Trip Report: Acadia: Day 1

The Arrival

With some clever rigging, stable speeds of 80 mph can be reached

Unemployed and smiling I awoke on Friday morning earlier than I’d dragged myself out of bed in weeks.  Twas time to drive North to Acadia, land of ocean cliffs and lobster boats.  Since I’m unemployed and can no longer afford to do laundry I piled every single article of clothing I’d worn into the backseat (Hello Dad!), strapped the Mondo to the roof and drove to the BRG to get Secret Asian Dan.  The Mondo was achieving some undesirable flapping at speeds above 55mph, so I made some modifications (luckily, as a climber I tend to have a lot fo webbing around.. and some knot talent..).. but anyway.. to the North!

Got Dan, hit the highways.  Made some more modfications to raise the non-flapping speed limit to 75, and opened the sun roof to induce vortex shedding which raised the flap-free speed to a cool 80 mph, and finally started making real progress.  Highways, gas breaks, fast food, one bag of beef jerky, and 5 hours later we roll into Bar Harbor.  Here’s where the coincidental fabulousness really starts…

We roll up to Acadia Mountain Guides, which appears to be closed.  We’re standing around looking at the shuttered store when Jeremy opens the door and we have this exchange

“Can I help you guys?”
“We need a climbing guide”
“We only have the shitty one”

A good start to a great weekend

“Does the good one have bouldering?”
“No, but I’m going there now”
“We’ll follow you”

and thus was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and out introduction to the dozen or so climbers who make up the Acadia climbing scene.

On the way to Great Head, we ran into Park Ranger Dylan who happened to be patrolling the trail to Great Head, and thus, in the first hour of Acadia, we’d met more or less everyone we needed to meet, more or less accidentally.

Checking out the new problems along the shore line

We made our way to Great Head and were greeted by what possibly might be the prettiest bouldering locale in all of New England.  Two dozen routes from V2 to V10 on horizontal roofs looking east over the ocean.  We warmed up on “Warm Up Left, V2″ and “Warm Up Right, V4″ and then went down to the cave of lines where we met Pete and Eli who own Atlantic Climbing Guides and Jesse who’s been developing the island and surrounding main lands.  The guys were super friendly, chatting while working “Center Line, V8″ (wicked creative naming on the island, Center Line is between Left Line and Right Line.), and a contrived variation of Center Line that doesn’t include heel hooks, which, is pretty sick when you’re on a horizontal roof with nothing but slopers.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and Jeremy showed us to the Lompoc where we commenced consumption of the first of what turned out to be a lot of Dark and Stormies, harassment of our ironic waitress and competitve bocce (in which our ability to play competed with our ability to drink Dark and Stormies).  Park Ranger Dylan offered us lodging and the Mondo proved to be a worthy mattress.

Acadia, the way bouldering should be.

 

Trip Report: Acadia: Day 2

Great Head and Dark and Stormies

Saturday’s adventure started with breakfast in sunny, 65 degree weather at Cafe This Way. As we pulled into the parking lot, one of the cooks noticed the Mondo strapped to the Bimmer, stuck his head out a window and asked where we were bouldering. Rolling around town with a crash pad awkwardly strapped to your car definitely gets you noticed by the local climbers. After coffee, a breakfast burrito, eggs benedict, sausage, and lots of bacon, Tex and I were ready to climb.

Moving on to Great Head after digesting a magnificent breakfast, we warmed up with Jenn and Hannah (who apparently worked at Cafe This Way and had shown up moments before we did). As we were warming up and taking sweet pics of the ocean, a lady from a larger group (from Boston) down by the cave decided to come up to our area and place a T-Rex in the background of some of our shots. It was pure awesomeness.

T-Rex lurking in the background. Rawr.

Meanwhile, a second large group of boulderers, also from Boston, had made their way over, and it appeared as if the boulders were about to be overcrowded. As luck would have it, the second large group turned around and left to explore other areas since they saw the first large group climbing; 5 minutes later, the first large group packed up and moved elsewhere.

Tex on Warm Up Left V2. People in the background packing up.

Jenn made this Warm Up V4 look much better than S.A.D.

