Madame Grunnebaum's Wulst

Madame G's rivals High Exposure closely for the title of best Gunks 5.6. While High E has "the move", Madame G's has a longer section of sweet, steep 5.6 jugs up a massive, exposed and unique orange buttress formed by large left-facing (Southern Pillar, 5.2) and right-facing (Northern Pillar, 5.4) dihedrals on either side.

P1: Follow the thin crack to the tree. 5.4, 50'.

P2: Traverse right into a steep left-facing dihedral, with jugs and jams. At the top, traverse right and belay on a small stance at a horizontal crack. You'll want some hand-size cams for the belay. 5.6, 80'.

P3: Follow the chalk through multiple overhangs on huge jugs and steep terrain. Near the top, angle right through the final overhang and belay at bolts. 5.6, 80'.

You can combine P1/P2 or P2/P3. The best combination is P2/P3, because you'll skip the semi-hanging belay. Bring lots of long slings - both the climbing and the protection wander.

Descent: Rap twice down the Northern Pillar side of the buttress, from sets of bolts with a single 60m (or one long mostly-free rappel with 2x60m). The top bolts are somewhat hidden: peek around a large boulder on climber's right to find them. From the clifftop and other nearby routes, you'll need to scramble back down to the top of the buttress proper, then look for the bolts.

Pre-bolts, climbers had to rappel from the tree at the corner of the buttress - both getting on rappel, and the free-hanging rappel itself, were rites of passage for newer climbers.

The Madame G's access trail is the first one after Minty, about a 9-min. walk from the Uberfall, and a 5-min. walk from where the East Trapps Connector trail meets the carriage road. When the leaves are down, you'll easily identify the orange buttress itself.

To start the route, come around the left toe of the buttress and start atop some boulders below a thin-crack system leading to a large oak tree.

Standard Rack; extra hand-size cams if linking pitches.