New Brunswick Bouldering Guide

Eighteen months ago, I finally gave in to the repeated requests to write a guidebook for Munson Lake.  This expanded into a comprehensive guide to cover all the established boulder problems in New Brunswick.

Cover of the New Brunswick Bouldering Guide, available here.

Today, the New Brunswick Bouldering Guide went live!  It is a 100 page digital-download, with over 300 photos.  It describes nearly 700 boulder problems over 15 bouldering locations.  There are road maps, trail maps, descriptions of each area, descriptions for each problem, topo pictures, inspirational action pictures, a history of bouldering in New Brunswick, potential future development opportunities...

You can order your copy here: https://sites.google.com/site/nbboulderingguide/ordering-info






Note: Bald Peak / Mt Douglas are on DND land and that anyone visiting needs to get a recreational pass from either Range Control on Base, or from Petersville at the gate off the highway.

Busy Week At Munson Lake Boulders

Work schedule and weather aligned nicely the week after my return.  I got out to the Munson Lake boulders five out of those first eight days.  Climbing conditions were really good too, as humidity was low and a breeze kept the bugs away.

Sunday I scrubbed and worked a long balancy traverse, put up a new problem and climbed a handful of moderate to hard classics.

Tuesday was labour intensive, as I dug ditches, repaired the road, pulled alders, trimmed overgrown trails, and hauled rocks to build up a landing.

Most of the recent efforts have focused on a cluster of 4 boulders in the Megacrystals
Area.  Here you see Pierre on the rather small Mammoth (V1) boulder, with the backside of Wicked Lester to the left.

I spent most of the Thursday scrubbing in the Megacrystals area, and did some more trail work as well.  As the sun was beginning it’s descent, I was establishing three first ascents, and working a couple others (including that long traverse from Sunday, but without success).

On the back of these two of the new slab problems, is a unique V3 named The Hawks.

Arguably the nicest of the new problems, these V4's demand power and precision. 

Pierre and I camped on the weekend, and added seven more problems on Saturday.  Sunday, Shawn and Denise joined us for some laps on the classic problems.

Shawn nearing the end of the Gutterball traverse on the Kingpin Boulder at Munson Lake, NB.

Weather Hindering NB Climbing Season

It’s been a slow start to the climbing season throughout Atlantic Canada.  If it hasn’t been raining, it’s been 30º with 90% humidity.  At Munson Lake, the friction sucks almost as much as the thick swarms of voracious insects do.  The road is firm, but lots of big rocks have worked their way to the surface and created clearance issues.

Shawn B working his way up balancy moves of Ghoti V1, on one of the hot and humid days in June

Nonetheless, a few problems have gone up since the last post.  If a project requires palming slopers or edging on a crystal, nobody’s been anywhere close to getting it though.

On her birthday, Denise braved the insects and scrubbed her way up the first ascent of Swat Team V0.  You read that correctly.  She did this tall slab in bold classic style –ground up on-sight!   It is found on the first boulder along the stretch of trail between the Spongiform and Bad English boulders.

Earlier in the day, at the Hardwood Area, Pierre and I each added one to Trailside after we, and Mike, did a lot of scrubbing.

Just some of the Trailside boulders in the Hardwood Area, Munson Lake, NB

In June, I put up two-thirds of the potential lines on L’Orignal.  With most problems deserving at least one star, this is a really nice boulder and is well worth the trail work I did the month before.  What lines remain are very hard, but obvious and do-able.  (I'm holding off on a topo for this one and for Swat Team.  Someone should be adding more problems once the weather improves, and I don't feel like doing the photoshopping twice.)

Ten Percent Gains

In just a few visits to NB's best bouldering spot this spring, we've managed to increase the total number of problems by nearly 10%.  In the previous post, I only mentioned some new problems in passing, and concentrated on describing the road conditions.  This time I'll do the opposite:  The roads are slightly more compacted, but still very rough and also soft in places.

The first new problems of 2013 are in the Slab Area.  Crack Head follows a thin shallow seam up a near-vertical slab, and Butthead comes up from underneath the boulder to a rounded slabby arete.  From there I went to the Middle Area to add a traverse to the right face of M, as I'd finally managed to leaver a backbreaking block out of the landing zone on my last visit of 2012.  The last addition from day one was Spongiform, whose landing had been too wet to attempt in the fall.

