Five New Problems (and a Sixth)

Saturday, Dom,  I, and his dogs decided to attempt a drive out to Munson Lake.  Forecasted highs just above the freezing mark, with full sun sounded promising for climbing, but we were not sure if the road would be passable.  We got there early and most of the main road was firm enough to get through without too much trouble.  At the final fork, things were quite iced up, but we decided to descend to the West and hope for the best to climb this frozen hard pack at the end of the day.

We started with some trail work and final scrubbing of the Small Slab, then quickly put up new problem 1; a standing start on a subtle overhang then balance moves over the bulge to a steep slab.

Problem 2, follows thin edges left then up a couple easier slab moves to the summit.

Dom C on the FA of  problem 2 (Rockitecture V3)

 Problem 3 is a really easy slab.

Problem 3: Slab Moi Ça V0, with C Goodman looking down at Gendron the lousy spotter. 

As I took a break for lunch Dom, put up the fourth new problem of the day just across the street on the Mace boulder.  It's another short section of overhanging leading to a long low-angled slab.  He named it Flail, after the weapon (to fit nicely with it's neighbour) as well as what he did while figuring out the hand-jam off the start...

...Meanwhile, back in Saint John, Norfolk was experiencing problem 6 at Cedar Point...

...Back at Munson, the road was a sloppy mess by this time.  Though it looked like we parked on a good gravely mix, it was so soft the car was up to the hubcaps in muck when we tried to drive to another spot.  So, after playing on 7-10 we went for an exploratory hike towards the river.  We found one really nice boulder (and a couple mediocre-looking ones) as well as the decent camping spot we were looking for, right by a spot on the river with good swimming potential.

We could see the ice crystals forming in the mud, but the road was still too soft to be driven, so with fading light we scrubbed and sent new problem number 5.  It is a standing start left of Curvy Trunk Cedar, on the North arete.  This line was noted on our first visit, as it has a nice aesthetic, but the landing looked questionable and the moves even more so.  As a result, no one had bothered to do more than look.  In the end, it's a nice problem that protects fairly well with 2 pads and a spotter, and is much much easier than anyone would have guessed.

Curvy Trunk Cedar

The road followed the sun's example and began to set.  The dogs could were no longer leaving prints 8-10 cm deep, and it felt almost firm under foot in places.  We felt it was time to try for an exit.  The West road was pretty good, and after crossing the bridge I gunned it up the ice hill with minimal slippage.  The rest of the Munson Lake road was gross, however.  What looked soft was soft.  What looked solid was also soft.  I scraped the bottom of the car many times as the wheels sunk up to the hubcaps, but we made it through on momentum and fart gas.

It will be many weeks before it's reasonable to attempt another trip on those roads.