Recompense 

Great route, and a great description. Wearing a helmet is a good idea here (especially on the weekend). A cam fell out of the sky while i was roping up for this. The last pitch can be toproped pretty easily.

The flake that made the "high-traverse" is now gone... Sadly, I ripped it off a few weeks ago. As I committed to it, it grumbled, I stepped back left and with two-fingers, ripped it off the cliff. It was one of the most magnificent "trundles" I have ever whittnessed. It was a good thing that we were doing the route in the pooring rain, because it crossed the approach trail 4 times and nearly made it to the flats below the talus slope. We followed the craters and downed trees until we found it. We humped it back up and laid it to rest, on display, on the side of the trail. If you are familiar with the flake and keep your eyes open, you will see it.
I assure you I didn't pull "too hard" or place gear behind it. I've climbed that section nearly 40 times and have always been aware of its fragility.
It might still be climbable, but its going to be in the 5.12 range...
Tim

On the approach trail, make a right at the base of the cliff. And then continue left up the stone steps. After the first wood staircase, turn left onto a flat granite area with a slab above it. This is the start. The second pitch is actually pretty good. The third pitch is badass.

for what it's worth the 3rd pitch felt harder than 5.9. I don't know if it was the humidty and the grease factor of my hands literally sliding out of the crack.

damn that offwidth is hard!

Joe Lee Wrote:

"On the approach trail, make a right at the base of the cliff. And then continue left up the stone steps. After the first wood staircase, turn left onto a flat granite area with a slab above it. This is the start. The second pitch is actually pretty good. The third pitch is badass. "

This is good beta for the traveling climber without a guidebook. Right on the money.
I agree, the second pitch is pretty good, very nice actually, not too hard if you've suffered through some wide pitches. There is bomber gear so that helps. We did it after a rain and it was a bit wet in places, but overall excellent climb, all three pitches are quality.

There was what looked to be a dried up pool of blood at the belay before the 3rd, dihedral pitch when I climbed this Wed 6/22/11. Anyone know what happened? Did Dracula drop his Nalgene while gettin ready for the dihedral?

An absolutely wonderful, and very well-protected climb.

Yes, there was an accident. A guy fell and broke his leg..compound fracture. There is a little about it at NEClimbs.com.

Just wondering - is the dead stump still there just b4 the start of P3? I imagine not. We rapped off this bugger to escape an impending storm back in the early 90's. That was exciting and obviously memorable.

it was still there last year... it makes a good seat when used just right and helps with rope management :) i would not rap from it however :)

I've lived and climbed in N. Conway for over 30 years and visitors always ask "What's the best 5.9 on Cathedral?" Yup, it's Recompense. (And here's a hint, the hardest move isn't on the 5.9 pitch!)

i, like paul Ross am rumored to have never done the last pitch

Is there a runout section with bad fall potential on this route? I'm wondering because of the accident in 2011; I couldn't find any details on what exactly happened.

There is no runout. However, Recompense has had it's fair share of accidents-- a pro or go scenario for some where the leader pumps out and pitches off onto the sloping belay ledge. Stop and place gear, you'll be fine.

I've never actually climbed all of recompense proper - opting for the Beast flake variation ever time. My partner and I had a bit of an epic actually finding the route the first time we went to Cathedral; with no prior knowledge of the base of the cliff and only old Webster's bible, we climbed a variety of other routes before finally finding this classic.