*  *  *
Last Tuesday, I'd hoped to cut a trail for Megacrystals Area.  On my way out, I passed a couple of guys trying to find the boulders, so I ended up doing some guiding instead.  It was probably just as well, as rain was threatening the whole afternoon, and I didn't want to stray far from the car in case the skies did open up and I had to make a quick exit before the road turned to mush.  I did work a few moves on one project, but didn't get it.

I spent this past Friday trimming branches and hauling rocks to remedy a very bad landing below the north arete of How The West Was Won.  I scrubbed it a bit, but still don't know if a line is possible.  After lunch I cut about 200m of trail at the northern part of Megacrystals leading to this beauty.

Those two big flakes sounded very bad when touched, and easily popped off, fragmenting as they hit the soft ground. The rest of the rock is solid, and though there are not going to be any juggy sit starts, I think some nice problems will soon be established.

On Sunday, Pierre and I put in a 10 hour day that started with climbing about 10 established problems, then moved on to trail work, scrubbing and 10 FA's.   The first of this new bunch is an absolute gem that I couldn't quite get when Mike and Jono helped me scrub it in the fall.  After the winter, the sloping finish is a bit cleaner, but still just as long a reach.  It took a bit of work to figure out the last part, but I got it.  Found on the Houdini boulder, it's a 3-star V4/5 called Escape Coat.  The features are atypical for granite and the sequence is incredible!

Next, Pierre put up Holy Weed Stacks, which is a neat addition to the slab side of M.  We followed this up with parrallel finger cracks on a boulder we discovered while cutting the trail from Houdini to M.

With a couple of detours, we eventually made it along the Middle trail to the Bad English boulders.  This is what we ended up dubbing those that Mike, Jono and I worked on late last fall.  After lots of scrubbing and laughter, there were 7 new problems, and plenty of variations and eliminates up the heavily featured south-west one.

Road To Munson Not Good

Since it’s been so dry, with a province-wide fire ban, yesterday I thought I’d try to drive out to the Munson Lake boulders.  Being ultra cautious, based on last year’s experience, I stopped many times to test the road on foot prior to attempting sections by car.  Eventually, I made it, but even the return trip took at least twice as long (and three times the focus) as usual.  Here’s a detailed report:

Seven Mile Lake Road is firm and dry.  Some sections are riddled with brick-sized rocks, others pot holed, some deeply rutted, and there are a few eroded washouts.  Collectively these make for a rough, but uncomplicated drive.

Munson Lake Road is wet at the turn-off, but passable.  The rest of the road is dry, and rough.  Early season ATV traffic stalled in some of the uphill sections.  Their side-slipping tracks, and 3-point turns have left deep scars in the road surface.  Typically muddy sections are dry, but still deform under weight.  The bulk of the remainder is very soft and sandy.  There are fresh moose (and now human and tire) tracks as deep as 10cm in places.  Since the weather changed so quickly, what I think happened was as the frost came out and moisture evaporated, things dried in place, with lots of air space between the granules. Driving isn’t very good, and with the bit of rain forecasted later in the week, everything could turn to deep mud for quite a while.


Overall, I’m glad I made the trip.  A sandwich box, which I’d forgotten out there in December, was especially happy to see me.  (I didn’t have the heart to tell it I didn’t even realize it was missing.)

It was really nice to finally get some harder climbing in and tenderize the finger tips a bit while in the process of putting up 4 of the 10 or so new problems I ran out of time for in the fall.

Spongiform one of the new problems goes up the right, and a traverse (once clean) looks possible as well.

Oh, and my training outcomes... Generally, it feels like I’m climbing rather sloppily, which I’ll attribute to early season rust.  This should get polished off with a few more days on the erratics.  On a positive note, for all but the most balancy and technical problems I attempted, strength and stability gains more than made up for my (temporary) lack of grace.  The strength increases were very noticeable, along with how quickly and thoroughly I would recover between attempts.  With a bit of luck, I’ll soon be able to get on some of the harder projects and really put the training programme to the test.

