Can't believe this route escaped me for so many years. I just never knew it existed. Any opinions on it? Williams gives it 3 Stars.

Mr. D

It's good!

The first pitch is a 5.6 with great exposure and easy moves around the corner to the bolts. Pitch two has a long traverse to the right and then good 5.7 face climbing to the GT ledge. Pitch 3 is a little ununsual, with a short off-width (easily skipped) to another ledge and then a climb up the big corner to an interesting exit at the top, pretty good for 5.5.

Most people just climb to the bolts to set up Feast of Fools but the whole route is good.

Concurred

Thirded.

If you go to the chains at the top of the first you end up having to down climb to the good holds to start the traverse or just turn the corner and set up the belay in good cracks.

Start of the third is interesting

Rap over by Arrow

Start of the third is easy if you do any amount of bouldering jams are unnecessary and for blorty grovelmeisters!

i still have to lead the last bit above the ledge since when i did the first bit the rope slotted right into a groove and would have made nasty rope drag.

Bouldering ? Its a 5.5 weird move. Its just make you think for a moment no need for jammin this is the gunks just lay it back.

Yeah, I wish someone had told me that beforehand; I had old pins at my feet on the traverse! Plus I headed up from the traverse in the wrong place at least twice and had to downclimb, and I still don't know if I went up in the right place the third time.

Wouldn't mind trying it again someday, though.

Funny, that downclimbing stuff doesn't fit with my recollection at all! I went to the right from the bolts and I recall placing a piece at the level of my feet at least once to protect the traverse... but I don't remember climbing down. I also got about fifteen or twenty feet from the belay and wasn't sure whether to head up yet. Then I spotted a piton a bit to my right and when I got to that piton it was obvious where to go up.

I'm like Daniel -- that's the first I ever heard that there's any downclimbing involved at the start of the second pitch. I just got in some gear and followed the path of least lichen out to the right from the bolted belay, then up when I saw the obvious pin and shallow corner. Good climbing with some committing moves.

On P1, the "obvious" exit of the corner that's mentioned in the guidebook didn't seem obvious at all to me. I almost made the mistake of traversing too early when I saw some chalked juggy holds and a pin or two out to the right; instead, I continued up to the correct exit. Another leader who got on after me did that and said he soon found himself in 5.10 territory.

The start of the third pitch was the hardest part, but not outrageous. From the ledge, the rest of the pitch looked fairly unassuming, but I thought it was fun climbing with a fairly exciting finish for 5.5.

All in all, I thought Hans' Puss was an excellent lead.

JL

I didn't down-climb from the bolted anchor either: