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jklumpp
Jun 20, 2012, 8:01 PM
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I had a bit of an adventure/discovery leading the first pitch of Gelsa last weekend. Never having seen the climb done before, I accidentally skipped the traverse and went straight up following great gear. I realized I was off-route after about 20 feet (the moves were beyond 5.4, even by Gunks standards), but the pro was great, as were the moves, so I decided to head for the chains above me and to my right.
We wound up only doing the one pitch, but in the process "discovered" a 5.5 - 5.6 G variation of Gelsa. Has anyone else made this "mistake?" My buddy is already calling it "Gelsa in Chains." Apparently "John's Folly" is already taken. ;)
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happiegrrrl
Jun 20, 2012, 8:04 PM
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You are not alone. I think pretty much anyone who doesn't memorize the guidebook description and just follows what seems natural goes up there - but I don't remember it being great gear...
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jklumpp
Jun 20, 2012, 8:49 PM
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Update: I just found a reference to this route in an ancient Gunks.com post. They're calling it Land of the Midgets, 5.6 G. It's a pretty easy 5.6 by Gunks standards (compare to Shockley's or Moonlight), but in any case, glad to know I'm not the first to make this mistake.
As for gear, I started placing it neurotically as soon as I realized I was off route, and managed to get nine or ten pieces in, pretty evenly spaced, on the pitch. I did have to do one or two of the harder moves with gear at my feet, which means I could have been looking at a 10 - 15 foot fall. So calling it PG might be reasonable.
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edge
Jun 21, 2012, 3:12 AM
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jklumpp wrote: I did have to do one or two of the harder moves with gear at my feet, which means I could have been looking at a 10 - 15 foot fall. So calling it PG might be reasonable.
Ummm, no. Not even close.
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smallclimber
Jun 22, 2012, 1:25 AM
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I 'm pretty sure this route is listed as a variation in the most recent Williams near traps guide. From memory it's not listed independently, just as a variation of Gelsa. We did it (planned) a while back and it's quite good. I thought it was land of the giants? Don't have guidebook to check right now.
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kmc
Jun 22, 2012, 1:36 AM
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Not sure what you are describing, but Land of the Giants (5.7) goes up initial blocky terrain and then you gain a stance before moving into a crack/seam which moves up and right for about 10 feet (crux). The pitch then continues up loosely stacked blockers to a bolted rap anchor.
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granite_grrl
Jun 22, 2012, 11:26 AM
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smallclimber wrote: I 'm pretty sure this route is listed as a variation in the most recent Williams near traps guide. From memory it's not listed independently, just as a variation of Gelsa. We did it (planned) a while back and it's quite good. I thought it was land of the giants? Don't have guidebook to check right now.
The William's books are great. I remember there being a whole pile of variations listed for Gelsa. My partner and I did one of them a couple years ago and it was great.
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rangerrob
Jul 29, 2012, 4:29 AM
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If you ended up at the belay anchor chains for the first pitch of Fat City then you did the first pitch of Land Of The Giants. It's 5.7, and has a cruxy move about 8 feet from where it breaks off of Gelsa's first pitch. The gear is excellent, as is the climbing, and I think it is the most overlooked pitch in the Nears, due the rating of the second pitch (5.11x). It's not even close to a soft 5.6 as you suggested.
RR
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marc801
Jul 29, 2012, 4:36 AM
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jklumpp wrote: I had a bit of an adventure/discovery leading the first pitch of Gelsa last weekend. Never having seen the climb done before, I accidentally skipped the traverse and went straight up following great gear. I realized I was off-route after about 20 feet (the moves were beyond 5.4, even by Gunks standards),
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ensonik
Jul 31, 2012, 9:58 PM
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I'm fairly certain he's speaking of the traverse after the tree.
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marc801
Jul 31, 2012, 10:12 PM
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ensonik wrote: I'm fairly certain he's speaking of the traverse after the tree.
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