McQuirks Mountain

[Greg]

McQuirks Mountain
This cliff is located between St. George and Bonny River. From Saint John and points east head west on highway 1. Take exit #56 and turn left off the exit ramp toward the Tim Horton's/Ultramar. Turn right onto Main Street after the Subway Restaurant and head west toward the town of St. George. Just before you enter town turn right onto Riverview Avenue, also highway 770. You are now heading north. Travel 8 km (set your trip meter to zero) on route 770 from the intersection. The cliff will come into view at about kilometer 7. After house # 643 start counting gravel pullouts on your left. Turn off the highway and park at the 4th pull out. Some people park just off the highway and some park on the woods road. Its your call but please don't block in any other cars. Walk south on a straight, flat, abandoned rail line for about 600 meters until you reach a trail heading west (right) through a cedar swale that is marked with green flagging tape. Continue through the swale, up a short rise for about 300 meters and you will be at the base of the cliff. Approach time: 10 to 15 minutes.

The Matrix
This wall is located on the far left hand side of the cliff. Take the approach trail to Main Wall and then keeping walking left along the base of the cliff until you reach The Matrix sign. This slabby wall gets the most sun on the cliff and has some high quality routes with a mixture of crack and face climbing. A very nice shaded belay area makes for a good place to hang out on a sunny day. For all the climbs at The Matrix, when topping out it is recommended to gain the big grassy ledge, build a gear anchor and belay up the second. Descend by rapping off one of the spruce trees left or right. Please don't rap off the Cedar tree.

The Oracle 5.7 G 115’ / N / N
FA: G. Hughes, L. Toron, K. McClellan
Located on the far left hand side of the Matrix Wall. The start is down and left of the big ledge where the Matrix wall sign is. Begin on a short low angle slab that leads to an overlap. Pull the overlap and continue up on a gorgeous hand crack that will make you wish it was longer. After gaining a couple of small ledges the route steepens near the top and the crux. Finish up on the big ledge, build a gear anchor on the short headwall above and belay the second. Save a few finger sized pieces for the gear anchor. Rappell off the spruce tree with the rap station.

Follow The White Rabbit 5.5 40’ G / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, D. Hamel, S. Bethune
The start is just left of Trinity on a wide ledge. Look for a left trending diagonal hand crack. Climb the crack until it runs out finishing at a small tree. You can easily combine this with the top half of The Oracle which makes for a really nice link up.

Morpheus 5.6 G 110’ / N / N
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker, M. Delaney 2014
Look for the clean line on the left hand side of the wall directly below the big spruce tree (third tree on the left) at the top on the climb. The start is on a small ledge down and left of the main ledge that has the massive spruce tree. Climb up through a blocky section to gain a fist crack. Follow this straight up through a series of cracks until you reach a right trending ramp. Continue up the ramp to reach the ledge on top.

Trinity 5.5 G 100’ / N / N
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
On the main ledge locate a small cedar tree directly in front of the massive Spruce tree. The climb begins in a crack just left of the Cedar. Climb the up through a series of cracks until you reach a right trending ramp. Continue up the ramp to reach the ledge on top. (this climb shares the same finish as Morpheus)
Note: There is now a direct finish that goes straight up to the spruce tree on the left. It goes at about 5.8 with small gear.

Mr. Anderson 5.7+ PG 90’ / M (1)/ N
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
Look for a twenty foot high slab in the shape of a triangle. Several starts are possible including a low angle ramp on the left. Climb up on top of the triangle to a ledge that will eventually lead to a prominent finger crack. There are two possible cracks close together that could be climbed. Both are awesome. Continue up the crack and top out on the big grassy ledge.

The Red Pill 5.5 PG 30’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
To access this climb gain the ledge above Mr. Anderson and you will find a short wall with two prominent cracks in the middle. Ascend the vertical crack on the left to the top.

The Blue Pill 5.4 PG 30’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
To access this climb gain the ledge above Mr. Anderson and you will find a short wall with two prominent cracks in the middle. Ascend the vertical crack on the right to the top.

The Green Zone
This wall begins about 30 feet right of the Matrix and extends over to and includes Up Yours. This wall is still a work in progress so the routes are not cleaned to the same standard as the rest of the cliff.

