Steve Wunsch and I climbed this in 1981, and it seems to have fallen into total obscurity. I revisited it recently, and think it deserves more attention.

I'd forget the second pitch---think of the climb as "Grand Central Direct." Start up the crack/corner as for GC, but when the traverse left by the tree on GC is reached, instead traverse right on a friction slab and then diagonal slightly back left and up to the start of the business on the regular Grand Central route (at the point on the regular route reached when one steps right around the corner from the rightward traverse). From there, continue up GC to the top.

The route is well-protected. I would have guessed G, but I'm not too good with those ratings and Dick says PG---better listen to him. Perhaps part of the problem is that some of the gear has to be placed from trying positions.

Difficulty is in the 5.10 range (Dick says 5.10b/c but that might be a bit high). Some of the moves are unobvious, enough so that I think chalk on the holds would lower the difficulty a letter grade, whatever it is, by eliminating time otherwise spent exploring options and tiring yourself out.

The sense of adventure is heightened by enough lichen to suggest that there have been extremely few ascents in the last nineteen years.

Dick gave it no stars and no bold-facing in the purple Near Trapps guide, which means it will probably languish in obscurity forever. As the proud papa, I'm nominating it for hidden gem status (even though Coppertone will soon report that it is a choss-infested death route).

And of course he'll say it's no more than 5.8.

Not at all true. Rich pointed that out to me a little while back and it looks quite interesting and fun.

Hi Rich,

Mike Sawicky and I climbed what we called Penn Station probably some time in the late 80s or early 90s (see the Swain guide?). We gave it the name "Penn Station". We tried to climb something to the left of Layback(is that what's just right of Grand Central?) that we had heard Stannard had done. There was no gear. I think we climbed up Layback half way. We then traversed out left and up and over the big roof at the top near the left side. There's an odd crack that looks wide at the surface but is shallow. The real crack in thin. The roof was in the mid 10 range and fun.

As far as I have heard, we did the FA of the roof. The rest of our "Penn Station" was nothing to speak about. Combine the roof with what you describe (which I don't really understand) might the the best route.

Ivan

Hi Ivan,

The roof you climbed (according to Dick also in 1981) is described in Purple Dick as the top pitch of the route Wunsch and I climbed. But the way Dick describes it, you belay below the final roof on Grand Central, traverse right and down fifteen feet, and then climb the roof you guys did. (Which is why I said "forget the roof...feeling a little sheepish about that now...) There's no mention of an independent line up to the your roof between Layback and Grand Central. I wonder how close you came to our route lower down, since we moved right from Grand Central and you moved left from Layback.

S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E!!!

Maybe even squeezier.

It has been pointed out to me that if I had even the most elementary reading skills, I would have known that Dick Williams also put up a direct line called BaBaMoran at 11a from the ground between Grand Central and Layback up to the overhang that Ivan climbed, this in contradiction to my idiotic proclamation that "there's no mention of an independent line up to the your roof between Layback and Grand Central." The route is supposed to be quite good.

So now we have me coming in from the left, Ivan from the right, and Dick going straight up. Might all these lines be distinct?

This conversation makes me realize my own myopic focus on guidebook route descriptions. Only rarely have I intentionally struck out on a new (or new-to-me) course to the top of one of the cliffs. (Less often than unintentional wanderings!) Learning that there's not one but three variations crammed in between two routes I've done more than once makes me consider what I missed when I was looking around on my way up.

A good lesson for me to try to remember as the weather improves.

Did this route with a friend a few weeks ago. It definetly deserves a star or two. I can't believe Dick didn't even put it in bold. Great route when linked into grand central...