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.

More Boulders at Munson Lake, NB

A three day weekend and no rain results in twelve new boulder problems at Munson Lake, NB.

On Saturday, Jono and I played around on the new ones I'd discovered a few days earlier, establishing 8 easy problems.  The nicest is probably Quawsant Right: it starts on good holds under the right overhang, reaching around left, then traversing the lip to the top.  This name was inspired by a menu item at the Clifton General Store where they offer a breakfast sandwich on toast or quaswant.  It took me few minutes to figure it out, thinking it was perhaps referring to a Passamaquody cheif who once lived in the area.  Did you get it yet?  It's a horrible misspelling of croissant.

Quawsant

Vitamin I: an overhanging off-width and nice lip traverse.

On Sunday, Mike D came out as well.  The three of us finished off most of what was left from the day before, though a really nice problem on Houdini remains elusive.  After a brief lunch we took off for the overhanging well-featured boulders I'd found on Labour Day weekend.  I took the lead with flagging tape, Jono followed with the saw, and Mike, with the shears, was behind him.  We connected the trail that previously ended just beyond Piled Up with 3 more big boulders (2 of which were new discoveries) and eventually to those steep features just beyond the edge of the clearcut.  We cleared trees and brush, and peeled of some moss and soil carpets.  They were not as large as I'd remembered, but definitely as cool looking.

Mike D in one of the "before" photos

As the sun was setting and the puddles freezing, we walked back to the road and met a convoy.  Adam, Terry, Pete and Dom had been doing some development at Utopia Crag, and were camping out at Munson, since bouldering on was on their agenda for Monday.  After a visit the rest of us went home for hot food and warm beds.

The temperatures rose significantly overnight (Monday's 18ºC was a record high for November 12th) and there was a heavy fog.  As planned everyone met at Hidden Wall (including an Albertan turned back at the US border that Jono had met the night before) but the rock was soaked.  Warm moist air condenses when it contacts cold rock, so our choices were limited to faces in the full sun, on boulders that are exposed to the wind.

The scooped face of Roadside Ice Cream Stand

Terry M on the first crux Adam's new line, Hot Fudge Moustache V3.

Pete B sticks it solidly and crosses through

Adam took advantage, by adding a great new problem to Roadside Ice Cream Stand, which along with the classic Blueberry Ripple, kept everyone entertained for hours.  When we moved on to The Clam, Matt and PJ joined us.   The former deciphered the sequence to the slab left of Use Your Mussels, making it an even dozen new problems.

We wrapped up the day at the Cornerstones, waiting for the sun to dry each boulder in turn: Pump and Dump, Gutterball, HandLESS, Sideshow Bobbed, Eighty-Sixed, Goatsucker, and Curvy Trunk Cedar.

Dom C fighting to stick on the sloping holds of Eighty-Sixed, at the Munson Lake Boulders

Cornerstones Still Not Tapped Out

Yesterday’s visit to Munson Lake didn’t involve much bouldering.  The ground was saturated, the ditches full and Munson Brook had the by far the highest flow I’ve seen.  All this was due to the forty millimetres of rain that had fallen the day before.  My intention was to do some work rather than climb.  

Upon arrival, it was surprising to discover that the South and West faces of the boulders were dry.  Sunny and 15 degrees are ideal bouldering conditions so I tried to take advantage of the good friction on a sloper traverse at 7-10 Split.  After a couple attempts, though, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.  

So I set off for Big Slab, to see if something could be done to ameliorate the landing.  The area of concern is on the right, directly below the starting hold that Jono and I played a bit on last weekend. (story here)  Two rocks protrude about 30 cm from the ground, and are about 30 cm apart.  One of them is fairly flat-topped, and from it the starting hold is just reachable.  The other is a pointed ridge held in place by a big slab (not the Big Slab, a flat piece that’s roughly 1.5m x 1.5m x 0.3m).  I wasn’t particularly happy with the dead tree trunk and rocks we’d piled up in this gap last weekend.  They eliminated a catastrophic landing, but multiple pads and highly skilled spotters would be necessary.  I thought I could do better, and I did.

