Greg at the Gunks
Greg wanted to get his money's worth on his Gunks pass, and I think he managed to this weekend. Getting caught in rain is worth a lot, right?

I woke up Friday morning and took two steps before my phone rang. Greg was on his way home. He had to work a few hours so I'd slept in. Turns out he managed to get done early. I quickly showered, ate and we were off. The weather forecast was iffy - today looked great, but there was likely rain Saturday. Sunday looked pretty good up through the afternoon or so, when we'd be leaving anyway.

We headed straight to the MUA camping area. We could have gone right to the rocks, but I like to know I have a spot and not have to worry about it the rest of the day (or have to set up in the rain). The place was amazingly full, we ended up way in the back. No worries, less road noise.

We made it to the stairmaster lot at about 3 PM and headed straight for Hawk (5.4). It was a really nice climb. I don't remember much about the first pitch by now, but the second and third were memorable. The pattern for pitch 2 was right to a left-facing corner, climb it until you can escape to the face on the right and repeat. Three corners, then up to a belay above a big left facing corner. The last pitch was short but enjoyable.

I wanted to get another quick climb in, something nearby and familiar. Minty would have been nice, but there was a really slow pair working on it. We jumped on Tipsy Trees (5.3) instead. I'd led pitch two on a previous trip with Kimmy and Agnes before, but this was my first time leading pitch one. I liked the climbing on pitch two better - it was easy but felt like you had some air beneath you. We only did two pitches as it was getting late and the guide didn't recommend the top pitch. I considered sneaking over to finish up the last pitch of Minty, but the other group was still there and the follower was having difficulties on it.

We were back to the car by 7:30 so had plenty of time to get groceries and dinner. We ate at the plaza diner. Greg and I both ordered breakfast, but it wasn't filling enough. I ordered a sandwich to top it off and split it with Greg. I still woke up hungry.

Aside from hunger, I just didn't sleep well that night. I never do the first night, and it was colder than I expected. I'd skipped a sleeping bag and just used a cotton liner. The bag would have been too hot, but the liner didn't quite cut it. I dropped right off, but came to fully awake at 2AM, with fits of sleep through dawn.

Saturday

Given the forecast for rain, we wanted to get an early start. Not that we could have slept much past sunrise if we wanted. Rain was predicted for late morning and then again in the afternoon. Maybe we'd have time to get in a climb and then have some lunch and hike.

It was surprisingly nice out when we go to the cliff. We headed towards Wrist (5.6). I'd accidentally led the second pitch last year, thinking I was on Arch (5.5). It was my surprise intro to 5.6s at the Gunks and I had a blast on it. It was open, so now I could try the entire climb. The whole climb was nice. I think the only reason it didn't get another star in the guidebook is because of all the loose debris on the ledges partway up P1 you could kick down if you aren't paying attention. There was an exciting section with an offwidth crack at the back of a corner. I laid it back. The second pitch, particularly sneaking out from the the overhang, was still a blast.

A quick photo op, then we racked up to head to the rappel over Ribs. The first couple of rain drops fell as I was setting the ropes up for rappel. Two ropes really paid off here - we were able to rappel straight down in one shot versus having to do three rappels (or two I think, with a swing off to the side where the ground angles up). We grabbed the packs and flaked the ropes into the bag ASAP, then hid under the low ceiling at the base of Ribs. For an hour and a half. Not the best situation, but dry and comfortable with food and water was pretty good.

When the rain eased up enough we scampered down the stairmaster to the car. We browsed the gear at Rock and Snow, then hit Bacchus for lunch. I am more disappointed with that place every time I go. The food is decent, but I just felt like I was getting nickle and dimed to death. It is now extra to swap out sweet potato fries for the regular ones. Free refills on soda are gone. Aside from that, the service is almost always slow (10 minutes or more to "be right back with your drinks and take your order!"), my burger wasn't cooked right, and the bathrooms have always been horrible. A smelly trough urinal and a doorless stall cramped in a closet sized room with a sink but almost never paper towels.

It was getting sunny out while we ate and I kept checking weather sites on my phone. The hail prediction went away, though there still looked to be some rain in the late afternoon or early evening. We went for a drive out to the Mohonk Mountain House to let things dry and eventually decided to go for one more climb. Maybe something in the Uberfall. Horseman is nice, and there is a huge roof (Doug's Roof, as a matter of fact) we could hide under near it. We could take umbrellas for the walkout, just in case. The ranger on the way in said the forecast showed no more rain for the day! It wasn't what I saw, but I'll take the favorable forecast...

Lots of people had the same idea as us. The Uberfall was packed, so we kept walking. Jackie was set up for toproping, as usual, but Belly Roll (5.4) was open. The awkward climbing the route is named for would be a fun experience for Greg, so we hopped on it. We rapped down Jackie, where another group had settled in for toproping.

The plan, before the ranger said no more rain, was to do one climb I am familiar with and get out. But maybe now we could sneak in a second. RMC (5.5-) was close and open. I'd never led that one, but it should be pretty easy. I linked the first two pitches together. It was starting to darken and Greg was saying it looked like rain. Given the curving line of the climb I couldn't clean it on rappel, so I recommended he climb fast. It continued to darken; I was glad he had no trouble with the climbing.

