Gunsight to South Peak is a must-do classic at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. The direct variation goes up the east face of the ridgeline and provides a bit more exposure. Due to this and the fewer placement options the guidebook calls it a 5.5 for 5.7 leaders. I'm relatively new to trad climbing but I found it to protect just fine if you keep your head together. Another foray into longform FPV climbing and still dialing in my new GoPro loadout (changing it next run).
Most fun you'll have on a 5.4 anywhere! I love this route! I did all hungover after 3 days of rain cinco de mayo weekend this year and loved every minute of it! The climbing, not the hangover part. and i agree, the pro is solid and plentiful.
yep you're totally right. I felt 100% and I trusted my buddy would too but I should have placed a few more pieces to avoid any unexpected intense pendulum action.
@@AidanOH23when the 2nd climber follows up the route the leader protected, he will have to remove the gear as he follows up. Less gear placements could cause a large swing to either side of the cliff edge in between long runout gear placements.
Dude, you need to place way more and better gear. I know it's only 5.4, but there were a lot of places where if you or your partner had fallen, there's a good chance you'd have been carried out on a stretcher. You skipped a lot of good placements and ran it out for no reason. When I was learning trad, a mentor told me to always keep two good pieces of gear between you and the hospital. You also should generally place twice as much gear on a traverse as you would on a face climb, to protect yourself and your second from a bad pendulum fall. A guide told me about a bad accident at Seneca where the leader ran out a traverse, didn't place nearly enough gear, and their second fell and pendulum'd into an arete with the force of a 30 ft ground fall. You're clearly a strong climber, so you're getting away with it. But that might not be the case if you end up on some sandbagged route with tricky gear - of which there are plenty at Seneca and the Gunks 😝. Stay safe and climb on!
yeah you're not the first to call me out on gear placement, and on this climb in particular. I'm strong enough on 5.4 but definitely taking my time going up the grades because I have lots to learn. I'm a lot more thoughtful now than I was then when protecting the climb. Thanks for the comment