Got benighted on Madame G's at the Gunks - left about 8 pieces behind!

Well played, BK. :-)

Was this a climbing date?

If so that was your mistake.

Tug wrote:Was this a climbing date? If so that was your mistake.

No it wasn't. Sorry!

clay meier wrote:Man people are such assholes! Way to show restraint dude! Good luck with your gear.

classy profile pic!

and bob, i can totally see the draw to squeeze in Madame Gs. what a fun climb.

Optimistic wrote: You're familiar with the route, right? Don't you think the traverses and overhanging rock (particularly if he left the bottom end attached to the second) would have made cleaning on rappel pretty tricky? In the dark, no less? By the time he got to his first piece he'd be 20 or 30 feet left of his rappel anchor...sounds pretty awkward with the rope fixed below him...

I'm familiar with the climb, IIRC after the belay it traverses right and then back left at the end forming a C. Perhaps bringing you close under the anchor by the time you get down to you last piece? But... I haven't been there in a long time, so I don't know what the current state of fixed gear is, so you are right. You could prolly do shenanigans like rapping down and perhaps re-climbing on a self belay back to the top, but it's not something I'd recommend to everybody especially in the dark.

doligo wrote: I'm familiar with the climb, IIRC after the belay it traverses right and then back left at the end forming a C. Perhaps bringing you close under the anchor by the time you get down to you last piece? But... I haven't been there in a long time, so I don't know what the current state of fixed gear is, so you are right. You could prolly do shenanigans like rapping down and perhaps re-climbing on a self belay back to the top, but it's not something I'd recommend to everybody especially in the dark.

The second/third pitches wander, and the biggest issue I can see is the final section of climbing traverses right at the top. In theory you could rap/self belay that section to get any gear placed there, then rap down the middle of the climb from a tree at the top to get many of the remaining pieces. Anything left in the first corner starting P2 might be 'lost' since getting that far left to clean it would be difficult and perhaps a little unsafe (severe swing). This would also require leaving something behind as an anchor for the final rap to the ground.

Alternatively, you could rap much of the way down the route from the topout/finish, clipping into your pieces as you go, then self belay (using an autoblock) back up the climb cleaning as you went. Because of rope length restrictions you wouldn't reach the few lowest pieces, but you would get a majority of the gear back and wouldn't need to leave anything behind as an anchor for rappelling down since you'll be back at the normal rap above Teton.

I always use an autoblock on rappel.

devilslakeclimbingguides.co…

Benjaminadk wrote: classy profile pic! and bob, i can totally see the draw to squeeze in Madame Gs. what a fun climb.

Oh yeah! It might be my favorite climb there. I've taken a lot of my friends up it during their first time to the Gunks because I feel like it epitomizes Gunks climbing so well.

Bob, maybe it's too late at this point, but you can try posting to the 'climbing buddies' group on Facebook. It's pretty active with Gunks climbers, more so than several other FB climbing groups. Also, I would ask everyone here and anywhere else you post, to post a note with your contact info on the board by the uberfall outhouse, if they happen to go to the Gunks anytime soon.

Reading this thread is pretty disheartening- constructive criticism is great, even when it's a little blunt. But to repeatedly insult / blame Bob for making some mistakes that most of us probably have or would make at some point, is disrespectful and counterproductive. Especially since he was honest and humble and acknowledged the mistakes, and clearly made some smart decisions afterwards to put safety over gear.

And to those saying his gear is now "officially booty"- you are terrible people and should be ashamed of yourselves. You should seriously give some thought to how you live your life and treating others as you wish to be treated. When you find gear, especially a ton of it that was clearly lost or left in duress, the right thing to do is to make an effort to find the owner, and only consider keeping it if those efforts fail. To take gear after reading about a post trying to recover it is nothing less than stealing.

Finally, I love a semantic debate as much as anyone, but please don't hijack a thread that someone's trying to use to find their gear.

Bob, best of luck.

Dan Africk wrote:But to repeatedly insult / blame Bob for making some mistakes that most of us probably have or would make at some point, is disrespectful and counterproductive.

most of us eh? Dont put me or most climbers in that boat Dan, speak for yourself.

Also Bob, it's a long shot, but you could contact Rock and Snow in New Paltz. People often turn in found gear to them, they're kind of a de facto lost & found service in the Gunks. I'm not sure how many people are aware of that though..

Mike, starting a climb too late in the day or bringing an inexperienced partner on a route that is a little too much for them are serious, but extremely common mistakes. I do think most climbers have made or will make one of those mistakes at some point. If you're better than that, good for you, let's argue some more.. jeez.

PS- Bob if you need a suggestion for a good headlamp, let me know. I've found myself climbing or rapping in the dark more than I'd like, and having a bright, reliable headlamp makes a huge difference. (and a spare battery in my chalk bag..)

Dan Africk wrote:And to those saying his gear is now "officially booty"- you are terrible people and should be ashamed of yourselves. You should seriously give some thought to how you live your life and treating others as you wish to be treated. When you find gear, especially a ton of it that was clearly lost or left in duress, the right thing to do is to make an effort to find the owner, and only consider keeping it if those efforts fail. To take gear after reading about a post trying to recover it is nothing less than stealing.