5.7 in Slippers 5.6 PG 100’ / N / R
FA: J. Shewbridge, M. Heffler 2015
Located on the far left hand side of the wall just right of a mature Spruce tree. An easy start leads up to a tricky little crux with equally tricky protection. Continue up through cracks to the top of the block. Not an easy onsight!

Jaws 5.7 G 115’ PG / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, A. Boerlage 2015
Located almost directly in front of the Green Zone sign below a chimney about 40 feet off the deck. Climb up and into the chimney and continue through a run out section protected by two fixed pins. Step slightly right to avoid a tree ledge and climb up past the first ledge to a second ledge with a bolted anchor/rap station. It is not possible to reach the ground rappelling on a 60 meter rope. Some down climbing would be required. Another solution is to use a 70 meter rope or rappel to 5.7 in slippers.

Incisor 5.6 G 110’ G / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, A. Boerlage 2015
Start about ten feet right of the Green Zone sign. Climb straight up aiming for a large tooth shaped block. Move left around the block and continue up to a big ledge and short headwall. Surmount the headwall, gain another big ledge and move left to a bolted anchor/rappel station. It is not possible to reach the ground rappelling on a 60 meter rope. Some down climbing would be required. Another solution is to use a 70 meter rope or rappel to 5.7 in slippers then make another rappel.

Note: On the first ascent the two routes listed above were climbed to the top of the wall which is still a great way to do them.

Have At ‘Er 5.7 110’ G / N / R (2)
FA: M. Delaney, D. Hamel, S. Bethune
Start below a stump 10 feet off the ground 10 feet left of The Space Between or 10 feet right of the Green Zone sign. Climb up to the stump then continue up in a large pod. Moe slightly left to better gear and follow cracks to the top.

The Space Between 5.8 100’ G / N / R (2)
G. Hughes, C. MacLellan
FA: Located just left of Merlin in the Green Zone. The start is directly below a white birch tree growing directly out of the rock about 10 feet off the deck. Take a plumb line from this point up to a right leaning finger crack near the top. It is easy to get off route on this one so try and stay the course straight up. Gear is a bit tricky but the crux protects very well. If you don’t like the moves around the crux you can step right into Merlin and it eases off quite a bit.

Merlin 5.8 G 150’ G / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, L. Gallant 2015
Locate a massive cedar tree near the base of Up Yours. Several starts are possible directly above this tree, some are easier than others. Climb up to a large Spruce tree about twenty feet off the deck then aim for the right facing corner. Surmount the small overlap (crux), climb the corner and continue on easier terrain to a Spruce tree. Make two rappels to get back to the ground.

Up Yours 5.7+ G 170’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, S. Hughes 2012
Pitch 1: 5.6 70’ Start is near the bottom left of a steep vegetated gulley directly above a massive cedar tree. The climb actually starts just left of the X Wall. Look for a prominent feature of rock that resembles an extended middle finger. Several starts are possible. All will lead up toward the finger, through a system of cracks to a small ledge. Build a gear anchor here and belay or you may opt to do the rest in one long pitch.
Pitch 2: 5.7 100’ Continue up on steeper terrain through the crux then reach another small ledge. Continue up trending slightly left from the ledge to a two bolt rap station. One double rope rappel will get you to the ground or you may opt for two raps using the bolted anchor for Emerald City.

X Wall
This wall is just left of center. When standing about 20 meters away from the base you can see a face with two cracks forming an X high on the wall. Below the left side of the X is a large roof. The following routes go from left to right.

Emerald City 5.7 PG 90' / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, D. Hamel, M. Parker 2014
Start is just right of Up Yours and follows the arête onto a crack filled ramp to a 2 bolt rap station. Gear and moves are a bit tricky for the first 25 feet then it becomes very straight forward.

Fifty Mission Cap 5.10c G 120' / M (1) / R
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2013
Scramble up a steep mossy gulley to a corner leading to a big roof. Belay near the base of a double stump. Climb to the roof, exiting left and get on top of the cap. Continue up the long corner crack system and when possible traverse right to clip a bolt. Keep moving right until you gain another vertical crack system leading to the top. Watch out for rope drag.

Salad Fingers 5.10c 170' / M (1) / R
FA: G. Hughes, D. Hamel, M. Parker 2014
To access this route you need to climb Emerald City. From the belay station continue up the ramp until it joins the corner crack that is 50 Mission Cap. Head up through the corner moving right to clip a bolt after the crack disappears. From the bolt follow a long, right diagonal finger crack that leads to a ledge. Gain the ledge, build a gear anchor and belay up the second then continue to the top.

