was so good that I was essentially on top rope, with two perfect red Camalots in the vertical layback crack at the crux. I made a few meek efforts at figuring it out and then decided I wasn't feeling it, and asked Andy if he wanted the lead.

(Photo: Andy trying to get started on Void Where Prohibited (5.11d).)

Andy flashed the right-hand Void in ten seconds. And he used exactly the same beta that I was experimenting with. I was mad at myself. I sent it on top rope and wished I'd been bolder.

Then Andy got greedy and decided to lead the other Void-- Void Where Prohibited (5.11d)-- but got nowhere. I couldn't do it either. There must be some very specific beta for getting your body into this blank corner right off the ground, but neither of us could find the solution.

(Photo: That's me on Last Frontier (5.10a) with Simon handling the belay. I liked this climb-- it was hard for me, but if you like jamming it will be easy for you. Photo by Gail.)

More recently, in March, Andy and I found ourselves with a group of climbers down at the Slime Wall. I was psyched to lead Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b) like it was no big deal, which was quite a change from my abortive on-sight attempt at this route a few years ago. This has to be one of my favorite tens. It combines wonderful face climbing with a truly outrageous, multi-tiered overhang. And I finally got around to red-pointing Simple Suff (5.10a/b), so I can take that one off of the list as well.

(Photo: Gail at the finishing lip of the roof on Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b).)

The real star of the day was Techno Suff (5.12a), which we top-roped from the Simple Suff anchors. This steep face has interesting climbing up an arching crack and then some big technical moves between small holds. When I tried this climb I fell several times but in the end I was pleased because I figured out every move and I could see myself sending it one day. Andy one-hanged it, which I found very impressive. He also on-sight led Frustration Syndrome with the R-rated direct 5.11b/c start. (The man is on fire.) I tried to follow him but I had to hang at the direct start and ultimately worked out a totally different solution than the way Andy did it. I don't know if I'd dare lead it. There is no gear for the hard move but a good spotter or a strategically placed backpack might suffice.

(Photo: Connie confronting the crack on Techno Suff (5.12a).)

On our most recent day out, I decided it was time to really get started with my season. Andy and I paid a visit to Carbs and Caffeine. Andy led the first pitch and then I set off on pitch two for my red-point attempt. It went pretty well. I ALMOST got it done. I led up into the roofs with some confidence and got to the 5.11 crux without wearing myself out too much. I clipped the first bolt and took a look. I basically remembered the beta from my last attempt so I didn't waste too much time before I made a big reach up to a sloper hold, matched hands, and then stepped up and left to some little crimps. It was a tough sequence but I got through it. I was crimping on to the tiny holds, and feeling a bit shaky, but I was still in the game.

Standing there, with the second bolt at my chest, I carefully grabbed a draw and clipped it. I wasn't quite done but I knew I was in good shape for the send, if only I could stop trembling.

I started talking to myself.

"Calm down," I told myself. "Breathe! One more move and you are out. Keep it together."

Andy couldn't see me but he could hear what I was saying. He called up to me. "Dude, you are scaring me!"

This snapped me out of my near-panic. I told him I was fine: I had two bolts clipped, after all. I made the move and got out of there.

I should have been home free but at the top of the pitch, right before the dreaded crab-crawl traverse, I forgot about a crucial hold from which it is easy to place gear. I wore myself out trying to place the pro from a bad hold and when I tried to step back down to shake out I got tangled in the rope and had to hang. It was disappointing. When I went back up and did the moves they felt much easier than the last time.

I will go back again. I can do this climb. I know it now.

(Photo: Andy on the 5.9 pitch one of Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a).)

After we were done with Carbs, Andy and I took a look at The Sting (5.11d). I've never really dreamed that I was capable of sending The Sting but Andy saw it and got more excited than I've ever seen him. The climb is short, perhaps just 50 feet, but it packs a punch. It has big moves between horizontals on a smooth white face. The first and last moves are both dynamic jumps. It is very unusual for the Gunks. Andy decided to lead it.

He placed a bomber blue Alien at the first horizontal and launched off on the dyno. He missed. The Alien held and Andy was caught a few feet off the ground. He tried without success a few more times, and then decided to lead up Lisa (5.9), the climb next door, so we could work The Sting on top rope.