Left with the whole Great Head area to ourselves, Tex was convinced to find an FA with a near impossible reach and to name it “Because I’m Tall”. He eventually found a route slightly below the main cave with a huge opening move coming out of a roof. While he stuck the first move, he failed to send the rest of the problem, thus allowing me to send it and name it “Dufour, I Am Stronger Than You”. Note that this was probably not the FA, but our names are better than “Left Line” and “Center Line”.

Dufour failing at being tall.

S.A.D. being stronger than Dufour.

Finishing out "Dufour, I Am Stronger Than You" on crimps.

I proceeded to return to the main cave and work Right Line (V5). At this time Jesse showed up to work some V9 in the cave and provided us with some beta, a much needed extra pad, and a spot. The problem started under the roof, moved to the edge of the roof, and used a sweet heel-toe cam to pull around the roof edge. While no one move on the Right Line was terribly bad, the landing under the crux was a definite back breaker, and after taking a solid fall, I was done mentally. No send this time, but a good project nonetheless.

Jesse protecting S.A.D on Right Line crux.

To wind down from a day of good oceanside bouldering, we decided to refuel at Rosalie’s Pizza, and hit the Lompoc for a few Dark and Stormies. Our ironic waitress was right on point and saved us the trouble of having to verbally communicate our orders. From there, we paid a visit to Jeremy at Acadia Mountain Guides to shop for some shoes and figure out Sunday climbing plans. As the shop did not carry the proper shoe sizes for us, we decided to return to the Lompoc again where our favorite ironic waitress kept the Dark and Stormies flowing through the night. We were eventually joined by Jeremy and Park Ranger Dylan, who offered us lodging once again.

 

Trip Report: Acadia: Day 3

For me the day began not with the rising of the sun but the night before. Obliging my family is a rare occasion, but this time around I was compelled to meet my fellow trainees up at the illustrious Acadia on Day 3 of their trip. Why did day 3 start on day 2 you ask? Well, simply because the bulk of Day 2’s evening was spent in communication with Tex and S.A.D. who decided to whet my appetite by telling me how amazing the location was. Curiosity peaked when I found out that they had “befriended the locals”; which, frankly, could have meant they were tossed into debtors prison as easily as found a wild animal that happened to be following them along the rocky beach.

I awoke much earlier on Sunday than I had thought I would, swung by Bath, ME to pick up J. Megs who wanted to join in our shenanigans. All said and done, we were in Bar Harbor by 9:30ish to meet the guys for a sleepy breakfast at Café This Way. Here is where I found out firsthand that the trip would be worth it. The stories from the crag seemed amazing, the people chill and the air crisp. I also found out that “befriending the locals” meant something in between what I had suspected. J. Megs decided to conquer the wave blasted cliffs of Otter and not hike around the rocky shore in search of random bouldering lines. Though without a doubt, her own adventure was eventful.

Armed with beta from a waitress and the local gear shop employee, Dufour, S.A.D. and I embarked on Greathead with ambition in our hearts. I was shown the lines to warm up on, and attempted to conquer my height by completing the route named “Dufour I am stronger than you”. My own deficiencies prevented me from sticking the opening move; but progress was being made in the 20 minutes that we spent playing on it.

I have 67 shots of Mateyko missing the opening move and one poorly framed one of him making the fourth.

Our minds turned to encouragement where we spent some time coaxing S.A.D. through a v4/v6 where none of us really had a firm idea of what the sequence was. Dan resolved himself to believe that a big throw from a semi-good crimp to a hold we couldn’t see the top of must have been the right way. After numerous attempts, and getting progressively closer, the ancient techniques passed down by S.A.D.’s forefathers did not prevail. Alas, hearts and minds rest assured that the next trip to the region will dispense with the problem.

Dan stretching it out on the Left Line

Imagine now, the air crisp from an ocean breeze, the clouds not letting up, and the 3 of us jumping along the rocks looking for a hidden oasis of climbing. Well, we didn’t exactly find an oasis, but we did find a cave that most wouldn’t give a second glance. Not more than 4 feet deep and 10 feet high, we descended upon this spot. The first hold for both routes we discovered began on a smooth pocket roughly resembling a pair of lips <insert incessant lewd references>. S.A.D. jumped in first off, found a route with a big move off the start continued with big moves to big holds. Dufour got the second ascent and I, the third. We dubbed this route “Left Lips”, a v2/v2+ problem.