Magic X 5.9 G 180' / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, S. Hughes 2011
Pitch 1: 5.9 Start on a crack riddled slab below a large spruce tree that has the sign "X Wall" on it. Climb up to the tree and then move slightly left through a slab feature to a corner crack system. Climb the crack to a perfect belay ledge and bolt anchor. 110 feet
Pitch 2: 5.8 This pitch eats gear and follows the left leaning hand/fist crack that straightens and narrows to fingers near the top. 70 feet

Fake Right – Go Left 5.10 G 110’ / N / R
FA: S. Bethune, D. Hamel, G. Hughes 2014
Start on a crack riddled slab below a large spruce tree that has the sign "X Wall" on it. Climb up to the tree. Continue straight up behind the tree on lower angle rock in the shallow right facing corner slightly to the right of Magic X. Climb steep cracks and flakes aiming for an obvious wide crack that slants to the right. Gain the narrow buttress above and follow a crack along the left edge. Exciting climbing up the crack and a few face moves leads to the Magic X anchor. Beautiful climbing, excellent gear and thrilling exposure. A #4 or #5 will allow for higher gear placements in the wide crack but is not necessary. A 70 meter rope is needed to get you back to your packs.

Biomechanics 5.7 G 100’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, P. Arsenault 2014
Located directly above Fake Right Go Left. From the pitch one Magic X belay station head straight up on cracks and ledges to the top of the cliff.

Anatomy Lesson 5.7 PG 100’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2013
You must climb the first pitch of The Magic X or Dance Platform to access this climb. From the belay ledge of Magic X step up and slightly right into another stellar crack system or from the top of The Dance Platform step up and left. Follow the crack up and then right through a groove. When it branches off, stay on the left crack that leads to a short slab. This will take you to the top of the cliff. There is a slight run out near the top. Other than that the protection is very good.

Dance Platform 5.9 G 110’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2013
Same start as Magic X but step right toward the big dihedral. Climb a crack system to a large flat ledge. Easy climbing other than one or two harder moves at the crux.
5.7 Variation: start left of the dihedral and then continue through the right diagonal crack to get on top of the block and in the v shaped groove. Once on top of the block continue to the Dance Platform ledge by going straight up rather than around to the left. Climbed this way it is a completely different line arriving at the same point.

Harvest 5.10a G 120’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, M. Fisher 2013
Start on the arête at the right side of the wall below the Dance Platform. Move right after 20 feet up into a series of overhanging flakes that follow the left side of the arête until it blends into the wall above. Continue up on cracks staying just left of The Crack Machine. Wild, exposed climbing on some very cool features.

Main Wall

Octopus Ink 5.8 PG 180’ / N / T
FA: M. Parker, G. Hughes 2013
Pitch 1: This route starts on the right hand side of X Wall and crosses over the arête to the Main Wall. Begin 10 feet right of the Dance Platform starting near a stump and climb the arête(several starts are possible). Cross over the arête, step up and right to the bolt anchor for Crack Machine and belay. There is good gear but you have to look for it! 5.8 80 feet
Pitch 2: The money pitch. Move up through a niche into the right trending finger and hand crack that leads to the top of the right half of the cliff. 5.6 100 feet

The Crack Machine 5.9+ G 200' / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, Terry Melanson, Adam Morgan 2012
Pitch 1: Start down and right from the X Wall near the very bottom of the long high angle slab. From the left edge of the wall gain a short right trending ramp that leads to a ledge. From here ascend a series of cracks that follow the left side of the face to a small ledge and bolt anchor.
Pitch 2: Step left and move up toward a pair of handcracks.
Continue straight up to a ledge through discontinuous cracks to the top of the cliff. Brilliant position and stellar jamming.

Blackfly 5.9+ PG 100’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, A. Morgan 2012
Start down and right of Crack Machine below a series of vertical cracks that lead to a face. Climb up the wide crack to a ledge and then continue up the face to a right trending ramp. Follow the ramp to a small ledge and bolt anchor.

Blackcrack 5.9+ PG 100’ / N / R
FA: M. Fisher, M. Parker 2013
Start down and right of Crack Machine below a series of vertical cracks that lead to a face. Climb up the wide crack to a ledge and then continue up the face. Instead of going up the right trending ramp step slightly left and join the upper half of the first pitch of Crack Machine. Technical, sustained climbing at the grade with great gear.