(Photo: Andy heading up Lisa (5.9). I didn't care for this one. It is a two-move wonder with an awkward crux. But it is a very useful climb for setting up The Sting)

Andy had little trouble working out the moves on The Sting once he had the security of a rope over his head. It was much harder for me. I failed at the opening dyno over and over again. But with some helpful coaching from Andy I eventually was able to stick it-- on what was perhaps my 15th try. I couldn't get the other dyno at the top worked out but after I was done Andy went back up to work it again and I think now I can see what I was doing wrong.

(Photo: Andy getting set up for the dyno at the start of The Sting.)

I'm sure I'll get the chance to try it again. Andy left the cliff determined to come back and lead The Sting, and when he does I'm pretty sure he'll get it. And maybe I can get it too. These last few days at the Gunks have been the first occasions on which I've tried climbs in the 5.11+/5.12- range and not felt they were totally hopeless for me. If I make a concerted effort to work on these climbs I will continue to improve. Lately that sort of projecting doesn't seem so boring to me anymore.

Goal No. 3 for 2016: keep hanging out with Andy! He will push me to greater heights.

As it happens, Andy and I will be heading to the New River Gorge in two weeks for a four-day climbing trip. Gail is also coming with her son Max. The New has both sport and trad but for the first time in my life I am thinking that sport climbing should be my focus. I've never really given it a fair chance. And I want to really work at a "soft" 5.12 and see what I can do.

2016 has barely begun but I feel like great things have already happened. I'm in pretty good shape and it's still March. I am excited to see what the rest of the year will bring.

Gunks Routes: Teeny Face (5.10a), Simple Stuff (5.10a), Wegetables (5.10a) & Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b)

(Photo: Climbers on Cool Hand Dukes (5.8), as seen from the optional first belay on Obstacle Delusion (5.9).)

Another October weekend. It was a nice one in the Gunks.

I was climbing with Maryana, one-on-one, for the first time in a long while.

There was once a time when I felt like she and I were in the same place, working towards the same goals. But that was a long time ago. Maryana climbs much more often than I do and now she's much better than I am. Most of the 5.10's I'm trying now for the first time are old hat for her. She has done them enough times that she has them wired. She and her boyfriend Beau recently did a day in the Trapps in which they ran up ten 5.10's in a row, sticking to climbs they both felt familiar with and could knock off quickly.

I'd be thrilled if I could make a list of ten 5.10's in the Gunks that I felt so sure about.

Last Saturday she and I had a great day together. We did a bunch of climbs that I have written about before. Some of them were routes I've been meaning to lead and a couple of them were routes from which I've previously backed off.

(Photo: A leader on High Exposure (5.6+), seen from the Obstacle Delusion belay ledge.)

We started off at the Obstacle Delusion/Insuhlation buttress, just to the right of High Exposure, because Maryana wanted to lead a climb there called Teeny Face (5.10a).

I warmed us up by leading both pitches of Obstacle Delusion (5.9) in one pitch. I followed Maryana up this climb once before, in the spring of 2012. I've wanted to come back to lead it. I thought about trying it when I was at this same formation with Parker on Labor Day weekend this year, but on that day I was feeling kind of rusty so I decided to wait until I was in better shape.

(Photo: Maryana following my lead of Obstacle Delusion (5.9).)

I felt good leading it. It is a solid 5.9, with a tough roof problem and then a challenging endurance-fest through several good overhanging moves near the top. I really enjoyed it and was pleased with how I managed the moves and the gear. There is good pro everywhere you need it, so while I'd say this is by no means an easy 5.9, it is a well-protected one. It features steep Gunks-style climbing at its finest.

(Photo: A climber named Sung leading past the roof on Obstacle Delusion (5.9) after Maryana and I moved on to Teeny Face (5.10a).)

After we were both done with Obstacle Delusion we rapped to the optional belay ledge about forty feet off the ground so that Maryana could lead Teeny Face (5.10a) from there.

Teeny Face is written up in Dick Williams' guidebook as a variation to Insuhlation (5.9), but I think you can get at it from either side, by passing the first overhang on either Insuhlation or Obstacle Delusion and then moving up to the orange face that sits between the two climbs. Whichever way you approach it, the climb is quite nice and worthy of consideration on its own apart from the surrounding climbs. It isn't very long but the crux-- which is really two separate crimpy sequences with good gear in between-- is pumpy and challenging despite its brevity.