Terrible person? Not everybody has the time and energy to track down the owner of every piece of gear they come across. Just makes them busy, not a terrible person. That being said, whoever finds 8 pieces in a row probably just turned them in at RocknSnow.

marty funkhouser wrote: Terrible person? Not everybody has the time and energy to track down the owner of every piece of gear they come across. Just makes them busy, not a terrible person. That being said, whoever finds 8 pieces in a row probably just turned them in at RocknSnow.

You are so busy you can't post on MP or leave a note at Rock and Snow, but you have time to climb Madame Gs and clean the gear?

Maybe just leave it in place if you are that pressed for time?

I don't think even Bob has contested whether or not the gear is booty, as outlined here:

climberism.com/to-be-or-not…

"The infamous Tradman has helped lead the next generation of booty seekers by creating simple “commandments,” characterizing what is considered booty and what is considered stealing...

#1 If you leave it for any reason other than assisting in a rescue it is booty as soon as you leave the parking lot unless you make it known that you will be back the next day to retrieve it.
#2 if you plan on getting it the next day BE THERE BY 6:00AM! Don’t show up at 4:00pm and start crying when you can’t find your shwagg.
#3 If it takes full screws and you don’t know how to make a thread STFU and stop your whining
#4 Just because it is late and you are tired is no excuse to start drinking and head home to your computer to beg us to go retrieve you shwag for you.
Hike your lazy ass back up that trail and find you own lost tool or stop whining and write it off as lost.

Rules for finders.
#1 Stuff you find in the parking lot is Not booty. It’s lost and found material.
#2 Any and All gear that is left or misplaced in the course of a rescue including the victims gear is NOT booty and will be collected and returned to rightful owners.
#3 any gear that is abandoned or lost due to incompetence, lack of skill, sack or sheer laziness is booty as soon as the former owners of that gear have left the cliff and given up attempts to retrieve that gear. Exceptions would be when the spanked party announces intention to resume recovery process at first light the following day.
#4 Finders of booty may offer to return said booty. The losing party loses face if they accept the return of their gear.

Rules for the losers
#1 Asking for your gear back is bad form and shows a lack of self respect.
#2 If the finder of your shwag offers to return it you may accept but if you do you will lose face. Buying them a six pack or case will help but in some cases still not completely erase the honor debt. If they offer , you refuse and they offer again and you accept it’s much better but you should still buy them a drink and you still lost face just not as much face.
#3 The ONLY way to escape your embarrassing loss of gear without losing face is to not accept its return . A simple ” thanks for offering but you guys earned it” should give you a clean slate 99.9% of the time."

Kevin Heckeler wrote:I don't think even Bob has contested whether or not the gear is booty, as outlined here: climberism.com/to-be-or-not… "The infamous Tradman has helped lead the next generation of booty seekers by creating simple “commandments,” characterizing what is considered booty and what is considered stealing... #1 If you leave it for any reason other than assisting in a rescue it is booty as soon as you leave the parking lot unless you make it known that you will be back the next day to retrieve it. #2 if you plan on getting it the next day BE THERE BY 6:00AM! Don’t show up at 4:00pm and start crying when you can’t find your shwagg. #3 If it takes full screws and you don’t know how to make a thread STFU and stop your whining #4 Just because it is late and you are tired is no excuse to start drinking and head home to your computer to beg us to go retrieve you shwag for you. Hike your lazy ass back up that trail and find you own lost tool or stop whining and write it off as lost. Rules for finders. #1 Stuff you find in the parking lot is Not booty. It‚Äôs lost and found material. #2 Any and All gear that is left or misplaced in the course of a rescue including the victims gear is NOT booty and will be collected and returned to rightful owners. #3 any gear that is abandoned or lost due to incompetence, lack of skill, sack or sheer laziness is booty as soon as the former owners of that gear have left the cliff and given up attempts to retrieve that gear. Exceptions would be when the spanked party announces intention to resume recovery process at first light the following day. #4 Finders of booty may offer to return said booty. The losing party loses face if they accept the return of their gear. Rules for the losers #1 Asking for your gear back is bad form and shows a lack of self respect. #2 If the finder of your shwag offers to return it you may accept but if you do you will lose face. Buying them a six pack or case will help but in some cases still not completely erase the honor debt. If they offer , you refuse and they offer again and you accept it’s much better but you should still buy them a drink and you still lost face just not as much face. #3 The ONLY way to escape your embarrassing loss of gear without losing face is to not accept its return . A simple ” thanks for offering but you guys earned it” should give you a clean slate 99.9% of the time."

ohh kevin u such a bad man for posting this, what will your yoga instructor think at your next class?

Miike wrote: ohh kevin u such a bad man for posting this, what will your yoga instructor think at your next class?

Yoga booty is never off-limits.

It doesn't appear that you are getting the gear back.

Dan Africk wrote: I've found myself climbing or rapping in the dark more than I'd like, and having a bright, reliable headlamp makes a huge difference. (and a spare battery in my chalk bag..)

I like to call this the "Minnesota Finish", for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who's lived in - or climbed enough with people from - the Twin Cities.

Miike wrote: ohh kevin u such a bad man for posting this, what will your yoga instructor think at your next class?

I suspect an extra 5 minutes of the one handed tree pose. And three hail marys.

Madame G's is not a difficult route. Sounds like you took a beginner on it and they froze up and wouldn't even try to get up the route. Not very fair to this poor frightened women stuck on a ledge at night fall. You should know the ability of your climbing partners and not put them and you into this predicament.

I love everything about his thread. Thank you for the entertainment.