Neutral Tribe 5.9 G 190’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2013
Pitch 1: Start is near the center of the wall just left of the big pine tree in a finger crack that leads up to an overlap. From the overlap climb the beautiful hand crack to the same bolted anchor as Blackfly and belay. 100 feet
Pitch 2: Continue up and slightly right through a crack system then aim for the big pine tree at the top. 100 feet

Zen 5.9 G 90’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker, M. Delaney 2013
From the top of the first pitch of Neutral Tribe head straight up on gorgeous face climbing joining the final 40 feet of Neutral Tribe. The pro is not readily apparent from the bottom of the route but it is all there.

Scars and Stripes 5.11d G 100’ / N / R
FA: W. Jones
Start in a crack system in front of the mature Pine Tree near the middle of the wall. Climb the cracks to an overlap. Move up to a very thin finger crack that eventually disappears and joins the last 10 feet of Neutral Tribe. Very sustained and run out through the crux moves.

The Nose 5.8+ PG 180’ / M (1) / T
FA: M. Parker, G. Hughes 2013
Pitch 1: Start in a crack system in front of the mature Pine Tree near the middle of the wall. Climb the cracks to a small overlap. Move up through the overlap and traverse right a few feet then up toward a bolt. Clip the bolt and continue up toward a roof. You can either pull the roof or move left around it. Continue up onto the ledge and belay. 5.8+ 90 feet
Pitch 2: At the left end of the tree ledge continue up on a system of cracks and ledges to the top. 5.5 90 feet

Combat Math 5.11a PG 100’ / N / R
FA: M. Parker, G. Hughes, S. Bethune 2014
Start down and right of the White Pine tree near a big v shaped groove on the slab. Climb the groove (or cracks just left) to the arch. Make difficult moves to get on top of the next slab and continue up sustained technical face climbing to finish on the tree ledge. A tough onsight and mental testpiece.

The Hall Way 5.10c G 100’ / M (2) / R
FA: S. Bethune, D. Hamel, G. Hughes 2014
Remembering our friend Cory. Climb the slab in between Combat Math and Trolley Tracks past a bolt to the overlap. Clip another bolt and pull the overlap to the next slab moving up and a bit left with discontinuous cracks for gear. A few steeper face moves gets you into a very shallow flaring chimney (the hallway). Stem through this and up to a short left facing corner. Exit the corner onto the ledge on the right and continue up easy cracks to the big tree ledge and the anchor. Double or triple up on cams from purple to yellow tcu size. Technical climbing and gear. A safe but challenging lead. Three alternate finishes are possible and all are great climbing.
Iron Cross finish – At 2/3rd’s height just after entering the hallway break right and climb the obvious overhanging finger to wide hand crack. Climb the crack only (5.11c) or the crack and left arête (5.10).
Boulder finish – At the top of the short left facing corner continue straight up the crack and overhanging face (V2).
Left finish – The left part of “the boulder” 2m left of the crack. Hard to protect well but a fun TR (V1).

Trolley Tracks 5.11a PG 100’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2014
Located 10 feet right of the big v shaped groove on the slab. Look for twin finger cracks about a foot apart. From here the line goes straight up to the top of the tree ledge. Climb cracks/slab to the arch. Move over the arch and up to the next slab. Climb a tricky overlap which leads to a steep vertical hand crack. Follow the crack to the top of the ledge. There are a couple of run outs on marginal gear. Some might consider this climb R.

Boogers 5.9+ PG 110' M (1) /R
FA: P. Adamson, E. Samis 2014
Climb boogers into the nose. This line follows the obvious corner that diagonals across the long arching roof on the lower part of main wall. Same start as Nightbird. Finish straight up the nose after the end of the corner.

Nightbird 5.6 G 100’ / N / R
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2013
Start on the far right end of Main Wall below the right end of a big long arch. Climb up to the arch and ascend the corner crack. Continue straight up then move right around a long detached block finishing on the right side of the big tree ledge above.

Nightbird Direct 5.7 G 100’ / N / R
FA: E. Samis, S. Jones, K. Trecartin 2014
Same as Nightbird but follow a plumb line to the tree ledge instead of moving right around the detached block about 3/4 of the way up.