Gazing up at the lips.

“Right Lips” threw us for a bit. Fighting a nasty overhang of smooth rock does not me an easy traverse. S.A.D. starts us off again with a big move off the start. But the second move eludes all of us for some time. S.A.D. comes up with a nice knee bar to free up the torso for rotation. He seemed to get stuck with his right leg though. My right knee is slightly tweaked right now so I decided to use the left leg…lo and behold, I was able to send the rest of our line. But since I skipped the first move which eluded me at present time, I can’t claim the FA. S.A.D. makes short work of the line with the new beta. Dufour finds a toe-hook with simultaneous knee-bar to allow a no hands rest; way to go Dufour.

The difference between a toe cam and knee jam is Dan failing on Lips Right

"You know what I did with no hands last night?"

The balance of the day was spent exploring and fantasizing. We spent a significant amount of time walking the shore and inspecting what seemed to be great caves. Once we got in them however, it appeared that the lines were either wet, or well beyond our capabilities. Rock on to whomever climbs them. We did find a great warm up wall with a few V1s on it.

Secret Asian Dan making the V8 Face on a random V1 Face

Our adventures were finished for the day when we found what looked like a spectacular cave. From all angles this place inspired awe. Alas, getting there was no small feat with crash pads on your back. Navigating the mossy boulders and barnacle laden rocks proved trickier than one would expect. Once in the cave, which I now have reason to believe is called Millennium Cave, we were unable to find a line that had a safe landing zone and was not soaked. After a good hard look we retreated to path and made our way back to vehicular transport.

Back in town S.A.D secured lodging for the night and we made our way to the Lompoc to meet “the locals”. The waitress remembered Dufour and S.A.D. from their previous visits and Jeremy tossed back a few with us while talking about developing climbing on the island. The Lompoc sports a Bocce court, a sport I was completely unfamiliar with. I now consider myself a Bocce expert; well not really, but the time spent mocking each other repeatedly was a great use of our time. I came to realize that consistency in foreign towns definitely has perks. I now use the Lompoc and Café This Way as a bellwether for future encounters in the area. Unfortunately, I doubt a new experience will hold up in comparison.

After a long night at the Lompoc, where we actually provided our own Ginger Beer for the Dark and Stormies, and a long day of climbing, and a long drive to get here, I sank onto the Mondo like it was the mattress of kings. Excited about meeting new people, excited about finding a new location in my home state and exhausted from the day’s trials, I slept with anticipation of what is to come as we continue our journey.

We called upon the author to explain, he was completely unable.

 

The Interim Photos

 

The Author Warming Up

Still warming up.

I have no idea how to right this file.

 

The Random V1 Face

 

To Acadia!

BMW + Mondo = no worries
BMW + Mondo + All my dirty laundry = Overflow.
Thankfully as a climber I tend to have a lot of webbing lying around.

 

The Monomyth So Far (from The Author’s storyline..)

The Call to Adventure

Campbell: The Call To Adventure – “A blunder – apparently the merest chance – reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood.

While staying in an out of the way Bangkok hostel, after having done yoga on the patio overlooking the vast sullen city I chose a destination at random and headed for Railay Beach.  One tuktuk, one plane, one van, and one boat later I found myself in one of the epic Southeast Asian climbing mecca’s.  I lay on the beach, but looking up at the cliffs I knew the beach wasn’t what I’d come there for…

Refusal of the Call

In some stories, the hero initially refuses the call to adventure. When this happens, the hero may suffer somehow, and may eventually choose to answer, or may continue to decline the call.

Campbell: Refusal of the Call – “Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or ‘culture,’ the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved.”

I returned to the states, and to the grind.  I eventually found my way to the BRG and on solitary Tuesdays I’d climb routes while Mateyko bouldered the overhanging wall.  We were the only people in the gym, and oddly enough we didn’t meet for another six months.  I worked my way through the 8s and 9s and 10s and built the confidence I’d need to send outside.  I worked, and I denied the return to Thailand, or France, or Mallorca, while I toiled and grew strong on local granite.

