exploring for boulders

[Joey]

I've been doing some exploring in the woods around where I live and I came across some cool stuff. Just wondering if anyone has come across the same rocks before???



http://www.flickr.com/photos/76232302@N04/6843468543

[stoneseeker]

I don't think I've ever seen those before...
Where do you live? Is this on private property?

Looks like some potential there, especially the overhanging face in 57. looks like some rails on it with a hard TO. a lot of the really big wall towards the end looked pretty blank, did you see any crimps or anything on it when closely examined?

[Joey]

I live in Sambro Head and the area is in Pennant. The land is Provincial Wilderness Area. That's crown land? or at least public?
I started a rough path from the main road which starts 30 feet in. I can get the the area in 15 minutes.

I didn't do any real examination yet. I plan to go back on Friday with my rope and some gear and check out the upper half.

There's also a an 15-20 foot 1"-2" wide vertical crack, overhanging from the ground up. I couldn't get a good picture of it.

I'm going exploring again today, have a bunch of spots I want to check out in Pennant.



Joey

[stoneseeker]

Cool man, I think the West Pennant (which is certainly huge and full of potential) and that area were explored a lot by Nick, Zig and fellow explorers a few years back, so there's a chance they may have seen it and left it for more promising developments. Or you could be the first to find it... let us know what develops, looks pretty steep and tall which is cool.
Sounds like a fast approach too, which is rare out here for anything newer it seems.

find scrub send!

[Rich]

Cool find.

The overhanging walls look kinda familiar - I remember walking past something similar with Nick and Zig years ago but can't be ceratin it's the same place. Doesn't matter anywat though...

I do remember seeing a mean looking and overhanfing thin-fingers crack towards teh right side of the wall - might be the same as that in photo 15.

rich

[1st Nation Sensation]

Some of this looks like the stuff around the Honey Tree area (I am 99.99% sure one of the photos is "The Honey Tree" V8ish)...Probably been a few years since these have been touched. - Ben

[Scooter]

One of the shots is def honey tree and VIP

[Eager]

I agree I think those first few photos are the Honey Tree, but good to see someone back out there. Really cool V3-V5? problem on the boulder directly behind Honey Tree done by Chris Donahoe I think, and I think VIP -Nick Sagar, starts on Honey Tree moves left to a top out and is V Hard.

Hundred Acre Wood has loads of potential still, pretty sure there are still a few untapped gems out there.

there are also the

Pit boulders - Return of the Jetta V4 - Mike K, Weakling V9- Zig, the UFO, proj, and a bunch of other ascents. Mike Kohler, Ben Blakney, Rich?, and Nate Smith have been there. Head in for thoughtful spot and turn right at first ATV junction, follow this ATV trail right parallel to the Road until you reach the big gravel pit, head up the hill behind the pit and you will find the boulders. Be aware of the houses near the Pit as it could be private property

Owl's House- A little more familiar, just ask Ben Smith.

Hospital Hill - marked on the topos, go past the thoughtful spot junction on the road and when you reach the big clearing head up to the top of the granite promontory, from here head down and right to the bottom of the ridgeline where there are small cliffs and boulders, Take care in the Cave as there is a massive chunk of loose granite that is very tempting to climb on and will probably detach at some point, this area has some mega hard projects. Not sure if any ever got sent.

Would be cool to get this stuff documented by the CNS MoBeta crew, as these areas are pretty obscure. Still lots of undocumented stuff in Tbay, West Pennant, Sambro, and Sprytown.......oh yeah you gots to be pretty hard to boulder in Sprytown.

[Joey]

Last week I spent 7 hours and 5km of bush whacking through the Bald Rock peninsula only to find one cool looking decent rock which isn't too far away if you drive to the end of sandy cove road and walk along the shore for 15 minutes.

Has anyone been down the very long dirt road to the Bayside Camp in Sambro Head? The road takes you into the woods nearly 1.5 km.

