Herring Cove Bouldering Guide?

[Baxterminator]

Anyone out there have a copy of the Herring Cove Bouldering Guide?

This place seems to have a lot of good problems, and is closer to Halifax than most bouldering areas. There is a great V2/V3 roof and a warm up traverse right in front of the parking lot. Also a great looking 15 degree overhanging finger crack. Not to mention the giant boulder 10min down the trail.

Surely some of you pioneers (Lance Thruster?) have this place mapped out.

[stoneseeker]

I've never heard of a bouldering guide for Herring Cove, but there are established problems there. If you go past the giant boulder there is even more stuff in small alcoves, although I haven't been for a long time, so some of that may have changed.

Also, in similar interest, how many lines in Duncans Cove roughly? I've never been there.

[Scooter]

The Trail Shop might have some copies. I remember seeing a couple of copies within the past year, somewhere....

[Scooter]

I also heard rumour that Herring Cove is somewhat contaminated. Rumour is a climber tested the air/ soil samples out there for work and found disconcerting amounts of fecal matter. Wouldn't want to open up a flapper and continue climbing if that truely is the case! So I stay away.

As for Duncan's Cove - there are probably around 2 dozen or so problems ranging from v0 to v6? Most of them are between v0 - v3. That being said, there are half a dozen stellar lines in my opinion.

[smilingrock]

I heard about the sewage contamination at Herring Cove back in 2003. I've climbed there a couple of times and I still have all my digits.

Since then the new treatment plant has come online, and offline, online and offline. Does anyone know if it is operational? That would probably clean up some of the poo.

As for bouldering quality, it's a place to go, but not really a first choice.

Mike

[stoneseeker]

The Trail Shop might have some copies. I remember seeing a couple of copies within the past year, somewhere....

Seriously?? Who wrote this?

I also heard rumour that Herring Cove is somewhat contaminated. Rumour is a climber tested the air/ soil samples out there for work and found disconcerting amounts of fecal matter. Wouldn't want to open up a flapper and continue climbing if that truely is the case! So I stay away.

Who's been poopin' all over the rocks?! seriously people, find a bush.

[Rich]

Greg Campbell wrote the guide, I would think you'd have a hard time finding one though.

One doesn't really need a guide for the area anyway - the climbing is super easy to find and like most coastal areas Herring Cove changes from year to year - - some of what was in the guide is no more and vice versa. From what I remember, some of the best problems weren't documented earlier anyway. Just go with some imagination and you'll have fun...

Wouldn't Chebucto Head have similar bacteria levels? I wouldn't worry about this issue at all. People even commonly fish from the rocks at Herring Cove. I don't know anything about the study but am skeptical that this could be a real health risk.

Herring Cove may not be the best area but I've always been suprised it sees so little attention...probably reflects it not being detailed in the guidebook I suppose. Anyway, its got some great problems - glad people are actually getting out there. Another place super close to the city that those with limited time or transportation (its on the #20 bus route) should check out are the Rockingstone boulders at Kingston lake (bout 15 problems I thin - some really fun ones too.)

Rich

[seanT]

Ahh yes Herring Cove.. home to some of the best problems in NS I think. Dyno Flatulator V5(one of the first 5's in the area) and the Dyno Flatulator traverse V7(one of the first V7s) The slimey landing area has some super crimping problems. Way down the trail past all the main stuff there is a little buttres with a stout V3 cant remember the name and also a project that Greg Cambell was working on..I think it was called Death from the Top Floor or something ..any way it is super hard and if you fall you die. For those newbs out there Greg was responsible for most of the FA's of anything high hard and scary...back in the early days. Truly one of the original hardmen on the scene here in NS. Herring Cove is mostly about eliminate problems which is awsome cuz you can do a million variations. The pure lines are there also and they are all very good. A good freind of mine did some swabs on the rocks to test for fecal count because everytime we got scratched climbing there the scratches turned all pink and oozed puss for several days...He was not impressed with the numbers that came back so we stopped climbing there. That was BEFORE the hightech treatment plant went online. I have not been back ...but mabye it is time for a little HCove revival? Toddles may have a copy of the guide that Greg put together in his basement.....but i shudder to think of what you would have to do to get it.
WORD......

[chameleon]

I recall Greg working some nastiness out there. Before his time, Chris Chetcuti put up a problem called "Pumped Hammies from Outer Space" - shortly after Tsunami was put up at Chebucto. These were the first "V8s" in NS as I recall. I never climbed "Pumped Hammies" but am pretty sure Zig would've. Not a high quality problem imo.

Before Chris' time, Steve Brewis climbed most of the ballsy high problems out there. Steve was a big fan of bold problems (and routes) with bad landings. A couple of his bolder routes include "Doin' the Sneak" (Easter Island - very few repeats...probably just one) and "Hesitation Breeds Chaos" (Sorrows End). The latter problem has seen a fair bit of activity, although i get the sense that people are mostly top-roping and/or TR rehearsing these days. Steve would've done these routes ground up, on lead.

Herring Cove is a great after-work spot to climb. Good problems, setting, rock, etc. Go for it. And remember: wear a lifejacket for safety.