Supernatural Aid

After the hero has accepted the call, he encounters a protective figure (often elderly) who provides special tools and advice for the adventure ahead, such as an amulet or a weapon.

I met the D’Alroy, a crazy creature of myth and legend who’d been climbing since the dawn of time.  He taught techniques that blasted me from 10a to 11a in a matter of weeks.  

Refusal of the Call – Part 2

One of the clearest references to the refusal and its consequences comes in the voice of Yahweh in Proverbs 1:24-27 and 32:

Because I have called, and ye refused … I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. … For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

I have become unemployed, but rather than reaping destruction upon me, it has smashed my bonds and set me free.  As it has for Mateyko, but like an elephant who grew up in chains and then can not break the twine that holds him, he hasn’t realized it yet.

The Crossing of the First Threshold

The hero must cross the threshold between the world he is familiar with and that which he is not. Often this involves facing a “threshold guardian”, an entity that works to keep all within the protective confines of the world but must be encountered in order to enter the new zone of experience

I suspect that Max or Gavin might be the entity, or some crazy spaniard.. only Mallorca will tell.

 

 

Rumney Report 5/16/09 (in which Tex creates run on sentences)

written by texdufour, who is too lazy to post himself:

So, I’ve been totally jonesing for more burns on a sweet bouldery 5.11c/d at the Illustrious Firewall but the crew was craving Rumney (and Firewall is bolted in a Spanish style, and I need to get my lead legs on.. nothing like 20 foot run outs on your warm ups..)

In the grand scheme of things, ticking off all the Star Wars named routes at Rumney seems like a pretty fabulous idea, even if it means making big moves to clips over jagged rocks on Stormtroopers. Mateyko and S.A.D. had project lust for Jedi Mind Tricks, a swanky 5.12b with a move to clip ratio of about 14:1 (and by 14, I mean 4) on a steep overhang. Yoooey (our new favorite fifteen year old prodigy) has been working on Peanut Man, a 5.11d jug haul with a sweet undercling/crimp crux combo, and Deb just wanted to follow us up whatever tens we were working on.. so.. in short, and in long, Rumney met everyone’s needs.

We started the day warming up on the Main Cliff, hanging with the Russians, and getting the sweetest beta ever for Jedi Mind Tricks from a French-Canadian couple (two kneebars, no three, two heel-toe cams, or maybe one, and at least one hand-foot-toe-cam cross through to a distant sloper.. or some such non-sense.. ) I finally decided to plunge into leading with some 5.5 (hardcore!) to 5.8 face climbs (lose your feet, scrape your face on the rock..), and then climbed up the choss to watch Yoooey two-fall his project. The kid is no doubt absurdly strong, but he clearly needs to A. Rest, B. Not f-up the beta on the crux, C. Wear a shirt when working at BRG. S.A.D. managed to finish it with a take or two, while Ryan ran up some random 10 for Deb.

Warm up done. Mateyko and Deb were ten minutes behind us for some reason. They may or may not have been making out (something about gear left behind?) Next project, Pretzel Logic 5.12a (11d if you’re tall.. and randomly.. I’m going to take a minute to bitch.. bouldery sit starts should get upgraded for us 6′4″ folk, you try pulling off the ground when the holds are 1′10″ up and your arms are 3′5″ long). Nothing terribly impressive. No sends. Mateyko managed not to fall on the opening jugs but failed on the following crimps. S.A.D. managed to finish with only one take. Sendage will come soon. It should also be noted, that I’m getting damn good at keeping heavy people off the ground when they cut loose gunning for the second clip.

Mateyko breezing past jugs to crimps on Pretzel Logic

S.A.D. hitting the jug on Pretzel Logic

Project time. As we entered Lower Vader some hardcore old guy decked, sprained his ankle, taped it tight, and then finished Storm Troopers with righteous fury. I’m pretty sure I’m not that hardcore now, hopefully I will be when I’m 60. Mateyko promptly started spraying beta at some random flailing on JMT for a while. While Yoooey and I cruised through Yoda and Ryobi. Finally Mateyko got his turn at JMT but by that point I got bored and wandered off to Waimea (soaked..) and Triple Corners to send some random routes (Murk Trench, 5.10a, and Left El Diego 5.9; pretty entertaining, getting my lead-ego back). Mateyko managed to fly through 3/4ths of the route before getting stone walled at the upper crux. S.A.D scrubbed his way through most of the route and eventually got all the moves with no fewer than 20 takes. Alas, no pictures exist of this project from this trip.