[Eager]

There is a boulder in Sandy Cove called Inukshuk V8, if looking towards the water from the rd the boulder is to the left of the buildings a little way. There is also some stuff between Dark Cove and Codline Cove near Ketch Harbour and possibly more further along the coast, unfortunately access is a bit tricky. York Redoubt has the Flagpole Arete V8, and some other opportunities. People knock Herring Cove as well but there are some pretty burly problems there as well, Pumped Hammies, Widow Maker which may be gone, Dyno Flatulator, and I remember there are a few problems way out towards the point that were pretty hard and scary. Kidston Lake in Spryfield has some sweet bouldering, Styles of Beyond V6 on the Rockingstone, A sitstart problem by Ben Smith on the Rockingstone V?, Backscratcher V6-7, Boxcar Willy V3, Boxcar traverse to Backscratcher V8 ish, Houston we have liftoff v7-10? an unrepeated dyno, from the nose on the boxcar boulder to the top, no mantle, possibly the hardest dyno in the province....

Google Maps is still the best option for trying to find stuff, If I were really psyched to find new stuff I'd be looking in Musquodoboit, or the Valley there is way more potential out there than nearer Halifax . Not to say there isn't new stuff out near Sambro, TBay, and Peggy'sCove, but the most accessible and concentrated areas have been found, Too much time has been put in to looking. I know of lots of spots where there was potential for development but we just didn't bother because they weren't concentrated enough, too dirty, and inaccessible. Just keep in mind that sometimes boulders are better left the way they are. Make sure you think about what your new found gem will yield before you start scrubbing, will someone else want to climb it, or is it just a piece of shite?

I'm no geologist but boulders most often accumulate, in river beds, along lake shores, creeks, depressions, hillsides, below cliffs. This is a product of the most recent glaciation, erosion, and gravity. There is a geological map of Nova Scotia available, it shows you where all the granite deposits are throughout the province, if you get one it will give you a good idea of where there are potential boulders. Then use google maps and compare the aerial photo view to terrain view, If you think you see boulders, they look big, and are in one of the features mentioned above it might be worth a trip, otherwise go climbing.

[Rich]

Have always been curious as to whether people still go out to these spots (Herring Cove, York Redoubt, Kidston Lake) - they saw quite a bit of action for a number of years, largely by broke-ass students with no ride to get anywhere else - but they have some great problems. Don't know the names of 95% of them myself but "Houston we have liftoff" is definately kick ass (and has seen at least one repeat ).

Funny thing about Musqudoboit - for such a large valley with so much rock it seems like it has limited bouldering opportunities. There are some fun areas for sure - Gibralter , the cluster of boulders back by Scots lake in the 3 towers area, Jessie's Diner area and along the tracks leading to it, and the "Knobs of Bishop Boulder" (this may have a more formal name) being the best in my opinion, but the challenge is certainly finding a good concentration. Not that there aren't a lot of things out there still to be climbed, and maybe even some concentrations of high-value boulders, but for all the time I know I've spent searching out the nooks and crannies...well, I thought there would be more to be honest. Sometimes things just need to get cleaned up and have a little bit of chalk dust on them to come to life though...and everybody's got a different eye.

-rich

[Rowan]

Since last winter I've spent a lot of time wandering around looking for new boulders. At times I've been keen to share my discoveries with the 'climbing community'; other times, meh. I guess I'll share some of what I've found.
I started out exploring that vast area between Terence Bay and Prospect. I'd been intrigued by the abundance of rock you could see across the bay as you drive out of Prospect. It turns out not many people ever go here but looking at Google Maps you could see faint traces of trails. My first trip I went from the end of Powers Road, which is a beautiful hike along an old jeep road, but took a long time to get to the action. Also, I left this road and tried just bushwhacking to get to the many outcrops and boulders that were beckoning in the distance. This turned out to be exhausting, and I realized it was wisest to stick to the established trails.
I made a map, tracing out the 4 wheeler trails (I think I've gone a bit further into the peninsula since I drew on these lines. If you have an iPhone or similar you can look at Google Maps in real time anyway, which is really handy for routefinding):
http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=211077908738059517754.0004938a2728337cbf4a4&msa=0&ll=44.492771,-63.73847&spn=0.042062,0.104628&source=gplus-ogsb

These are good and easy walking, and while there are few bogs to be crossed here is usually some sort of work around for the really wet bits (or, if you go in the winter like I did last week, they're nice and frozen).
Since my first couple of visits I've been driving right up the funky art house (Parking by a boulder which I believe is in the guide book?)
Anyway, definitely a ton of potential for new problems for anybody who doesn't mind a bit of a walk. Or, it's a great place just to go for a walk - it's just you, the occasional deer and coyote. I got pretty entranced by this huge pyramid-like knob I called the Fortress (it's easy to spot from a distance). Last winter I spent a bit of time scrubbing it, rapping down from a weird upside down anchor I'd fiddled in on the opposite side. I figured there'd be about 3 lines up the face, and I dragged Dan O'Brien out there last spring but it turned out we couldn't even do what I figured would be the easy one - the moves right at the top were just a bit too insecure! We did find some fun stuff in the little gully right below - steep and juggy cave-like problems.