Three-and-a-half hours of shimming, rocking, and levering moved the big slab off the sharp one then back from the boulder and down the slope.  The sharp one was turned, others rearranged and more brought from the surrounding area to make a gently graded landing zone, while keeping the full height of the boulder intact.  I’m happy with the results as it’s not excessively terraced, yet it’s one less thing to worry about.

3 1/2 hours before this shot was taken, the biggest rock (bottom right) was in the middle of the frame against the thin stumps.

***

Today my goal was to send one of my projects.  I went straight for Two Zig Zags, but found the crack/pinch hadn’t dried yet.  Another one was muddy yesterday as I’d finished scrubbing it, so knew there was no point in going to work it today.  It would have to be the sloper traverse on 7-10.

I’d completed a warm-up at home before leaving; therefore, didn’t feel I needed to do much before getting on something hard.  So, after putting up a new problem (Pump and Dump V0) on Kingpin,  I was ready to tackle the project.

Between attempts, I walked around a bit to the small boulder West of Curvy Trunk Cedar.  I’d always dismissed it as not worth the effort.  Many people have asked me about it (it does look cool) and my response was “I don’t think there’s really anything on it... I’m sure it’ll get done by someone at some point when we’re desperate for new problems.”  Today, I walked around the whole thing, something I don’t think I'd done before, and started to consider the possibilities. 

Another attempt on 7-10.  Then lunch.  Then I trimmed some branches around the small boulder.  Another couple attempts, then I scrubbed the small boulder.  Another attempt, and SUCCESS! *Goat Sucker V8

By this point I was pretty tired and my skin was pretty worn, so I decided to head up the slab of the small boulder rather than try the bulge. HandLESS V0.  A sit start to the bulge seemed really hard, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet, so decided to try the top half.  Despite the crystalline slopers, it wasn’t too rough on the hands, and the moves were really cool.  I decided to try and figure out a sit start.  Eventually, I did, then put the whole thing together.  *HandSOME V4.

HandSOME V4, goes right up the little roof/bulge. HandLESS is in the back side.

Big Slab Sees First Ascent!

Back on our first exploratory bouldering session about 2 years ago Adam's sixth sense was in fine form and led him to the 4 boulders that comprise what is now referred to as the Slab Area.  We cut birch saplings to expose the base of a couple of them and went back to Cornerstones to establish the first 14 boulder problems at Munson Lake.

Since then, eleven problems have been climbed on Mace, Small Slab and Inversée, and a trail cut to the Big Slab.  Many climbers have been taken to gaze upon this massive hunk of rock, but no one took the bait.  Even scrubbing it would be an undertaking, let alone the balls that are required to work these thin 25 footers with a cut away landing area.  Once I did try to figure out some start moves, but that was half-hearted.

Big Slab. Unfortunately this perspective doesn't quite capture the grandeur of this granite erratic, but it will work well for the guide.  Notice the N-shaped hold on the right side of the slab.  The left arete is climbed mostly from the other side.

On Saturday, Jono said “let’s go for it.”  So we did.  He came up with a creative rigging system which allowed us to scrub the upper portions.

We sent the left arete with ease, then attempted the slab itself.  There is a very thin start up the middle that will be possible, but I couldn’t really get going.  To the right, there is beautiful looking sequence of reachy moves where we had a bit more success.  A couple more pads and/or another spotter is required though, so we moved on.  I can’t wait to get back there, though.  That line on the right of the slab is doable and will be a fantastic addition to the Munson Lake Boulders.

Here are a couple of shots from where we ended the day in the low angled sun hitting the West faces of the Cornterstones.  Jono's right hand is sticking like velcro to the high textured face of the Glute Boulder, as he moves up the thin slab known as Sideshow Bobbed.

Jono R on Sideshow Bobbed V3, at Munson Lake, NB C Goodman Photo

Jono R on Sideshow Bobbed V3, at Munson Lake, NB. C Goodman Photo

Periodized Training 7 (Overcoming Staleness)

Four months into a maintenance phase and it becomes awfully hard to get motivated to do a workout.  The programme itself is a success.  All the gains I made in the off-season and preseason have been maintained thus far.  I’m climbing a bit better as my on-the-rock time has been great this summer, but I’m not climbing any harder than at the start of the season.  This is exactly how everything was designed: get better when the weather sucked, climb hard early in the season, maintain that level of performance throughout the summer and into fall.  Put up tonnes of new problems in the process.

