Moonlight 5.6
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| Type: | Trad, 2 pitches, 230 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.6 [details] |
| FA: | Bill Ryan, Willie Crowther, 1960 |
| Submitted By: | John Peterson on Mar 7, 2006 |
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Pitch 1 is a beautiful corner and face climb.
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Area closures MORE INFO >>>
2013 Peregrine Closure: Bloody Bush (5.7) to Overhanging Layback (5.7). This includes Arch, Ribs, Strictly, Shockley's and the Mac Wall. Best wishes to the nestlings.
This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project.
You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.
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Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment
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Description This is a delightful 5.6, almost as nice as Madame G's or High E. The crux is as exciting as any 5.6 in the Gunks.
The first pitch is easy to locate: Use the same access trail as for CCK, just past the Andrew boulder. At the top of the access trail you'll see an obvious crack/corner system leading straight up. This is about 55' left of the huge Erect Direction corner.
P1: Climb up the face just right of an overhang and head for an obvious anchor on some small trees. Then follow the corner up to the GT Ledge. 5.5, 130'.
P2: Move right on the GT Ledge about 40' (this is the same as the start of the 2nd pitch of Erect Direction) and climb up, diagonaling left, towards a large roof. Once you reach the base of the overhang, look for a fixed pin to the left and place a nut or two to back it up. Now, the crux: cower left, down and around the corner to a stance. This is all balance - no big jugs to save your ass until it's over. Then up through a nice finger crack to the final corner (easier on the right-hand wall) and the top. 5.6, 100'.
If your second falls at the crux, lowering to the GT Ledge may be your only way to get back onto the rock.
Descent: there is a bolted rappel line ~150 feet to the north, which descends over The Last Will Be First. Alternatively, head south to rappel from a big chain over No Glow.
Protection Standard Gunks rack
Rich Gottlieb, just after the crux on P2.
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Starting Moonlight
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starting up 2nd pitch
Looks like a weekend...
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Nice view of Pitch 2
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Partway up P1.
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Unknown climber above the crux on pitch 2 of Moonl...
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Drifting out towards the difficult section of moon...
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By Adam Catalano
From: Albany, New York
Apr 30, 2006
| Absolutely a classic climb. Tops High E in my opinion. Stay low through the crux. The crux arete move is a good distance from your last piece, so keep your head about you. |
By Michel
From: Montreal, Quebec
Mar 5, 2007
| This is such a thought-provoking climb. Thoughts that were provoked: man, how do I start off? Do I follow that arch? Where's the damned piton? Oh crap, I'm slipped, will that piton hold?
In other words, great climb. |
By losbill
May 30, 2007
rating: 5.6
| Fabulous climb. The P2 business features beautiful rock, nice moves with outstanding exposure and position. I am just not very good at this star thing. In terms of exposure (and feeling exposed) and moves I think Moonlight has it over High E. However I guess it it the truly airy aspect (position) of High E's P3 that gets it the 4th star.
If High E is busy, don't hesitate to do Moonlight. I don't think you will be disappointed. |
By Spiro
Nov 16, 2007
| great climb, same level as Madame G and just as much fun. Good beta about staying low thru traverse. Easy route to find while climbing. I would give it 3 stars if I could figure out how. |
By GMBurns
Aug 12, 2008
rating: 5.7 PG13
| P2 has some of the best climbing I've done in the Gunks. The traverse is well exposed and committing, and so is the face / crack at the top.
I found the first pitch to not be that great, but P2 makes this definitely worth it. |
By Fall Guy
Oct 30, 2009
| we climbed a really wet first pitch of CCK and walked over and did Moonlight P2, next time I'll do first pitch of Erect Direction to get to it. great climb! |
By doligo
Apr 26, 2010
rating: 5.6
| A must do 5.6 in the Gunks. If you think after you clear the traverse, the hardest part is over, you'd be up for some rude awakening. The climb keeps on giving for all 100' of it. Don't forget your pink tricams and stoppers. Exciting lead! |
By gblauer
From: Wayne, PA
Jun 20, 2012
| I find this a somewhat serious climb for a 5.6. If you blow the traverse on P2, you are looking at an ugly fall back into the corner. The crack is beautiful, though. |
By Andy Laakmann
Site Landlord
From: Bend, OR
Oct 18, 2012
| Damn fun second pitch! |
By Kurtz
Nov 6, 2012
| Holy Guacamole, Batman! That was a spicy great 5.6! The start of P1 is much tougher than it looks, but P2 is the bomb. The rock looks suspect at first but improves. The pro is good. Routefinding becomes obvious as you go (Eliminate the impossible; what's left, no matter how scary, is the route). Note that the piton cannot be seen from below. Stepping around that traverse is a real eye-opener. Good feet and I found just enough hands to avoid incontinence. But wait! There's more fun ahead! |
By Benjaminadk
From: Lake George, NY
Apr 4, 2013
| i havent found a spicier 5.6 at the gunks. Not sure how the first pitch is only 5.5. getting started isn't that easy is it??? and the traverse on the second pitch is a boxer checker for sure. i snuck a purple c4 low to back up the pin but it still felt like it was a while before i got something else in. this is a sleeper classic climb. get on it and get scared. |
By Joe Grossmann
Apr 30, 2013
| P2 can totally rival High-E. A totally different climb, but yet similar. The crux is at the point with the most exposure and same level of exposure like High-E. Just a beautiful, classic climb. Only your last piece is terribly far away at the crux. Spicy for sure ...
Even P1 is worth doing on its own - WAY better than P1 of High-E. Good pitch to put a new 5.5 leader on since it's easy to protect |
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