Here are some pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54433808@N00/sets/72157625250270760/

So with the walking involved, and the fact that all these inland boulders were all covered in lichen, I turned my attention to the coast. Last Easter I started exploring Sambro Head, which had a way more casual approach (a secret approach, which I'll explain in a second) and was a nice spot that was close by, but wild and secluded, and had a few fun spots to play around. Nothing huge, but just a nice place to spend a few hours.
What's also interesting is that there's the remains of a shipwreck here, which a bit of googling revealed was the SS Martin Van Buren, a US cargo ship hit by a U-Boat in March of 1945, along with two others.
http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/3421.html
Anyway, the way to get there (my first visit was from Sandy Cove, which walk is kind of long and a hassle) is to drive through Bald Rock, and park at the top of the last hill, just past the turn-off to somebody's driveway. Near a hydro pole you might see a little stone on the road. This is where the trail starts. You can't really see it, but once you break through the bushes you'll find a surveying cutline, with trail, that cuts like a laser through the forest. Just follow the main trail; it kinda goes straight, then right, then right again and eventually (about 15 minutes) you come out at Pond Cove, which is also a cool site in its own right. Turning right here there's an interesting cave-y face (I did one problem there which I call Might, going up obvious features and out of the cave). Around the corner is a gulley that has some nice rock in it, where I did a couple things on some early visits - 'Commando', a traverse with top out at the far right, and a couple V1-V2ish problems going straight up (short but interesting). Further along is some other stuff - a tall face that's good in low tide, and a nice problem (SS) I call Grace Jones, on a rock that looks like Grace Jones.
But, going right from where you get out to the coast is maybe a bit better, especially in low, calm conditions. There's a superb face - sheer and smooth - where I did 3 problems (Whale Rider, Aotaoroa and Six Months in a Leaky Boat (I'd been listening some Split Enz on the drive in) - all V2-3 ish), reachy on positive edges on clean rock.
Further along is what I've been calling Elephant Rock, which is a really nice spot to hang out and play. There's some easy stuff on the side, but a great line I've been calling Tusk goes up the corner (starting sitting under an overhang) - really fun gymnastic moves. Worth the walk alone.
Then on the front is 'Rio Grande', from sit going straight up through the Texas shaped flake - just v0-V1 I guess but a nice feature. Then on the opposite corner to 'Tusk' is a project I've been working on. Maybe not *that* hard but the landing is kinda sketchy, although I noticed when I was back out there a couple of weeks ago that storms have rearranged some of the rocks here so it's a bit flatter.
And, a bit futher along is anothe big, more rounded boulder that has some potential for actual, hard problems that might be of interest to anybody actually good at climbing.
pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54433808@N00/sets/72157627219839122/

[Joey]

another couple of rocks I came across.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/76232302@N ... 362974573/

[Baxterminator]

Hey Joey, I'm moving to the prospect side of the wilderness area in march. A spotter and extra pads are always nice, keep in touch.

Nick

[Scooter]

Hey Joey,

Would you mind showing me around some weekend?

[Scooter]

Hey Joey,

Would you mind showing me around some weekend?

[Joey]

I don't mind.

Let me know when, I'm unemployed right now so everyday's a weekend for me

[betaburgler]

If you guys go out there give me a shout and I'll join you.

[Scooter]

I'm in Freddy for TdB this weekend, how about the next?

[Scooter]

I'm in Freddy for TdB this weekend, how about the next?

[stoneseeker]

Scott , I think you might be double clicking the SUBMIT button...





Scott , I think you might be double clicking the SUBMIT button...

[Joey]

This weekend's no good. Next weekend or during the week would be fine.

[Joey]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76232302@N ... hotostream