This mental staleness may not have occurred if our weather had been more typical this summer.  If we'd had the typical month-long rains and associated clouds of biting insects, I'd have squeezed in a mini off-season when the outdoor climbing conditions deteriorated.  Breaking up the long season into two shorter in-season maintenance phases with a more intensive/extensive work in the middle would have been a bit more stimulating.  Not that I am complaining of the stellar weather this year.  Conditions were amazing, and I did my best to take advantage by climbing often.

But training was getting boring.  Though the specific movements as well as the exercise stimulus to each muscle group changed every month, the overall maintenance programme is pretty much the same for it’s entire duration.  Physically, I still enjoyed doing the workouts, but mentally I wasn’t there.  I found myself slacking off.  No longer looking forward to a training session, I skipped it, then decided maybe the whole week off would do me good. I got Shawn to take me through his rings/campus/hang workout, then he joined me for one of my sessions on Kermit.  I went back to the in-season workouts for another hard week (since I wasn’t going to climb at all the following weekend I ramped up the volume-load hoping to get mentally and physically pumped), but still was left wanting.

That non-climbing weekend involved a fair bit of driving (and a search for solid sandstone -stay tuned for more about that!).  Maybe the humming engine resulted in sympathetic resonance of my brain waves.  More likely it was just that being seated for 5 straight hours made me want to move.  In either case, I wanted to workout.  Not what I’d been doing, not a typical in-season workout, in fact, not a typical workout at all.  I really began to crave a type of metabolic workout that I’d done in the past and used quite often with my team sport athletes.  Everybody loved to hate these, and the adaptations were positive.  The protocol was first reported in the literature about a year ago.  The hormonal response is marked, yet the overall duration of a training session is brief.  Perhaps my body was in need of these hormonal spikes, as my current levels were not fluctuating significantly with the maintenance programme.  The brevity makes skipping them nearly impossible. I thought it would be a good idea to do these for a bit to get back on track motivation-wise.

The pun wasn’t intended, but these are track-based workouts.  Though one could make a weak case for them having some sport-climbing metabolic specificity, from a neuromuscular point of view they are not going to be beneficial.  More likely, those adaptations will actually hinder climbing ability.  I probably should not do these.  What if I modified them by employing exercises (movements and resistance) that have more specificity to climbing?

Other metabolic resistance training circuit protocols I’ve used in the past have had phenomenal results, but are incredibly taxing.  They have no place in-season, though, as they require deliberate rest and recovery strategies between training bouts to prevent overtraining.  Climbing concurrently would be out of the question.

I’d like to train this way, but I want to boulder harder and better, and not miss out on a good outdoor day because I’m tired or sore.  I want my cake.  I want to eat it, too!

Is there any way I could make it work? I mulled it over on the drive home and came up with a few possible solutions.  I reread the pioneering article, and went back in my training log to review what I’d done and what resulted.  I looked up other references, and reviewed the charts of some of my teams.  I got out the calculator to workout volume-loads, and estimate recovery needs.  Eventually, I found the theoretical evidence and enough practical experience to support one solution in particular.

It’s still too early to tell, but so far (just a couple weeks in) I’m psyched to train and to climb.  Physically, I’ve felt pretty good throughout the work/training weeks, and great by each weekend.  A couple days ago, for example, I worked a new project and stuck two really hard moves that I could barely reach/touch last month.  I also was able to repeatedly and easily stick the (crux?) big pinch on Two Zig Zags, a move just beyond my range previously.  The next move (one I’ve done before) eluded me though as the pinch was still dripping wet from the previous days torrents.  All this was after a few hours spent scrubbing and establishing 3 new problems in the Slab Area, and playing around on a couple potential hard lines up Big Slab.

I’ll post the training programme details, if appropriate, once I get a better gauge of the results.  In the mean time, here are some more pics for the online guide.

Nutmeg V0 and Pepper Spray V3 are two nice new additions to the Mace boulder.