I'm Too Drunk for This 5.5 PG 100' / N / R
FA: M. Delaney, G. Hughes 2014
On the far right hand side of the main wall locate a mature Yellow Birch tree growing out of the wall about ten feet above the base. The climb starts down and slightly right of the birch. Climb up some very pleasant cracks and jugs to a two bolt anchor and small ledge. From here climb another pitch directly above (After Midnight) or rap. Generally good gear but one or two slight run outs make this climb PG.

New Crack City
This wall is located on a tree ledge about 100 feet off the deck on the right side of the main wall above a long sweeping arch. As indicated in the name the wall is littered with cracks.

Take Me To Your Leader 5.6 G 100’ N / T
FA: M. Parker, G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2013
From the ledge climb up through an easy but fun crack system to the top of the cliff. 5.6 100 feet

Five Easy Pieces 5.5 G 100’ N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker 2013
Ten feet right of the bolted rap station follow another easy great crack to the top of the cliff.

Steve French 5.7 G 100’ N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney, M. Parker 2013
Locate a steep finger crack near the right end of the tree ledge. Follow the crack until it merges with After Midnight.

After Midnight 5.6 G 100’ N / T
FA: M. Delaney, M. Parker, G. Hughes 2013
Traverse right off the tree ledge to a hand and fist crack that leads to the top of the cliff. Splendid jamming. Double up on #1 through #3 camalots or run it out.

One Night in Copenhagen 5.6 G 100' / N / R
FA: M. Delaney, G. Hughes 2014
Climb I’m Too Drunk to reach this climb. From the Too Drunk anchor head up to a short steep crack that angles back after about 20 feet. Follow the cracks to the top. Double up on #1 through #3 camalots or run it out.

[sam]

Thanks for all the hard work you guys have put into this awesome crag; I hope to get back there again once more this year and then some in the spring!

[austinconrad]

Great spot for some solid granite crack climbing Lots of great routes and TONS of potential including a big roof crack We will head back once more this year and clean a few new routes. Big thanks to Greg for the work he's put in so far. The area needs some more traffic in the Spring.

[theriault]

TONS of potential including a big roof crack .

Roof Crack??!!?? More details plz

[austinconrad]

Roof Crack??!!?? More details plz

I'll make sure to get some pictures if I end up getting there before the end of the season. It's located at the far left side of the wall well passed the scrubbed areas. It's really dirty right now so the whole thing isn't exposed but from what I could see it's perfectly horizontal about ten feet long or so and probably somewhere around #2 C4 width (maybe wider). Again it's hard to tell exact details right now.

[mountain_goat]

Just wondering what the R and the T stand for in the grades.

[Dom]

Sounds like you need a guidebook (p.23)
http://climbeasterncanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7884

The R stands for a bolted anchor with Rap rings. The T stands for a Tree anchor.

[mountain_goat]

Good i tough it stand for Runout...

[Dom]

Good i tough it stand for Runout...

You're mixing apples and oranges here.

R beside a grade means that the route has restricted gear. But, in Greg's description the R's are not beside the grades.
Again this is explained in the guidebook at page 22 and found throughout the last few guidebooks published in NB.

Not sure if you're a beginner or new to climbing in NB - if you are, it's great that you're interested in climbing - but I would suggest you do a bit of research and encourage you to get familiar with the format of the guidebook before venturing off on the cliffs of NB. http://climbnbguide.com/PDFSample.html

Si tu as d'autres questions, n'hésite pas à me contacter directement.

[austinconrad]

Also the "N" in indicates that natural gear (ie nuts, cams etc) are used for pro to protect the climb. The M stands for mixed and the number beside it indicates how many bolts there are on the route. So N/T would mean natural pro with a tree anchor. M(1)/R would mean one bolt on the route and a two bolt rap station. Again as Dom said read the guide, which explains it well (highly recomended) or ask soemone with expereince who knows the area.

[mountain_goat]

Thanks, i just ordered my first climbing book (Top roping for dummies)
Am just waiting for the summer to spray my climbing rope with DEET and it the crag.

