Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Slackin' Big Time Buddy

We've been slackin' to say the least.  No posts in three months is pretty lame so we're gonna pick things back up. Not much to say really..we've been climbing some, scouring some, finding stuff, etc.  Here's a recap of a few of our adventures/finds/forays:

The Corridor - Development has recently continued at my new favorite area.  There is a good concentration of amazing gneiss with plenty of problems to be put up and projects to get worked up about.  I'd say that there is easily 100 potential lines on the rock we have found so far.  What's more daunting is that there could be a few times more yet to be discovered.  Most recently Andy and I put up some lines on a couple of untouched boulders - a total of 6 easy problems and 2 projects..all in about two hours.  From that alone you can tell that 1.) the boulders need little cleaning 2.) there are plenty of features 3.) this place is awesome.  A little while back there was a bunch of action as well: Steve Potter snagged the second ascent of Andy's classic Shangri La V8..he flashed it, crazy bastard.  Steve went on a rampage finding/cleaning/sending the Midden Arete V8, nabbing the FA of the powerful Lost Horizon V8 to the left of Shangri La, and the FA of Cibola V7 - another sweet problem in that sector.



Ramp City - Another location we were previously checking out.  Lots of developed routes..well lots of anchors anyway.  Some of them look unprotectable.  The boulders remain untapped.  Nothing much has gone on except a little cleaning here and there.  Some amazing hard problems  are there for the plucking, but I still think roping up is where you'll find the most bang for your buck.  Andy and I went on a thorough exploration of the top of the mountain and it's pretty rad up there..even some more short cliffs when you think the ledges end, as well as some boulders.

Rattlesnake Gap - We headed over our eastern border in search of some schist..well we found it. There's a whole realm of steep slopes to be combed over.  We spent our time on one mountain in particular, and definitely didn't see near all of it.  Originally the plan was to find a promising cliff band, but due to mountain laurel jungles we only managed to stumble upon a shitload of sweet boulders that lie beneath the ledges.  Can't wait to get back up in that area when it's not 90 degrees and I can see my feet while bushwhacking.

Bear Mt. - The tallest peak in CT has a 200+ foot slab on its shoulder.  There's a few easier trad lines that run up the main slab but I found two sport routes lurking in the dark gully on the cliff's southern side.  Andy and I hiked out with intentions of scouting/climbing the big routes but ended up getting on the better of the two shorter lines.  Andy onsighted it, probably somewhere around 5.10+.  There's 3 bolts to the anchors (w/sketchy sharp coldshuts, I clipped some ovals up there to rap off instead).  It was a pretty good slightly overhanging face climb.  The other route is a chossy looking dihedral to a slab..4 or 5 bolts, and one is missing a hanger.  The anchors also have the same shitty rings on it.  There might be some potential new routing on both the main face and gully wall..but it's a bit of a trip to get out there.

Gemstones - I came across a lead for some boulders near where I work.  Andy and I decided to go and see if there was anything out there.  Turns out there was a ton of rock, but we only found a handful of boulders worth going back for - two of which are amazing.  The cream of the crop was a dumptruck sized boulder with a variety of features and very clean.  There's still a lot to explore out there with promise for more worthy stones.


Tyler's Woods - An old friend was back in town and I spent a weekend of schwilling hard cider (way too sweet, but sweet enough ( it was free) not to stop).  During a morning of recuperation I recalled some rocks in the forest behind his house.  While on a hazy stumble into the woods I came across a few cool looking chunks of rock. Surely there's a little bit more out there, and it's definitely worth going back for what was found.  I'll be back..I left my water bottle.

Well that's it.  Gettin' tired.  The best summary I could do.  Fuck.  We'll just keep on top of our shit.  Yeah right.

-Ryan