Porcupine Caves, Cornerstones area

Colt 45, home to ***Two Zig Zags V8

Dunce Cap V0, Megacrystals Area

Rain

A rainy weekend puts an end to Maritime bouldering plans, but it gives me time to post an update on some of the developments that have taken place at Munson Lake.

A couple weeks ago, I went back to Graffiti Block to put the final touches on the landing.  Thirty or 30 or 40 cubic feet of dry masonry later, and we are left with a flat platform that should remain above the waterline for the bulk of a typical climbing season.

With the labour out of the way, I switched my focus to finding a way up the inspiring East face.  The features on the right side are arranged rather uniquely: down low are a trio of big edges for the sit start; to their left 7 or 8 crystal protrusions as decent foot holds; a long reach above the big edges are 3 thin edges (crimps); a bit higher up are a collection of two pad texture-less slopers arranged in every direction.  This clustered pattern of features makes deciphering the proper holds and sequence a very complex task.  The balance, flexibility and opposition forces required add another layer of challenge.  I worked it until my brain and fingers were in need of a break.

Down the road at Hidden Wall, I polished the last bit of dirt off of couple lines, then polished off the FA’s.

The last bit of Hidden Wall, for the guide.

C Goodman on Pinch Overhang V3, (Hidden Wall) at Munson Lake. M Delaney photo.

I returned to Graffiti Block, and within few tries made it up the East face, then sprinted up the slab on the Northwest, adding yet another new problem to the boulder.

That evening PJ, Seb and I worked the crack on Colt 45.  We each struggled on a different move, and kept getting shut down.  Finally, on the last attempt of the day, PJ managed to find a bit more strength and just enough grace to nab the first ascent.  Dubbed Two Zig Zags, at V8 it is the hardest problem yet established on the West side of Munson Lake.  At 3-stars, it is also one of the nicest.

S Launcelot on Two Zig Zags V8,  Munson Lake, NB

As an aside, the star rating we’ve chosen is simple and straightforward.  With just 4 well-defined categories, there is minimal room for splitting hairs and consensus is easily reached.  Here is what we’ve established:

 *** = Excellent problem that would be considered a classic anywhere. It's worth a trip just to do it.

 ** = Very good problem for the region (e.g. The Maritimes; or Maine & NB). It's gratifying to complete, so it is one you will remember for a long time.

 * = Good problem for the area (e.g. Munson Lake).  If it's within your abilities you should do it at least once, as there's something fun and unique about it.  

No star = Common. The problem is somewhat plain, and could be found anywhere. 

Last weekend, a carload from Moncton and I played around the Roadside area some more.  Pierre hardly recognized the Hidden Wall after all the work Shawn & Denise put in since his previous visit.  He was surprised to learn that the biggest two boulders were not nearly touching each other, and now that the trees and brush were cleared they didn’t form a continuous wall!  (Hidden Wall is a double misnomer.)

As we took turns sending the established problems, Pierre would ponder the possibility of new ones up lines I’d previously dismissed for one reason or another.  A quick scrub and a few attempts later and he ended up putting up four worthwhile new problems.  Emma added a fifth.

P Arsenault on Ya Silly Fat Cow V3, Munson Lake, NB

Across the street I added a new problem at Piled Up.  Dubbed Mary Poppins (* V6), it’s a short, but powerful problem capped with a very strenuous top out.  Pierre managed to link it’s start with the off-width known as Wrestling Match, brining the daily tally of new problems to seven.

Not So Hidden Anymore

Sunday, I got to the Roadside Boulders at Munson Lake before the others.  As I drove past Graffiti Block, I noticed the little pond nearby had dried up so stopped the car to have a look.  This is a really cool looking boulder, but it has a deep dark pool of water (that's fed by the pond) around half of it's base –and it's the the half that's worth climbing.  Last fall, I tried tossing a few big granite blocks into the murk hoping to build up a platform to keep the pads dry. They disappeared into the depths.  I rolled the largest blocks I could find to the edge and pushed them over.  They also disappeared well below the surface.  It seemed bottomless.  Many times since, I've made a splash by lobbing rocks from the road to the base of the boulder.

