Ants' Line 

Tony, you must not be a local? This route is routinely gang-roped from dawn to dusk. It took me the better part of a season to find it free to lead. Late afternoon is a good time to seek it out, after the crowds have worn their friends out.

Please be courteous if you're going to TR this route, or Ents. Note: If you TR Ents, you *will* interfere with a leader on Ants - so don't do it. As a reminder, leaders have the right-of-way. (wonder how I know this?)

The route is steeper than pictures ever show it - when you lower off, you come out past the tree at the start. It's also a shady spot, nice in summer, brutal in winter. It can stay wet inside the corner longer than usual after a rain.

One final note: at my height (5'7" with a -2 ape), there's a steep 5.7/8 move to make before you can get gear in under the first roof, which is the first piece you'll want to place. After that, it's G all the way. Enjoy!

one of the most aesthetic lines in the gunks... just screams "Climb me!" a certain must do for the 5.9 gunks climber

This climb was fantastic! Walking up to it, I turned the corner and the first sight of it stopped me in my tracks. What a gorgeous line! Even better, there was no one in sight. Good gear and fun stemming the whole way.

On Sunday June 13th, 2010n a large block came off of Ant's Line. It now rests at the base of the climb. It came off in the rain as a party top-roped the wet route. This feature appeared solid but upon inspection (after it was on the ground) was nothing more than a poorly detached and heavy flake. The rock ripped a chunk out of the tree roots at the base of Ents Line. Fortunately and remarkably nobody was hurt.

Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Do you have any more information about the former location of the block? Is it visible in any of the posted photos? Does its absence change the climb?

Seth, you can see the block directly below the climber in this photo:mountainproject.com/images/87/90/106278790_large_21186e.jpg

It was the small roof above the first large one... You can actually see the fracture line on the right side of the block. It's on the right side of the dihedral. The block itself is about a foot high, 2 feet wide and 6 inches deep. This was an important hand and foot through this section, so yes, the climbing down low is different. I don't know if it'll be much more difficult. I didn't get on the climb that day.

Wow, big block. Thanks for the info.

I was belaying my partner (TR on a soggy day) when the block came off. He was fully above it at the time (very, very fortunate) and not touching it at all. I was belaying leaning against the more distant of two large boulders at the base and saw the block coming with enough time to jump out of the way. Good thing, too, since the block came to rest just about where I was standing.

I climbed the route shortly after the rockfall to scope out the rock scar and the (new) climbing. The entire block was attached by, at most, a few square inches of stone, and has probably been loose for a long time. Many people have yarded on it and placed gear behind it on lead; given the typically heavy traffic, it's fantastically lucky that nobody was hurt when the block decided to separate. The absence of the block revealed some good hand holds, but does make for awkward footing as you step over the newly formed overlap. The block's absence doesn't change the grade or character of the route at all.

A first-hand lesson in why you ought not tie your belayer down (or make sure they're way, WAY out of the fall-line) in a single-pitch climbing scenario.

... added two new photos that show the location of the block, and its new resting place:

www.mountainproject.com/v/new_york/the_gunks/the_trapps/1068>>>
www.mountainproject.com/v/new_york/the_gunks/the_trapps/1068>>>

Bring your A game and grab rests where you can get them. I sewed it up with mostly passive pro with a #2 Camelot for good measure at the roof crux. I was seriously pumped at the crux and was loosing grip on the undercling, so I went for the move and stuck it. Beware of a loose brick sized block right above the roof. It looks like it's not going anywhere soon, but it's pretty rattly.

Nothing too devious on this one for the solid 5.9 leader. If you can keep from getting pumped, you can figure it out.