Murph it shoud be noted that pedestrians NEVER EVER exaggerate.

Actually I would say Broken sling is very well protected and other than the boulder problem start, is really straight forward. Birdland, while being an exquisite climb, has a tricky thin crux with not so good gear. Alphonse is good. None of these are break into the grade 5.8's though. Eastertime Too...you better have some good stamina off the ground, because it is pumpy for a new 5.8 leader. Alphonse is the best bet I think. Farewell to Arms I have always thought is hard for a 5.8. Far from the Madding Crowd is pretty good, and has one crux move up high with okay gear. Baskerville Terrace and TeDum....both good intro 5.8 climbs, even though they are 5.7+

RR

baskerville terrace is awesome. i can't remember why i enjoyed it but i really really did.

Modern times is a great 5.8 to give a go.

Hey, It's not crimpy.

But seriously, I liked Boldville a lot. It's on the Winter/Spring wall. Great gear and short. Then you can TR a bunch of sick stuff.

Birdland pitch 2 is really pumpy for an 8. Save it for later. But do it. P1 is an easy lead.

Just did P2 of Diana which was very nice...

Alpine Diversions is also a good one. A bit pumpy but good smaller gear and a fixed nut below the crux roof. Nothing but air to hit.

-Fear

Alphonse is pretty soft for an 8. I'm not sure where the first spot Julie is talking about is, I think there's only heading into the notch after the overhang. And the hanging belay isn't a hanging belay if you set up in just the right spot (which is all the way to the left). By the way, wthout doubles, it can't really be done in one pitch without unpleasant rope drag - I say this from unpleasant experience.

The gear on Birdland is impeccable. There's no reason not to make this an early lead in one's 5.8 career. Ditto for Eastertime Too, except that the gear is definitely hard to get in. Some people skip it, and that's a big mistake. But if you hang in there and get it (or even if you fall trying) it's quite safe.

I don't know if Farewell To Arms is R or not, but I can say that there are some 5.8 moves where you really don't want to fall. Baskerville (which is rated 5.7+) as well gets PG13 in the Swain book, and I agree with that. You'd bang yourself up pretty good if you fell at the end of the crux sequence. Very puzzling crux, by the way, hence very satisfying when you finally pull it.

Main Line is a great climb, but there are some issues with the gear that make it less than ideal for an early 5.8 leader.

We haven't mentioned Outer Space, by the way. There's a couple of PG spots, but the climbing there is way below 5.8. A good early lead.

5.8 is a great grade at the Gunks, but not as much in the Nears as in the Trapps, where there are tons of great pitches, many of them fine for someone breaking into the grade.

I must be missing some absolutely bomber gear at the crux of Birdland. I;ve lead it about 10 times and I get nothing but shit every time. While not terribly hard. I have always thought that crux move is hairy because the gear blows. So what the hell am I missing?

RR

So what the hell am I missing?

A yellow//green hybrid?

or a little bitty nut placed in the bottom of that funky pod

or a #6 BD stopper placed SIDEWAYS to utilize the taper.

you can throw in a yellow green offset at the bottom of the scar or a blue black or blue green at the top of the scar or a #5 HB bronsey. And then you can use that blue black a move later in the middle of the move if you're a scaredy cat.

ah, the wonderful feeling of information gleaned from the long ago days when I could actually climb...