Dave Custer and Susan Ruff are in town! They invited Bill and me for some climbing fun in the vicinity of Double Crack this morning. We had time today, so we moseyed on over to the Yellow Wall.
And I mean we really moseyed. I think it was already in the 80s when we hit the Stairmaster. Bill was feeling low energy, and I wasn't much better. I'd climbed far more than usual in the past week, 5 out of 6 days. It was great! But fatigue was building up every day.
When we found our friends, Dave had already led "Bold-ville" (5.8). Bill had told me that he was no way climbing anything harder than 5.5, and he stuck to his guns. The route looked doable to me, however, so I decided to give it a go. I rarely get to try a Gunks 5.8. It was a stretch for me. I managed to get up it with two or three hangs. It's a lot of fun, requiring a mix of strength and technique. I hope to get it clean, some day.
Susan followed it clean after I came down. Then we looked around for something that might make Bill happy. We found a 5.6 nearby, "The Nose". Dave did a phenomenal job of leading this meandering route without much drag. Bill followed it and later declared he thought he might be able lead it! That sounds a bit ambitious to me... Anyway, I also followed it, and felt happy that I climbed it clean. It's not at all easy. I found the traverse across the side of the initial prow to be the crux, with okay handholds, but very thin and sparse footholds. Susan followed it last, and cleaned the anchors.
At this point, Bill and I slunk off to cooler environs, leaving Dave and Susan to enjoy the shade that had begun to cover the Yellow Wall at around 2 PM. We had a happy climbing day! And it was also a remarkably quiet day at the Gunks, especially given that it was a holiday weekend. Maybe the heat kept people away.
Dave leading "The Nose" (5.6). Susan belaying.
Another look at Dave starting "The Nose" (Susan belaying). He'll turn right at the corner, go out right to a good stance at the edge of this photo, then head back left and low across the face of the big prow, all the way to the oak tree.
Dave just above the oak tree on "The Nose".
Here, Dave is around the corner and maybe 30 feet up from the oak tree on "The Nose". He's approaching the anchors.
Bill following "The Nose". This helps you understand why this route is called "The Nose"! Photo © 2025 Dave Custer.