Recap of the 2012 New Brunswick Bouldering Season

It’s snowing and raining right now.  The ground is half frozen. The roads out to Munson had deteriorated on my last visit, and are surely worse now.  It will be another 5 or 6 months before things open up again, so now is probably a good time for a season recap:

• Seventy new problems were added, bringing the total to 150. Though I was responsible for a higher percentage of these than the first two seasons, it was great that thirteen others (Twice as many as the first two seasons) contributed with at least one FA of their own this year. 
• Another 23 boulders were found in the West.  About half of these were in established areas around the perimeter, the others comprise a new spot known simply as the Middle.
• The established trails were tidied up a bit, and a few small ones created.  More notable are the Megacrystals and Middle trails that will eventually be connected into a long loop.  Shawn and Jono’s contribution in this endeavour has been enormous.
• Shawn put in another hard work day with Denise and I to expose the Hidden Wall.  Everyone who saw this place both before and after is blown away by the transformation and the number of quality problems now on these three boulders.
• Big Slab was climbed ground up, setting the precedent of working highball projects ropeless.
• The “unclimbable” line on 7-10 was climbed and repeated.  (Hey Jones! I told you it would go.)  Next year’s project is an extension.
• Depending on the size of your party, desire for seclusion, and laziness, there are 5 great camping spots to choose from:  Atop Kingpin (the cover shot of My Good Acorn), overlooking the river and lake from the plateau above the cliff, the East shore of Munson Lake, in the trees beside the River, or the at the Megacrystals pull out.

Just a few degrees of the panoramic view from atop the cliff.

I also learned some valuable lessons this year:

• Patience is mandatory in the spring.

• Make plenty of noise when bushwhacking.  It is entirely possible to walk into the ass end of a dozing moose.  Yes, I scared a moose (scared a moose -will you do the fandango? thunderbolts and lighting...) and it scared me.  They are big and can probably accidentally do a lot of damage to a human.  I don’t want to know what kind of harm they can inflict deliberately.

antler damage by a moose just messing around

• Completing a 48 problem circuit makes for an incredibly satisfying day, and I recommend everyone try it.

• The best way to spend a hot summer day is to boulder in the morning, soak in the river for a few hours while enjoying lunch with tequila and lime, air dry on a warm rock, boulder some more, set up camp, cook, and savour your supper while watching the nighthawks dive for prey as the sun sets behind them.

In case you wondered where my belly rash came from in the shears photo, it was from trying to top out Rockitecture in direct sun on a 30º day with humidity in the high 90's.  Obviously, we were a bit late heading to the river.  Photo credit: Dom Caron. 

What’s up for grabs next season, and beyond?

• There are 50 problems known to be awaiting FA’s (in Middle, Megacrystals, Hardwood, Marty’s Hidden Gully, East-cut, and North).  Of those, 20 projects are scrubbed and ready to go.
• There is a nice trad line up the water groove of the cliff. (Like so many other cliffs in New Brunswick, this one is known to the locals as Eagle Rock.)  It's begging for a couple people to try climbing it.
• In the West, 50% of the intermediate terrain between established problems is yet to be explored.
• The North has only seen a handful of cursory visits so far, with much of the ground still to be covered.
• North and East boundaries of the erratic outcrop have not been determined, nor has the woods between these two areas been explored.

I guess what I’m getting at is we’re not even half way through the development of one of the nicest, most concentrated, and SECLUDED bouldering areas in the North-East/Maritimes.