[shoshonite]

Wouldn't Chebucto Head have similar bacteria levels? I wouldn't worry about this issue at all. People even commonly fish from the rocks at Herring Cove. I don't know anything about the study but am skeptical that this could be a real health risk.

From what i recall of the poo maps of Hfx Harbour (Bio has done several over the years) Once you are past McNabs there is much better water circulation so Chebucto Head should have much lower poo levels. The Harbour its self is actually quite restricted.

[Rich]

oozzing puss...that doesn't sound good. I retract all my comments about it being safe but never experienced anything myself...

[jeremy benjamin]

Someone call Peter Kelly to see if he would climb there now that the harbour is de-pooped-ified.

[keir]

Fecal coliform counts at Herring Cove haven't changed much even with the new poop scooping.
The map I saw for last winter was about average (high 200s). All that light buoyant discharge into the harbour turns right and hugs the coast when it gets out so it runs right by Herring Cove. Just bring some Polysporin, and climb in the summer when the surface levels go down.

As to Chebucto head levels, they'd be pretty diluted out there (probably by at least a factor of 5).

[stoneseeker]

Someone call Peter Kelly to see if he would climb there now that the harbour is de-pooped-ified.

Now that's a publicity stunt I would come watch.

[patzer]

While we're on this area, there are a couple nice looking problems on the big boulder by the parking lot for York Redoubt, just down the road. I remember asking many years ago where one could get to some bouldering on bus, and Herring Cove, Kidston Lake and that was about all that was suggested (in addition to... biking out to crystal crescent with a crash pad on my back?!). I think one is called the flagpole arrete, and is a V8? And there was something like a V1-2 that seemed pretty classic and fun. The woods across the road from York Redoubt and much thinner these days and seem just littered with boulders too! But they're clearly on private land, behind some fence. Maybe military owned? But I'm sure there is a bunch of great stuff in there too...

[mick]

I took a walk in through the burned out area last week. There's a couple small areas with maybe 8-10 problems each. Not much to write home about but they are nice and clean, having had all the moss and lichen burned off last year.

[pulldown]

I think i have a copy of the herring cove guide in my files. If i do i'll post back and see if i can get it uploaded as a PDF somewhere so people can use it.

It's true that there are some very fun problems out there. I spent a lot of time there with Greg and others and had never given the sewage much thought. It's too bad about the poo-water situation. That said there are some good problems up high at the end of the trail. The only poo on them comes out from the pantlegs of climbers as they top them out!

Todd

[smilingrock]

Fecal coliform counts at Herring Cove haven't changed much even with the new poop scooping.
5).

Hi Keir. With the new poop scooping measures, is the poop "cleaner" than it use to be?

[Rowan]

The couple of times I've been to Herring Cove it's had a pretty urban vibe: the ground littered with condom wrappers, broken crack pipes and Tim Horton's cups, and all around people engaged in the most lewd, debased behaviour - sit starts even.
Even the sea gulls seemed to avert their eyes in shame.

[Rowan]

Damn thing didn't work - pic:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/herringcove.jpg/

[Eager]

That's what Sprytown bouldering is all about.

Don't fo'get to bring your gat if you hit up Kidston lake, or you'll be a sucka!

[Zamboni]

The treatment plant is a joke. At the time it was first engineer, & approved, it was done in accordance to national standards. But it took so long to get funded, and constructed, those standards changed and it’s now considered just a big expensive skimmer.

[keir]

Fecal coliform counts at Herring Cove haven't changed much even with the new poop scooping.
5).

Hi Keir. With the new poop scooping measures, is the poop "cleaner" than it use to be?

Imagine going to the bathroom in the morning, not flushing, going to work, and coming home for supper. After supper scoop out anything still floating in the toilet. Is the water clean? Hardly! That's our harbor solution. The only location that significantly improved was the Northwest Arm and that is because they diverted the outfall. That said the Halifax harbour is significantly cleaner than the St.John's harbour of my youth where coliform counts are often in the 10,000-100,000 range. Yum!

Personally I have no great objection to primary treatment. It's the harbor - I don't want to swim in it in the first place. I think there are more pressing environmental issues that could use a $100 million.

[smilingrock]

Wow! That explains the situation perfectly Keir. I would not drink poo broth. Thanks very much.

Mike

[Quinn]

Fecal coliform counts at Herring Cove haven't changed much even with the new poop scooping.
5).

Hi Keir. With the new poop scooping measures, is the poop "cleaner" than it use to be?

Imagine going to the bathroom in the morning, not flushing, going to work, and coming home for supper. After supper scoop out anything still floating in the toilet. Is the water clean? Hardly! That's our harbor solution. The only location that significantly improved was the Northwest Arm and that is because they diverted the outfall. That said the Halifax harbour is significantly cleaner than the St.John's harbour of my youth where coliform counts are often in the 10,000-100,000 range. Yum!

Personally I have no great objection to primary treatment. It's the harbor - I don't want to swim in it in the first place. I think there are more pressing environmental issues that could use a $100 million.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially if you have ever used a shared computer keyboard at work, school, library, cafe etc...