Post-trip I sprinted between birthday parties and ended up meeting up with a business associate of mine who was shooting tequila and had a gorgeous heart broken kiwi lesbian on his arm, and it was going to rain, so I shot tequila, and then it rained, and I didn’t go to Firewall, and was sad, but Bruiser made paella, so.. all in all, not a bad weekend.

Next up: Acadia.

 

Sendage

My first boulder project of the summer went down on the second attempt of the day.  Pulled a sweet flake toe jam/ knee cam on the top gaston FTW. Felt good.  Now for Iron Cross, The Random Roof at Hammond, and everything at Sand Beach in Acadia.  Alas, no pictures of this exist, since they apparently thought I was going to work it (clearly my epic confidence was focused on the wall and not radiating out as it normally does).  In lieu of, here’s a few of Jo and Sarumon.  Jo sent some sweet V1’s on her first day out, Sarumon ate cookies (and sent V1).

Sarumon saving her energy for the crag.

Jo smiling sweetly as she dances up a random V1.

 

Sarumon deadly serious, sending same said V1.

 

The Humor of the Crag

“It’s like climbing with 14 year olds!” – D’Alroy

When we all started climbing together, we were warm and fuzzy and supportive, and to some extent we still are; that being said, I can categorize 50-70% of the conversation on any given day at Rumney into the following five categories:

1. ‘Your mom’ jokes.

2. ‘That’s what she said’ jokes

3.  ’Your beta sucks’ jokes

4.  ’Failing on jugs’ jokes

5. . . . .. . well, maybe it’s four, we’re not really all that complicated apparently.

 

A Dead Heavy Day

Gavin is off to SA.  Syndicated from gheverly.blogspot.com

So. One more day. To pack, to wrap up loose ends. To cross my fingers. To clear out the last of whatever is left in my refrigerator. To give hi-fives. To muster my strength and climbing fitness. To enjoy any sort of vegan treats that will not exist to me for the next 3 weeks as I travel across South Africa. I had really meant to get back up to Rumney to polish off Dr. No (13d) before I left, and had things all set to go for Saturday morning. But pre-trip to-do lists prevailed and I had to bail. Then on Sunday, a second attempt was made only to be shot down by rain. Rain which normally would not prevent one from going to Rumney. There are plenty of quality rock climbs 5.12 and higher to be played on even in the most serious of rains. But as my luck would inevitably have it, Dr. No is essentially a glorified boulder problem, and the crux involves gripping for dear life to a crappy sloper at the lip of the climb. Rain. Crappy sloper. No good. Or as my good friend Jon Glassberg has been known to say “Maaaann, fuck those wet lips.” I’m pretty sure he was talking about climbing, wasn’t he?

 

Dr. No (13d), a soon to be long forgotten climb, somewhere in a place known only to me as "The Americas"

At any rate, Dr. No will just have to wait. I have lots planned for my trip, and evidently, there are plenty of boulders at ROCKLANDS to keep my mind occupied. And I would wager that in two weeks from now, I will not even remember what country Dr. No is in:I’m serious when I say you should keep checking back. I will be posting what I can only imagine will be some amazing photos. I am not even that great of a photographer. But let’s get serious for a second…on my agenda, Lions, Elephants, Great White sharks, 1400 ft. trad climbs (solos???), scenic paradistic (is that a word? I just made it up) vistas, two of the cutest little kids of all time, and more bouldering than I can ever begin to comprehend.

 

Dr. No can wait. Only a few concerns here: I am flying on Iberia Airlines? Has anyone ever heard of this? Am I going to end up on an island with John Locke? Fuck. Can I update my blog from that island? Also unrelated. New Star Trek movie is good as hell. And I honestly could not possibly care less about Star Trek. I’ll update from the road.

 

H O L Y S H I T. That's a lot of boulders.

 

 

 

Live Long and Prosper.