We Found It!

Back in the fall of ‘98, back when bouldering was just picking up as a pursuit of it’s own, back when Zig was known as Ziggy, he bought a crashpad.  For some at UNB Rock & Ice, it was the first one we’d seen.  Keen to put it to use, he convinced a handful of us to take a trip from campus to this big boulder that was supposed to rest somewhere between Bald Peak, and the quarry in Welsford, NB.

The way I remember it, Zig(gy) had heard about a boulder that had been climbed free or used by the previous generation to practice aid.  He had some idea of where it might be, but wasn’t sure about any of it.  Chris, Eddy, Jordy, and I joined him.  We were not really sure what we were getting into, but certainly it was going to be better than studying.  

We parked at the Welsford School, back when it actually was a school, and walked across the ball field to the Bald Peak trailhead, then turned left and down the overgrown road to the abandoned quarry.  Ziggy suggested we keep our eyes peeled for anything that might be a boulder since all he had gathered from his research were the three boundaries (road, quarry, trail) that encompassed a rather large and densely forested slope.  As he led the procession, the rest of us were quickly distracted by the novelty of watching a black rectangle with matching legs waddle ahead, so we didn’t do a good job boulder spying.  

Without a word (those of you who know him, probably didn’t need me to write that) he dashed from the road and up the hill.  The slope looked no different here than anywhere else, but we followed him and a few minutes later we were at THE boulder.  At its base was a handle from an old wire brush, with less than a dozen rusty bristles remaining. On the other side were a few stumps that had obviously been sawn many years previous as they were showing a fair bit of rot.  We cleaned off some dirt, moss, and lichen exposing a couple of really easy problems, that even then weren’t considered anything but descent options.  The real climbing was on the other side, but it seemed impossibly hard.  Even an aid ascent would be difficult to imagine.

Nearby, and towards the quarry, we found a number of smaller angular boulders with a problem or two each.  Actually, judging by some of the drill scars, they were probably part of the quarry.  We spent the rest of the day on these, and getting footage for “Bouldering, EH?!” the first production by ZigTV.  (Highly recommended, by the way, to anyone with a sense of humour and an interest in what it used to be like back when UNB R & I membership was about 12 misfits, back when there were not much more than 12 boulder problems in the province.)

Top to bottom: Zig, Eddy, Chris, back in 1998

A couple years later Eddy moved to BC, then Korea.  I went to Montreal.  Ziggy moved to Halifax, and Chris to Vancouver.  I’m not sure where Jordy went.  He did end up back in Fredericton last I knew, but no longer climbs around these parts.  

Five or six years after that first and only visit, with a crash pad to call my own, I decided to go find this boulder again.  I spent hours back and forth between the road, quarry and trail, but could not find it.  I went back later in the week and tried again. No luck.  Hummer joined me one day. We found a couple near the top of the trail, but didn’t find THE boulder.  I asked Zig and Chris if they could remember any details of it’s location.  They had nothing, but thought I was looking in the right area.  I asked some of the older generation climbers if they knew where to find it.  They did not.  

I’ve lost track of how many times and over how many years I’ve searched for that thing.  I tried when the underbrush was blanketed in crusty snow, in the spring before the leaves obstructed the view, in the fall so something might look familiar...  The best I could do was find the small angular stuff, but that was easy (to see and to send) because it was right on the edge of the quarry.

Fast forward to March of this year, and Dom and I went to Sunnyside.  It wasn’t sunny, and was colder than forecasted.  Our early March climbing day came to an early end.  With time and energy to burn, we decided to hike out to a boulder he found in the fall near the cabin, then to explore the area between the quarry, road, and Bald Peak trail for the elusive boulder.  Unless you’ve forgotten the title of this post, you know that we found it.  And it is as tall and as blank as I remembered!

This past Monday evening, Dom, Matt and I, went back out to the boulder.  Despite having left a trail marker in March, I did manage to get us temporarily lost on our way in, but we did get there.

We only took a couple of attempts each at the central gem. A route up the tiny sloping holds spread far on the overhanging face is climbable.  If we can figure out good beta it will be at least V6.  More likely it will be much, much harder.  Since nearly every feature is sloping and left facing, I doubt there are clean aid placements, and there are no scars from hammers/drills or seams for pins.  It is amazing to think that this was climbed in high-tops, by a local “nobody” (not some sponsored pro legend), without a pad, and without fanfare some 25 years ago.

Left to right, Tito, Dom, Matt, this week on the mysterious, legendary and elusive boulder in Welsford, NB