A Day of High Exposure

It's the story of a weekend spent in two worlds - a long, classic lead climb, followed by a day of sport climbing in Pennsylvania.

You can also see it from the perspective of my partner on the rock - Mike Schreck - in his account of "High Exposure - A Second Look".

Getting There

Rain sluiced from the windshield as I pulled into Mike's driveway. It was already dark, and it had been raining all day. Things didn't look good for our trip to the Shawangunks in New York. But later that evening, I slept calmly, even as the rain clattered on Mike's living room windows. We had resolved to go anyway, regardless of the weather.

It had stopped raining by morning, and as we drove, we pointed out the signs of dry rock by the roadside with rising hope.

When we pulled up below the Uberfall at the Gunks, the trees were fiery torches arching over the road. Our destination was the Gunks classic: High Exposure, also known as High-E.

It was my fourth time at the Gunks, my second time as a leader. In Connecticut, I had led 5.8 and toproped 5.10, but the Gunks were different. Different rock, demanding different climbing and protection styles, and, because the routes were so much longer, demanding more committment. For that reason, and because I was inexperienced on Gunks rock, I felt safer leading two grades below my top Connecticut leading grade.

A view back along the Shawangunk cliffs, showing the Carriage Road, from near the Trapps descent area, just north of the First Aid station.

Mike and I walked down the Carriage Road, alternately struck by sun and shade. When we caught our first sight of the High-E buttress, we were awed. As we walked around to the north side, a climber was leading far above onto the famous upper wall, a pitch so fearsome to the leaders of the time that it was two years after its first ascent before it received its second.

We took photos, like special tourists, and then picked our way over boulders to the base of the climb.

High-E, seen from the south side. A climber is on the GT Ledge (inset) where it crosses High-E.

The route climbs the butress protruding from the face in the lower half of the photo to the ledge; then the leader climbs the block under the roof, traverses to the right under the roof, and finishes on the final headwall (not visible) on the other side.

The Vacillation

I had some scary memories of seconding High-E, a year before. Not of the final, classic pitch, but of being wedged in the cracks at the start, finding it awkward and hard. And this time, those cracks were wet from the rains of the day before. So I was afraid.

Worse, there were other climbers around, including one party that also wanted to do High-E. I didn't like the feeling of pressure. I wanted to do the climb at my own pace, without concern, without people behind us. So I felt uncomfortable.

I consciously slowed my pace as I racked up. This was too important to let someone else control. I still wasn't decided, even as I laid out the gear. Go on, or go elsewhere? I walked up to the wet cracks and looked up. I tried to force away my preconceptions about the route; I tried to imagine making the moves - could I avoid the water well enough to keep my shoes from slipping? How would I move past the offwidth section?

Mike was standing behind me as I turned. "Here's the sharp end," he said. It was a ritual.

"Yeah. I'll try not to cut myself." I could make the moves. I could handle it. It was the truth.