(Photo: Maryana below the Insuhlation roof, about to head up and left to Teeny Face (5.10a). Unfortunately the tree branches in this photo obscure most of the route.)

Maryana did a great job leading it. She did one thing I'm pretty confident I'll never be able to do. She climbed through the first crux sequence, placed gear, and then down-climbed back through the first crux to get a good rest! Then she climbed back up and fired through the rest of the pitch. She later said she thought this was a dumb idea, but I was pretty impressed that she pulled it off.

I felt strong following Teeny Face, much better than I did following Parker up the same climb on Labor Day weekend. I've now followed this pitch three times. I've climbed it cleanly every time but have never tried to lead it. I think I know it pretty well now and I should go back and lead it just to add it to my list of 5.10 leads. It is well-protected though the pro is spaced. The second set of crux moves comes above gear, but the gear is super good (yellow Camalot) and the fall should be clean, as the face is flat and steep.

Once we were done with Teeny Face we headed down to the far end of the cliff so I could have a go at Simple Stuff (5.10a), a stem-corner climb I tried once before but from which I backed off, never completing-- or even attempting-- any of the hard moves.

(Photo: Maryana following my lead of Simple Stuff (5.10a).)

The first time I tried Simple Stuff, the weather was terrible. It was brutally hot outside and at the first hard section I'd hesitated and lost my nerve.

This time around, in perfect fall temperatures, I hoped things would be different. But I hesitated again at the same spot. I have heard that people have been hurt when their gear has ripped out at this location. Now that I've been there I understand. Although there are vertical cracks for gear, it isn't so easy to get nuts to seat well for this first hard move.

Luckily for me, someone has fixed a nut up above the first tough bit and with a few twists and reaches I was able to clip the fixed piece before making the move. With my own gear plus the fixed nut I felt very safe. I nevertheless had to step up and down several times before I figured out a way to move up, getting rather tired in the process. And then after moving up I still had to confront what Maryana told me was the crux move, past a bulge.

I botched it at the bulge and had to take a hang. I was fatigued and off-balance, and couldn't make good use of a hold on the right wall. After hanging, I set my feet better and found the move to be not that bad. Then I got through the rest of the pitch without a hang or a fall but it wasn't exactly pretty. I'm sure I could have made it easier for myself in a few spots.

(Photo: Maryana working through the third hard bit, above the crux bulge, on Simple Stuff (5.10a).)

I was a little disappointed in my one-hang performance on Simple Stuff but I took some comfort from the fact that this time I eventually got it done and did not back off. I think that the first hard move will remain the crux for me. I'm not quite sure how I eventually got through this move and I may find it just as difficult the next time I try it. I can visualize the rest of the pitch and I think the other difficult sequences, including the part past the bulge, will be easier for me the next time around.

I don't see Simple Stuff as an "easy" 5.10 and I find it rather mystifying that people recommend it as a good early 5.10 lead. The gear is good for most of the way but it is at times tricky to get bomber pro and at other times it is strenuous to place. The climb is sustained, adding to the challenge. I can think of several 5.10's that are easier to lead. Almost every other 5.10 I've tried, actually.

When Maryana followed the pitch it appeared much more straightforward for her than it had been for me. She arranged herself into comfortable stances in places where I got pumped out. I had thought I was getting good with corner climbs, based on my success on climbs like Bird Cage (5.10b) and Slim Pickins (5.9+). But after working on Simple Stuff I can see I still have a ways to go. I think maybe I just need to stem wider. Sometimes I think I'm already stemmed out, but I'm not getting anywhere. Maryana at times commented that she thought I wasn't stemming enough, even though I felt pretty widely spread out. I should just stem more, even if it seems awkward.

After Simple Stuff it was Maryana's turn to lead and she wanted to hop on Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b). But when we got to the base we found a party working on the first pitch. The second was struggling on the 5.6 moves right off the ground so we figured it was going to be a while before we could get on it.

Maryana suggested I could lead Wegetables (5.10a) and then we could come back. It sounded like a great idea to me. I previously tried for the redpoint on this climb in October of 2012 and I should have been successful. I stopped and took a hang one move from the top, mistakenly thinking I had two tiers of overhangs still to go. After resting I easily did the final move and felt like an idiot. I've been kicking myself ever since.

As I walked over to Wegetables one year later, I was pretty confident that I would send it.

(Photo: Maryana in the thick of the multi-tiered overhangs of Wegetables (5.10a).)

It ended up going very well. I protected the bottom moves the same way I did it last time. The pro here is tricky but I believe what I get there would hold. A low blue Alien in a horizontal won't do much to keep you off the ground but it does guard against the zipper effect. Then I get a tiny micro nut at the bottom of the vertical seam that runs up the low face, and a slightly larger (but still small) brass nut a little higher. Maryana has purchased a secret specialty curved nut just for this climb, which she believes provides an even better placement than the small brass nut. But I couldn't make her weirdo nut work when I tried it and I thought the brass nut was fine. I wasn't too concerned about the gear in any case. I knew I had this part of the climb all sorted out. (The thin face moves are thoughtful but not strenuous.) Falling was not on the agenda.

After the thin early going was finished, I just had to motor through the three-tiered roof. And I'm pleased to say it felt relatively easy for me. I stopped to get good gear at every tier and still had plenty of gas left to get over the top. The holds are fantastic, and they are everywhere.

We can put Wegetables at the top of my list of 5.10 climbs I feel super solid on. Now I just need to find nine more for my day of ten 5.10's...

(Photo: Maryana getting into the crux 5.9 face climbing on pitch one of Falled on Account of Strain.)

After we knocked off Wegetables we went back over to Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b) and found it wide open. Maryana wanted to lead both pitches in one. I was happy to follow her because I had been on the route two years ago and I was interested in getting a second look at the thin climbing on pitch one. I remembered thinking pitch one was a bit of a necky lead and I wanted to see if I still felt this way now. I was also very excited to follow pitch two, which goes through a huge, improbable, multi-tiered roof. Two years ago I led up to this roof but then I chickened out and finished on an easier route to the left instead.

Maryana and I tried to scope out the Falled on Account of Strain roof from the ground. She had been on the route before but neither of us were completely certain where the final roof was to be surmounted. In the guidebook Dick Williams mentions a small, hard-to-find corner at the final roof. We thought we could see it from the base of the climb. It turned out to be easier to see from the ground than from right underneath it.

Maryana did well managing pitch one. The crux moves are pretty well protected, but it is run out for the easier climbing that comes before and after. There is one crucial placement at a spot that resembles the low crux on Red Cabbage Right (5.10b). You have to step up to a great horizontal for the hands, where you place a good piece while your feet are smearing on nothing. Place this piece carefully, because the next couple of moves are still hard and there is no other gear.

Maryana made it through this section just fine and soon she sailed past the bolted pitch one anchor and into the crazy multi-tiered roof that makes up the majority of pitch two.

(Photo: Maryana at the final overhang on Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b).)

Despite her prior experience on the route, Maryana got a little confused about exactly where to go up into the roof. There is a trail of chalk to the climber's left and another path further right. It looked to me as though the left-hand path was the way to go but what did I know, standing on the ground? After some scouting around, Maryana eventually picked the left-hand way and it seemed like a good choice. It was only an instant before she moved up and found a piton at the second-to-last tier. She clipped it and backed it up, then prepared to do battle with the final overhang.

As she reached out to the little hard-to-find corner, it seemed she was right on track but struggling. She found another pin above the roof, on the main face, and managed to clip it, but the noises she was making suggested she was barely hanging in there.

I started shouting encouraging words at her.

"Come on Maryana, you've got this!"

Just then two more climbers walked up. I didn't know them. But maybe they knew Maryana? I never found out. They started yelling too.

I don't know whether Maryana even heard us, but suddenly she had a cheering section urging her over this ridiculous roof.

"Come on Maryana, you can do it!"

She threw a heel and rocked over, making it to the belay stance.

She had done it. I was proud of her; it looked hard. She always says roof climbs aren't her style, but this big roof seemed to suit her just fine.

I managed to follow her cleanly, but barely. I felt fine on pitch one and had no worries. I felt pretty good on pitch two as well. The tiers of roofs are of course very steep and the atmosphere is insane but for most of the way they aren't as hard as they appear. It's all jugs until the final overhang.

But this final overhang is the real deal. It is a tough roof problem. I thought I knew exactly where to reach out for the little corner but I missed the spot twice. You have to lean way out just to paw around out there and you get more and more pumped as you search in vain for the magic hold.

On my third try I finally found it.

I was overjoyed but now I was feeling the namesake strain and I still needed to pull the roof. I did not want to fall. I wasn't sure I could get back on if I fell. I didn't want to have to prussik up the rope to get back on the wall.