[Greg]

I was at McQuirk yesterday to check out how it fared after the long winter. The ice storms did a ton of damage to the trees in the area. The trail was covered with fallen trees. From the top of the cliff looking down at the forest it appeared that a third of the trees have been snapped in two like match sticks. The rock on the other hand is looking good Things are drying out nicely. Only a couple of the cracks were seeping, most were bone dry. There will be a short window of bug free climbing before the McQuirk sentries wake up and get their game on. If you want to climb without the annoyance blackflies get there soon. The trail is now clear again and only a bit of snow remains. I suspect it will be all gone by the weekend.

[Greg]

There is a new wall now being developed at McQuirk's. It is on the far left hand side. There is potential for about a half dozen routes on a real nice hunk of granite. The first one went up on Saturday.

The Matrix
This wall is located about 100 feet south (left) of Up Yours. It gets the most sun on the cliff and will have some quality routes with a mixture of crack and face climbing. A very nice shaded belay area makes for a good place to hang out on a sunny day.

Mr. Anderson 5.7+ PG 90’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
Look for a twenty foot high slab in the shape of a triangle. Several starts are possible including a low angle ramp on the left. Climb up on top of the triangle to a ledge that will eventually lead to a prominent finger crack. Continue up the crack to a large cedar tree on a ledge.

At the moment the climb is pg due to a slight run out just above the triangle. After a final polish and reclimb the fa party will determine whether or not a bolt will be installed.

[Greg]

Here's a couple more routes that were recently put up at The Matrix.........

The Red Pill 5.5 G 40’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
To access this climb gain the ledge above Mr. Anderson and you will find a short wall with two prominent cracks in the middle. Ascend the vertical crack on the left to the top.

The Blue Pill 5.4 G 40’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
To access this climb gain the ledge above Mr. Anderson and you will find a short wall with two prominent cracks in the middle. Ascend the vertical crack on the right to the top.

[Shawn B]

The amount of work which has gone into this place is unreal...from the camping site to the base of the cliff to the anchors and cleaning. The transformation is unbelievable from the first time I saw it. Huge props to Greg et al.

[Shawn B]

3 star cliff btw. Best crack climbing in NB. Tape gloves will be your friend. Oh...be solid at the grade.

[Greg]

Two more routes at The Matrix........

Morpheus 5.6 G 110’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Parker, M. Delaney 2014
Look for the clean line on the left hand side of the wall directly below the big spruce tree (third tree on the left) at the top on the climb. The start is on a small ledge down and left of the main ledge that has the massive spruce tree. Climb up through a blocky section to gain a fist crack. Follow this straight up through a series of cracks until you reach a right trending ramp. Continue up the ramp to reach the ledge on top.

Trinity 5.5 G 100’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
On the main ledge locate a small cedar tree directly in front of the massive Spruce tree. The climb begins in a crack just left of the Cedar. Climb the up through a series of cracks until you reach a right trending ramp. Continue up the ramp to reach the ledge on top. (this climb shares the same finish as Morpheus)

and one at the Main Wall.......

I'm Too Drunk for This 5.5 G 100' / N / R
FA: M. Delaney, G. Hughes 2014
On the far right hand side of the main wall locate a mature Yellow Birch tree growing out of the wall about ten feet above the base. The climb starts down and slightly right of the birch. Climb up some very pleasant cracks and jugs to a two bolt anchor and small ledge. From here climb another pitch directly above (After Midnight) or rap.

[Greg]

There is a new wall now being developed at McQuirk's. It is on the far left hand side. There is potential for about a half dozen routes on a real nice hunk of granite. The first one went up on Saturday.

The Matrix
This wall is located about 100 feet south (left) of Up Yours. It gets the most sun on the cliff and will have some quality routes with a mixture of crack and face climbing. A very nice shaded belay area makes for a good place to hang out on a sunny day.

Mr. Anderson 5.7+ PG 90’ / N / T
FA: G. Hughes, M. Delaney 2014
Look for a twenty foot high slab in the shape of a triangle. Several starts are possible including a low angle ramp on the left. Climb up on top of the triangle to a ledge that will eventually lead to a prominent finger crack. Continue up the crack to a large cedar tree on a ledge.

At the moment the climb is pg due to a slight run out just above the triangle. After a final polish and reclimb the fa party will determine whether or not a bolt will be installed.

This route is now equipped with one protection bolt located about midway up the wall and the entire line has been rescrubbed top to bottom.

