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:

Nice photo! Here's a link to one from the opposite perspective: http://mountainproject.com/v/new_york/the_gunks/the_trapps/106924636

JL

Thanks! It looks like we followed the same line.

I don't remember the start of the third pitch, but I do remember the end of it:

and

I want to thank you all for your responses regarding this route--and the pix were great. We climbed Hans Puss this afternoon (Vet's Day)--more-or-less--and I made these observations: 1. The easiest traverse around the corners of P1 took me right to the two-bolt anchor. 2. From there, I neither had to climb DOWN to good holds or UP to follow the line indicated by the topo in "The Gunks" coffee table/picture guidebook. 3. There are various pitons along the rising traverse I took from the two-bolt anchors. Another was probably the "Stannard piton" of the grey Williams guide's description. Climbing straight up from that piton looked questionable and I saw other pitons further right, along a ledge--so I went that way. This brought me to a point below a crack roughly 20 feet long. As I recollected some above comments about jamming and laybacking a crack, I took this to indicate I was on route. But I wasn't. I arrived on the GT ledge--but NOT with the "jagged off-width" above. After we got down, I realized that I'd actually finished via the crack at the end of P1 of Silhouette! Argh! 4. There seemed to be a discrepancy regarding the grade for the final pitch to the cliff-top. The Williams guide graded it 5.5; but the "The Gunks" book talked about this same pitch being "exposed 5.8" (although they gave the entire route a 5.7!). It was close to sunset and we didn't do the final pitch to the top, so I can't comment on which book was right.

I did the P1 traverse like you did.. across basically even with the bolts, maybe a bit lower. P2 traverse i went to the first corner with the pin.. didnt like it.. kept going to a bush with a crack near it.. liked that worse, then went back to the pin and committed there and found good holds although a bit reachy.

P3 of Hans puss is up a short #3 c4 crack to a small roof, around the roof to the right.. up to a big ledge. then up fairly casual 5.5 face climbing to an interesting left-right traverse at the top to a tree. none of which are really exposed or even close to 5.8

Heh, BTDT.

Wish I'd known that last pitch would have gone that easy!

Yep.. then your 2nd just keeps walking left down the trail over to Arrow.. 2 single rope or 1 double rope rap and you're on the ground

We used the two-bolt anchor. Has anyone belayed from higher up and left per the guidebook? How did that work out?

Any opinions on how the 3rd pitch would be for someone (nervously) breaking into 5.5?

IIRC, pretty easy; also pretty fun. Not too steep nor sustained. Rock quality is not A+ but good enough for a new leader - a nice way to get them thinking about it without getting into trouble. But I'd not rely on my weak memory alone. I'd be more worried about said nervous 5.5 leader following the traverse on p2.