More importantly, I didn't want to fail. I wanted to send.

There was no time to waste. I heel hooked on nothing and somehow managed to haul myself up.

Wow, what a climb!  Great face climbing on pitch one is followed by a phenomenal roof on pitch two. I want to come back and lead Falled on Account of Strain IMMEDIATELY.

Our day was done. The wind had picked up as Maryana led Falled on Account of Strain and the sky had grown overcast. By the time we got down from the climb it was starting to drizzle. But it was of no importance. We were both pretty happy with our day.

They say 5.10 is the premier grade at the Gunks. As I work my way further into the grade I'm really starting to see why. There are so many high-quality tens and I've just scratched the surface. It seems like every new ten I'm exposed to becomes my new favorite. Recently it was Stannard's Roof, then it was Bird Cage, and now it just might be Falled on Account of Strain.

I can't believe the season is almost over. It feels like it's just getting started.

Gunks Routes: Falled on Account of Strain (Pitch 1 5.9), Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Pitch 2 5.8)

(Photo: Pointing where I think the route goes on Falled on Account of Strain, pitch two (5.10b).)

Another late-season climbing day, another chance to push the limits.

I had big ideas as Adrian and I headed to the Gunks. I knew Adrian wanted to lead WASP (5.9), which I led earlier this year. WASP sits down at the Slime Wall, near the far end of the Trapps. I've spent very little time down there, so there were a bunch of climbs I was interested in checking out. One of the top climbs on my list was Falled on Account of Strain. The first pitch, which ends at a set of bolts, is rated 5.9. The second pitch goes at 5.10b through an incredible set of gigantic, tiered roofs.

As insane as it might sound, I was thinking I would lead the second pitch. I'd seen pictures of the route; the roofs pulled at me like a magnet. The thought of climbing them had me slobbering with Pavlovian anticipation.

But first we did WASP, and I have to say I wasn't exactly feeling super strong. Following pitch one I found the early moves surprisingly difficult. I caught myself thinking I wasn't sure how I'd feel leading the route, and then remembered that I'd led it a few months ago! I had thought I might try to lead the 5.9 variation climb Stubai to You as our second pitch, but when we got up to the GT Ledge I decided, given that I felt a little tentative, to check out Sticky Gate Direct (5.7) instead. (It was good! A very nice pitch, better than pitch two of WASP.)

Back on the ground, we walked over to Falled on Account of Strain and had a look. I thought we should go for it. Adrian was totally up for the first pitch, and since it ends at bolts we could easily bail from there. I figured I could venture out to look at the roofs and come back if it seemed too hairy. Also Dick Williams suggests as an alternative the second pitch of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which goes through the roofs at an easier 5.8 grade. Dick gives Tomorrow x 3 no stars, but I guessed it would still be an interesting alternative, and maybe from the shared rap station we could lower ourselves over Falled and try the crux if it was too scary on lead.

(Photo: Early in the 5.9 pitch one of Falled on Account of Strain.)

We got set up beneath Falled and before getting started I wandered into the woods to take a quick leak. As I stood there amongst the trees I jokingly called over to Adrian "you're on belay, climb when ready!"

"Are you going to belay me," he replied, "or are you just going to stand there with your dick in your hand?"

Maybe you just had to be there, but this became a source of much hilarity for us. "Or are you just going to stand there with your dick in your hand" can be usefully adapted to fit into just about any climbing conversation.

For example:

"So go ahead and give me the rack, whenever you're done standing there with your dick in your hand."

Or:

"I just took this amazing photo of you, while I was holding the rope AND standing here with my dick in my hand."

And so on.

I guess you had to be there.

Anyway, pitch one of Falled on Acoount of Strain turned out to be a very worthwhile climb in its own right. Dick rates it at 5.9 but Swain calls it a 5.9+ and I think Swain has it right. The first moves are 5.6-ish but unprotected, up the face to the left of a thin seam. Once you get some pro in, about 15 feet up, you move to the right and into the crux, thin moves between spaced horizontals. The first of these moves puts your feet even with your last protective gear. Your next pro comes in a blind placement over your head at the next horizontal. Adrian is much taller than me and he had to do a pull up to examine the gear and fix it before making the next moves. Following him, I found that I had to step up fully into the move to examine the gear and get it out. I had to struggle a bit with the piece and I almost popped off while trying to remove it.

Dealing with this one difficult placement is my only real concern about eventually leading this pitch. Afterwards the climbing and the gear get easier to handle.

(Photo: Almost done with pitch one of Falled on Account of Strain. The tiered roofs await, overhead. The pitch one crux comes between the two horizontals visible in the lower right corner of the photograph.)

When I joined Adrian at the belay he asked me if I was really up for leading pitch two. Looking out at the roofs I thought it seemed simple enough to wander over and check them out. I was sure I could get gear in the first tier of the roof system. So long as I could get pro at each tier, I figured, I could keep moving up. There would be no shame in taking a hang, as long as the gear was good and the falls were clean.

And so I ventured forth, promising not to make any moves I couldn't reverse until I was sure about continuing.

(Photo: The point of no return. To continue, or not?)

I traversed easily to the first overhang. There was good gear. I believed I was at the right spot at which to pull up and over to the next tier. There was a lot of chalk even further right, but it seemed to me this was errant chalk, sucker chalk.

I pulled up enough to see if I could get gear at the next tier. I couldn't see any potential placements. This was a major bummer.

What about further right? I ventured over to the sucker chalk and looked up there. But I didn't see any gear over there either.

I wandered back to where I thought the route really went and kept looking it over. I felt a rush of emotions and excitement. I had a decision to make.

Option A: I could commit to the next tier, knowing I would have to move up AGAIN to the final tier before finding any pro. There had to be gear up there, or this thing wouldn't be rated PG, right? But if I committed to this course I doubted I could climb back down and if I popped off it would be a real fall.

Option B: I could give up and traverse back to the anchor.

I hope this doesn't sound too grandiose, but I felt I stood at a sort of crossroads.

I was straddling a line dividing my climbing past and my hoped-for climbing future. A past mired in moderates, and a future involving the real deal. A past of mucking about on ledges, and a future filled with improbable environments and thrilling situations. A past of standing around with my dick in my hand, and a future of bold action.

The atmosphere beneath the overhang was incredible. I wanted to go for it, but I wasn't quite sure I was ready. It had been a great year. Maybe this climb was meant for next year?

Adrian called over to give his opinion.

"You want me to support you, right?"

"No, dude, tell me what you really think."

"It looks crazy to me."

That was all I needed to hear. I decided to traverse back to the anchor and climb Tomorrow x 3 instead.

(Photo: Getting into the 5.8 roof on Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.)

I'm glad we went ahead and did Tomorrow x 3, because the roof was fun. It is not a cakewalk by any means. The holds are very good, but once you are in the roof you traverse out to the left (with good pro) and it is very strenuous, a little burly, I think, for 5.8.

I later learned that Swain calls this a 5.10 roof, so I could claim this as my second 5.10 Gunks lead... but let's get real. There's no way this is a 5.10. Maybe 5.8+ or 5.9-.

Once you get above the roof, the remaining climbing up and right to the Falled anchor is very dirty/bushy, and not very pleasant. And the fixed station for Falled as of this writing is crap. There is a big old angle piton (rusty but probably fine), three nested rusty pitons (impossible to evaluate), and two equalized nuts in a horizontal, at least one of which has a cable that is almost rusted out. All of it is tied together with ancient, faded, stiff cord and webbing.

I refused to use this anchor. If you go up there, bring some cord/webbing and maybe some nuts to shore up the station. We ended up bushwhacking through filthy territory to the GT Ledge and then we rapped off the Sticky Gate tree, which will get you down with a single 70 meter or with 60 meter doubles.

Adrian later asked me why I am so attracted to these roof problems. I gave him the cold, logical reason: I'm looking for good holds and clean falls. Face climbs of the same grade tend to involve more difficult sequences and more fiddly gear. He responded quite reasonably that he prefers the face climbs because you can stop and think before the crux, whereas with the roofs you know the clock is always ticking. He felt more secure on the 5.9+ face of Falled, for example, than he did in the 5.8 roof on Tomorrow x 3, because on Falled he knew he could chew over the moves as long as he liked before making the commitment.

This is of course a matter of personal preference, with no right answer. What I failed to add to my side of the argument, but what still tips the balance for me, is that the roofs are awesome. To me there's no thrill like getting over a big roof. I guess that's just what makes me a Gunks guy. Looking at the roof photos above, I find it hard to imagine feeling any other way.