New Video

A plumbing issue has left me sitting at home waiting for the plumber instead of going climbing. So instead I put together a little video of some problems I did over the fall and the new problem we did in NL over christmas. You can see what I meant about a convoluted top out for Riddle Snake but it was the only dry option.

A Few Boulders from Dave Stack on Vimeo.

Christmas Bouldering

I made it out of St. John's today just before a much hyped snow storm really took force. With all the talk of snowmageddon, being the last flight to leave YYT kind of felt like flying out of the exploding death star.

Now I'm waiting in the Halifax airport for my flight across the pond and back to Geneva. After nearly a  month back home I thought updating my blog on what little climbing I got to do over christmas was as good a way to kill time as any.

In that month I managed to get in two days of bouldering outside, which given the time of year is actually pretty decent. Both days were spent at an exciting new area being pioneered by David Bruneau and Lewis Loader.

Past all the developed bouldering in Freshwater Bay, all the way to the point at Gunners Cove there is a HUGE boulder that I had seen briefly on a hike years ago. With a 30 foot tall face that at first glance looks kind of chossy I decided it was not worth the hour hike in. Bruneau and Lewis, however, went to check it out and found that crawling through a hole to the back of the boulder put you in a really cool cave setting with some very appealing lines. They also noticed the presence of several other boulders in the woods nearby.

Day 1

Our first day there over xmas was spent mainly climbing on the main big boulder. Lewis and Brunes had already put up two lines. A relatively low warm up and a terrifying line called "Yer gonna die" that only Bruneau climed and rated V3, the climb follows a diagonal crack up the face of a boulder that is placed directly over a deep hole. The crack flares out to tenuous fist jams at the top and is more than scary enough that as someone who tries to lay back any crack I get my fingers in I was way too scared to try it lest the name proved all too apt.

Instead we focused on putting up new lines. Starting with another warm up. "Get up, Stand up"V1 climbs up a tall arete with the crux being needing to trust all your weight on a high-step to stand up to the top with very little for your hands.

Bruneau on "Get up, stand up" V1

The second climb we did was in the cave at the back of the boulder. The cave is formed by several boulders leaning agaisnt each other to give the feeling of almost being indoors. There is a really nice crack line that goes all the way from the very bottom of the boulder to the opening at the top that will be very nice once it is climbed but was filled with ice when we were there.

The line we focused on was slightly further to the right and after starting on a big flat ledges follows some nice and well placed crimps up an overhanging face. There were a couple options for the top-out, climbing straight up leads to where another boulder is leaning against the main boulder, so the options are climb to where they meet and drop off, try to grovel through the small hole available or traverse way to the right  to top out on the other side.  As the straight up version was icy we went with the right exit, though I think the drop off will be a better line once it is done and Bruneau is confident he can crawl through the hole.... which at the very least will be entertaining to see him try. Whichever way you go it's a really fun climb in a great setting. 

Bruneau on "Riddle Snake" V6

After I climbed that line we moved on to an "offwidth project" that Bruneau and Lewis had already tried. It involves wedging yourself between two boulders leaning agaisnt each other and trying to worm your way out. My best attempt was when I managed to get all points off the ground, though any movement from that position was far from an option. Impressively Bruneau and Lewis were both managing to make progress towards the lip of the boulder and are confident with time they can complete the problem. What grade it would be once finished I couldn't begin to guess, felt like v17 to me.

Bruneau Making Progress

My best effort

Day 2

Our second day down there we were joined by Jamie Robbins and my brother's dog Kaya. Jamie and Bruneau made quick repeats of "Riddle Snake" then Lewis and Bruneau went back to wedge them selves into their project while myself and Jamie explored the woods for more boulders. I was more than a little impressed with what we found. Several worthwhile boulders were quite nearby and there could easily be others we have not seen yet. Many of them will need cleaning before they are climbable and thinning out the paths between them would really help make it a more appealing destination but I believe the potential is there to make it one of the better areas on the Avalon Peninsula.

Here are a few of the boulders we did not climb on, due to either ice or moss:

The boulder I am most excited to come back for.

A fun looking overhanging face.

This boulder has potentially the best V0 in the province.

After our scouting mission we decided to try to put up a few more lines on one of the boulders that didn't need much cleaning. We started with a face that had what I thought was going to be a very straightforward line up a series of cool holds. We expected to run up it quickly then move on to other lines. Once we started trying it though we realized it was going to be a lot harder than it looked. After considerable effort I managed to use a tenuous heel-hook to make my way to the snow-covered top of the boulder. I found this one very hard to grade but am guessing at V7. I named the problem "She-Wolf" after Kaya dog's first day out bouldering. After that Lewis did the FA of the easy but fun arete on the ride side of the face then we had to hustle to hike out before it got dark.

Jamie trying She-Wolf

Lewis topping out "Get Daun" V1 (She-Wolf climbs the chalked holds to the left)

Overall I am very excited about this new area and am looking forward to coming back in the summer to      

climb the lines that were ice or moss covered this trip.