As a budding 5.8 leader, I'm trying to find the best climbs to ease my way into the grade. Since I'll be spending this weekend in the Nears, what are the best 5.8 routes in the Nears for someone breaking into the grade? (yes I know about the routes database)

On my list are Broken Sling, Alphonse, Birdland, Farewell to Arms, Eastertime Too, and The Main Line. Are any of these especially sandbagged or dangerous? Any other good routes to add?

The climbs you have listed are all pretty good.

For what its worth, Farewell to Arms was my first 8. It looks a little iffy from the ground but the gear is good and the climbing is pretty straight forward. I try to never TR, but you simply must TR To Be or Not to Be after doing this. It really great and right below the chains on Farewell.

Birdland is stellar, basically follows the pattern of: do a move, get a stance... Gear is great too. There is no reason to clip a pin on this climb.

This being said, your going to have to get really lucky to find these free this weekend. You would be better going down to Mainline.

Ive never been on Eastertime Too, so I cant say anything. Broken Sling might be a bit hard if youre just starting on 8s.

Hope that helps.

Ross

Your list is good. For a first eight, I'd recommend Eastertime Too. The hardest moves are not far from the ground and the protectability couldn't be better – in other words, minimal intimidation.

Alphonse, Eastertime Too and Main Line are all good, PG or G 5.8 climbs. If you lead Eastertime Too and don''t mind ruining the onsite, Good Friday Climb is worth a TR.

Birdland is one of the best, but a hard 5.8.

I would not recommend Broken Sling for an initial 5.8

Can't comment on Farewell to Arms, only followed it and that was years ago .

TS

They're all very straighforward and well worth doing. Word of advice for Alphonse. Either do it in one pitch, or break into two: to the short tree ledge, then to the top. DO NOT belay below the crux, where one of the books suggests (Swain maybe?). I made this mistake once, and it was not fun.

Also worth doing is P1 of Fat Stick. From the top, traverse over to Generation Gap (I think) then work your way up and right to P3 of Yellow Ridge and finish on that. Nice "adventure" climb.

As for Broken Sling, if you're okay with bouldering, you should be fine. It's a bouldery start, you get good pro from a pretty good stance (look left of the nose for the pro), and just go. Nothing hard or dangerous after that. Abundant, solid pro. I'm speaking of P1 only. I'd personally avoid P2 if you're just breaking into the grade.

As a perennial 5.8 leader, here are my thoughts and probably too much beta:

-- Alphonse is great. There are really only two 5.8 spots - the P2 corner can be a bit 5.8, and pulling the overlap on P3. Thing is, the hanging belay above P2 is really awful and to be avoided. Best thing would be to combine at least P2 and P3, but you'll need doubles or some really good eye for rope drag - it wanders about as much as Disneyland. You might want to suffer the hanging belay just to get the lay of the land down, then combine pitches your next time on it.

-- Broken Sling is stout for 5.8 and has a well-earned reputation for injury. You can clearly see why. It doesn't let up that much after the beginning, either.

-- Birdland has my number. The first crux - for short-reachy whiners like me only - is down by the first pin, and it's HARD for me. The real crux is easier, but more mental. The gear is tricky, and I've caught a damn big fall from the crux where the gear blew - the guy ended up swinging below the overhanging nose. I'm not a big fan of the route.

-- Eastertime 2 is great. Solid 5.8, but solidly G. Good Friday is 5.9, but PG-13 at the least ... so I would "save" other 5.9s for onsighting, go ahead and TR it.

-- Mainline: P1 is fantastic, 5.8 lite and fairly well protected IMO. P2 has an awkward/pumpy pull over a bulge where you have a choice of a) gear or b) a hold; and the fall is a smack onto a slab. Leader must not fall.

-- Outsider - just past Mainline - fantastic. Plus it gets a rope over the Voids, one of which looks 5.8 and isn't!

-- Moxie/Giddah (can't remember which is which) - warm up on the very nice 5.6, then do the 5.8. It's tricky. And short, but good.

-- Yellow Belly. Do the "direct start" (5.9) - much more aesthetic, and you won't fall anywhere, cam right at your waist.

Yo nerdom - how's the gear on P1 of Fat Stick?

I really can't recommend farewell to arms to a budding leader.

I wouldn't like the traverse, I wouldn't like finding the gear just after the traverse, or the part after that either. I'd be really really happy when I reached the corner and finally wasn't worried about decking.

Broken Sling, Birdland P1 more than P2, Alphonse all sound like excellent 5.8's to start out with.

I'm not sure I could any more routes...

Farewell to Arms, in the words of Lord Helmet (and everyone here loves his opinions but on this I happen to agree with him)

is not 5.8PG, it's 5.7+ R.

Took me a lot of time spent on gear dickery to lead it. Much better to get M.S. to free solo it for you if you want to hang a rope off those anchors

I'll agree w/ Ped and say that while Farewell To Arms is a good route (and the best TR bonus on the planet as your reward ), it's not for the budding 5.8 leader.
(sorry dude, it's not R rated tho - at least, no moreso than Hyjecks is )

Even getting up the opening corner and getting started on the traverse is sketchy, if not actually hard climbing.
Very insecure feeling.

Then you clip the pins, and if you don't know to extend a really long runner, you'll hose yourself w/ rope drag as you move up the steepening corner. (he says, from experience)

Which is where the route gets its name, cuz you get more and more pumped moving up, and you get to a point where you can try to hang in for one more piece, or say F it and grab the horn and go around the corner.
I always do the latter, but if one were to come off having done so it would be ugly.

Eastertime Too is only 5.8 if you have good jamming skills. I didn't then (not that I do now), so it was a hangfest for me.

If you can get somebody to gun the 5.9 p2 of Grand Central for ya, the 5.8 last pitch is fun, albeit short.

Agreed that Alphonse should be done in 2 pitches, sans the bogus hanging belay.
Much nicer that way.