When he joined me, we looked right to see a large, dark wall of clouds moving over the ridgeline. Moving fast. We set up for rappel as quickly as we could (while Greg got some video), but the rain hit before Greg made it down. Lightly at first. Once he was off rappel I kept yelling down for him to get the rope bags and packs ready, but he was talking to another group at the base. Shortly after I gave up yelling, he yelled up to ask if he should get the rope bag.

By the time I was down the rain was coming hard. I pulled the ropes as fast as I could then Greg took over. I opened the umbrellas over the packs while I tried to remove my gear and change shoes. I had no hope of staying dry - cold water was running down my back and soaking my undies - but I wanted to keep the gear as dry as possible. I had nowhere to lay it out overnight and didn't want it to get mildewy in the trunk overnight. We walked out trying to keep things as dry as possible, right past the crowd of jealous eyes under Doug's Roof (including some friends from PA).

It was too early to eat. Movie? We drove towards the cinema to see what was playing when. Nothing grabbed us, but we noticed a laudromat. The owner was nice enough to let us lay out our rope and gear on a table in back by a big fan while we did our laundry. After a change of clothes and washing up in the bathroom, we left with mostly dry gear and feeling pretty clean. And exhausted.

There was a sporting goods store near the laundromat and we picked up some giant sweatshirts up on clearance. That should cut the chill. We had a late Italian dinner at Pasquale's, then dragged ourselves back to camp. The rain had stopped and tomorrow's forecast looked good. In fact, the sky was already clear enough to see stars while we stretched and unwound. I inflated my air mattress a little more and slept a lot better.

We were up by 7AM on Sunday and the weather was great. The tent was still damp so it took a little extra time to break down camp; I brought some paper towels to wipe it dry so I wouldn't have to unpack it to dry at home.

I was feeling good about 5.6s, so I figured I'd try to take Greg up Shockley's Ceiling (5.6). There was a pair from Massachusettes on it. I figured we should move on, but the belayer said they'd be quick. His friend was about to the first belay and said he would lead the remainder more quickly. So we chatted and got ready. The belayer was up in a flash. I figured I'd wait until he made it to the next belay before I started up so we aren't pressuring them or stuck waiting. He took longer on lead, I think because he was unsure where to go. We kept waiting, since we had some time invested and they weren't moving horribly slow. When he pulled out of site I figured I could start up. The first belay ledge was supposed to be huge and the second would probably be on his way soon.

He wasn't. We ended up waiting a while. No big deal - the view was nice, we were in no rush, and the weather was much improved. I started the second pitch when the leader was starting the third. I had been on this once before, a few years back, and remember multiple parties finding a spot to anchor up there. Even if we caught up, we shouldn't be crowded. The second pitch was fantastic. Huge jugs, some overhangs to pull, and that airy feeling below. I anchored to the left side of the ledge, a good distance away from the other party's anchor. They set up right underneath the move. I'm not sure I would have wanted to sit below the hard part anyway, where the leader could fall on me.

Soon it was my turn. I made my way up the corner to the ceiling. I clipped a stuck cam on the way up, then put a nice reassuring cam in the crack splitting the roof. A little lower and to the right was a horizontal with piton in it. I clipped my other rope to that, then decided to place my own gear next to it as well. I tested holds above the ceiling - they seemed pretty big. I started up, then came back down. The hands were good, but the feet were awkward. I hung out a bit and considered having Greg snap a photo. Best not get cocky though. I went up and over on try two, with a left foot up first, I think. It didn't feel like my most graceful moment, but at least there were no knees on rock.

I skipped the optional belay because Greg would cruise through that section. We also had radios so communication shouldn't be a problem. I was glad to be past the famous spot, so was a little disappointed to find a later section more difficult. There was a curving crack in a bulge that gave me trouble. It looked like there might be an easier escape out left, but I wanted to try the route as the guide described. Unfortunately I didn't have any large enough cams remaining to fit that crack, so I had to settle for an undercammed one. And then not fall. I ended up hurting my shoulder forcing my way through a move I didn't think I could reverse. I put in better gear ASAP and headed to the top to belay Greg. He ran up with no trouble. He didn't think the crack was harder than the ceiling, so maybe it was just the added stress of questionable gear playing with my mind.

We walked over to do the rappel over Ribs (5.4) again. And since it was free and Arch was not, we decided to hop on that as our final climb. I'd led it last time with Agnes but ended up resting on gear. It turned out there was a pretty good rest after where I'd stopped, so I really wanted to get it clean. I still found it scary - maybe because it is more slab with small holds versus the juggy climbing I'd been doing. I did it as one long pitch. The second pitch is short and feels way easier to me, though both are rated 5.4.

Another group rapped in from above while Greg was on the way up. They only had one rope and decided to hold off and just share our lines down when Greg finished. We called it a day after that and grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King. That got us home with plenty of time to unpack.

I think Greg has a new appreciation for showers an a familiar bed. And I don't think I'll have to worry about convincing him to go again - he's probably already decided that was the last time. At least when there is a chance of rain.