Last month, it was finally dry enough for me to grab the first climb on the Graffiti Block (Sugar Ditch V1), which is to the right of the water hole.  At that time, it was possible to see some of the rocks just below the surface.  Yesterday most were well-above the water.  With some rearranging and additions, I managed to complete a dry and flat-ish landing zone.  I got to work scrubbing just as Shawn and Denise pulled up.

Since these problems looked a little too tough to warm-up on, we continued a bit farther to the Hidden Wall.

Shawn cut limbs and trunks, while Denise and I scrubbed rock and hauled brush.  Then we all scrubbed.  Then they cut a trail and I scrubbed.  Then Shawn built up a landing and everybody scrubbed some more.  Though you still can't see them from the road, these boulders are no longer lost in a jumble of spruce branches and dead birches.  You can actually identify where one boulder ends and the next one begins.  The landings are much improved.  Beer bottles were removed.

The view of Hidden Wall from the new trail.  This face has a long traverse that's been done both ways.

Shawn lacing up for Cow Birther V1 in the foreground, with the middle boulder nicely exposed in behind.

All told, we exposed 8 lines on the southernmost and big middle boulders where we thought there might be 4.  We climbed 4 of them.

On the way out, they asked for a tour of the Slab Area.  Unable to just look, we dragged the pads along as Shawn and Denise quickly dispatched another 4 or 5 problems each before calling it a (9 1/2 hour) day.

***

Monday, I awoke to the sun and songbirds after a restful night in the tent.  After breakfast and a warm-up, I wanted to work a great project at the Cornerstones.  By 10:30, despite feeling that I'd worked out the beta for the one move that was still giving me trouble, and had become more consistent on the rest, I couldn't get it.  It was too hot for the rubber and too slick for my skin.

Back to Roadside I went, but this time to Piled Up.  It was hotter, more humid and with less wind at than on Sunday.  So hot that your hands blister even with gloves on.  Despite this, I managed to scrub 5 new problems and send 2 of them before hunger brought me back to the car for lunch 3 hours later.  Dirty, sweaty, thin skinned, and still hungry I came home.

These boulders are only about 7' high, but have a tricky, rounded topout.  The off-width in is Wrestling Match V1, and the right arete is Baldilocks V3.

As I type this, I can think of a dozen problems on the West side of the Lake that are (nearly, at lest) clean and ready to go.  I am clean now, I've eaten, and it's much cooler in the City, but my skin hasn't grown back yet and I'm hungry again; those twelve FA's will have to wait for another time.

Sometimes You Have To Improvise

P Arsenault not wanting to move out of the shade on Elementary V0, Munson Lake, NB

It was a good couple of days of New Brunswick bouldering.  The sweltering heat and humidity kept us in the easier grades, but most importantly, the bugs were tolerable.


Four of us spent much of Sunday in the shade and on the slabs, and added two new problems to the East side of Munson Lake.  When it got too hot, we broke for lunch and had a little tequila with lime on ice.  Not having a knife, we had to improvise.

As you can see from the middle photo, I had my suspicions, but Dom had the right idea; shears not only work well for clearing paths through the shrub ground covers, they also cut lime wedges with precision.

When the others took off for home, I headed to the shade of the Hardwood Area and put in about an hour-and-a-half of work scrubbing the 5 or 6 chunks of granite that form the Trailside Boulders.  Tired, but with a few hours of daylight left, I set up my tent, then took a bath in the brook before making supper and tucking in for the night.

The Trailside boulders in the Hardwood Area.

Light rain overnight cooled things off for a good half-day on Monday.  Sebastian L met me in the am at the Corner Stones and we dispatched some of the starred problems, before working the long-standing crack project on Colt 45.  Together we (well, Seb mostly) figured out the beta, and each managed to pull off all but one move. For me it's number 2, and for Seb it's the opening move that's the problem.  It has really neat moves between cool holds up an obvious line.  Definitely a 3-star problem that we are both so close to completing that we will likely send it next visit!

S Lancelot executing the namesake move on Enter The Dragon, V4 (Glute Boulder) at Munson Lake, New Brunswick

Just a shot of Inversée for the guide