Drove to the Gunks with Little Lauren on Wednesday. Weather was perfect -- high 70s, blue sky with white fluffy clouds. Started the day with Bunny, a two pitch 5.4 near the Uberfall. Nice easy climb. Good warm-up for me and good seconding practice for Lauren. We scrambled down the Uberfall (which always scares the heck out of me) and ate a nice lunch.

Then off to the base of High Exposure. Had to hunt around a bit to find the climb. There was not another climber in sight. After some consultation with the guide book and a trek up and down the base of the cliff, we were quite sure we had High E in our sights.

First pitch was a fun 5.5 climb to a nice belay ledge just above tree level. Second pitch (which most climbers link with the first pitch) is an easy 5.4 with beautiful views and an airy traverse. The second pitch finishes on what the guidebook calls a "spectacular ledge." But that description just doesn't do it justice. Fantastic view of the entire Trapps to the West. Skytop to the East, glowing in the setting sun. A green valley out in front of us with rolling hills and farmland as far as the eye can see. We take pictures with the small camera that Lauren has on the back of her harness. Starting up the third pitch I made some easy moves to the roof and then traversed right. Was looking at a 15' ledge fall, but didn't want to put in any pro because of the serious rope drag it would cause after pulling the roof. A safer strategy would probably have been to protect the first few moves, then clean those pieces after getting a piece at the base of the roof. The guidebook says you need big cams to protect the roof, and sure enough you do. Unfortunately I don't have any big cams. Hunt for other placements and come up with nothing that could possibly hold a fall. Finally I grab my biggest cam (#8 Trango) and reach way, way back into the crack and find a narrow section that actually fits my cam quite nicely. Two runners needed to extend the pro back to the edge of the crack. Now I'm ready to squirm around the roof (5.6+ crux). It is actually an easy move. Unusual because it is done from a mostly horizontal position, but not difficult and perhaps even a bit graceful. I establish myself above the crux and get in a solid piece. I tell Lauren that I thought the crux of Shockley's Ceiling (5.6) was much harder, but I add plenty of words to honor the High E. crux least I establish bad karma for the rest of the climb. Also mention to Lauren that falling at the crux would be a bad thing for her since she would end up dangling in space 200' above the ground with absolutely no way to get back on the cliff (Lauren doesn't prussik). After seeing her face, I amend my comment -- it would be bad for me if she fell, since I would have to haul her up to get back on the cliff (and I provide assurance that I could do it if necessary). Continuing on above the roof, I enjoy about 25' of slightly overhung climbing with bomber holds and excellent pro. Then easy terrain to the top of the cliff. I bring up Lauren, who has no problem with the climb. We enjoy the view of the setting sun and the exhilaration of a classic climb. Finding the rap anchors off to the right, we start down the cliff. Lauren rappelled once off Schoellkopf five years ago, so I rig the entire setup, then rap down myself to provide a fireman's belay. Same process for the second rap. At the bottom of the second rap, I can't find the final anchor in the darkness. I start to pull out the small LED headlamp I have carried while climbing ever since a harrowing experience down-leading a climb at Seneca in the dark. Meanwhile Lauren comes down and spots the final anchor a few feet to the right. Finishing the third rappel (each one almost exactly 25 meters) we reach the ground, grab our packs, and gingerly make our way to the carriage road.

Camping that night we eat a hearty stir-fry and discuss the day's adventure. We sleep late the next morning, then leisurely eat breakfast and break camp. Weather is a few degrees warmer this day, but still nearly perfect for climbing. We start day number two with a run up Horseman (5.5) which is a very nice climb. Ironically, the party on the next route over is starting at the exact same time as we are. They drove six hours from Virginia that morning. Ummm... Perhaps we slept a bit later than necessary.

After again walking down the Uberfall (still scary) we ate lunch and decided to toprope something hard. We set a rope on the Gerdie block and climbed Red Cabbage (5.9-), Red Cabbage Right (5.10b), and some unnamed (but well chalked) variant of the two that felt harder than both.

Our second day of climbing complete, our onion bagels with cheddar gone, the last of the oat squares sliding around their tupperware container... we declare ourselves well satisfied and drive back to Ithaca.