[MaDelaney]

I'm Too Drunk for This 5.5 G

[Shawn B]

Ahhhh...thanks Mike. Pictotopos...the only way to discern what is what at mcquirk...where "follow the obvious crack" just doesn't cut it. Neutral Tribe btw is one of the best routes in NB.

[MaDelaney]

Trinity 5.5 & Mr. Anderson 5.7
Note. The bottom has since been cleaned.

[*Chris*]

Climbed at McQuirks yesterday. Stellar. Incredible work Greg, Mike, and whoever else unearthed this place. Best granite crack climbing in NB. Probably better than Bar Harbour. It was tough to not climb everything in new crack city but we wanted to try Magic X (the space step!) And 50 Mission Cap (got my arse kicked). Question about 50 Mission Cap... we saw a bolt off to the right at the hard corner. Were we supposed to head for it? We didn't.

[Shawn B]

According to the description..."Continue up the long corner crack system and when possible traverse right to clip a bolt. Keep moving right until you gain another vertical crack system leading to the top. Watch out for rope drag". I think you were on the right line for After Midnight too...I found the same run-out face after the corner as well...the second time. First attempt at AM I just went where I could see up-coming gear and ended up going up left through an overlap/hang on hand jams...which was great climbing but not expected at hard 8. Highly recommend getting on Neutral Tribe...triple red camalot if you want to sew it as well as double/triple blue tcu size could be useful down low. Looking forward to getting on Magic X...upper pitch looks tremendous when coming down off Up Yours.

[Dom]

The Matrix is a great addition. The whole cliff is wonderful. Great work.

BTW the white pine that had a fixed rope and a sign on it near 50 Mission Cap has fallen, presumably during Arthur, rendering the access to 50 mission cap difficult.

Also, I'm too drunk for this is a nice route but I presume you guys were intoxicated when you gave it its gear rating.

[Shawn B]

After jumping on a few more routes and talking with other climbers here are a few thoughts about some of the routes' protection rating...
Morpheus should be PG rated
Bottom of Mr. Anderson is R rated. Climbing is prob 5.4 or 5.5 and a bit insecure and slippery. Deck fall potential until gear at about 18 or so feet. Crux well protected by the bolt. Superb rock.
Too Drunk is PG rated.
Night Bird should prob be PG rated as well...depending on how much you wander possibly.
Zen has a 5.6 face climbing section that is PG...although the climbing is on positive face holds. Crux is very well protected. Absolutely superb route...at least the way we climbed it finishing on a thin finger crack on the black face directly below the big pine tree. Combine with Neutral Tribe for 200 feet of amazing climbing.
The Nose is 5.9R and possibly R/X depending on whether the shallow flaring cams hold. Challenging gear on the majority of the route. Very nice climbing with great moves.

Oh...and when you get out the car and are swarmed by mosquitos don't let that deter you. Very tolerable at the cliff...prob 2/10.

[cory]

What a cool place this is! Great features on quality rock. Thank you gentlemen for all the work you've put in so far.

Unless I'm mistaken of what we actually climbed (and this is quite likely) I see a couple errors in the guide with regards to Red Pill/Blue Pill. Both are worth climbing and Red in particular is beautiful, fun and highly recommended. 1) The wall is only 8m (25ft) tall, maybe 9m.

2) Blue should be R for gear rating. It takes a couple bomber pieces in the first 2.5 meters (crack ending at 8 or 9ft). At about 4m there is a fat, left-facing horn off to the right, which I could not get a sling to stay on even with a slip hitch. I could not find any other gear placements (though I left tricams at the base) until another bomber big cam maybe 2m from the top. The starting ledge is fairly flat, wide and grass covered, so as long as your belayer/spotter is tethered to the tree, and you've got a couple pieces down low, a ledge fall would end there and shouldn't be so bad. It's highball bouldering, really, but totally worth it (unless you're a 5.6 climber).

[austinconrad]

The Nose is 5.9R and possibly R/X depending on whether the shallow flaring cams hold. Challenging gear on the majority of the route. Very nice climbing with great moves.

Which pitch of "the Nose" are you refering to? Are you referring to the whole route?

[Shawn B]

Which pitch of "the Nose" are you refering to? Are you referring to the whole route?

P1

[Greg]

BTW the white pine that had a fixed rope and a sign on it near 50 Mission Cap has fallen, presumably during Arthur, rendering the access to 50 mission cap difficult.

Also, I'm too drunk for this is a nice route but I presume you guys were intoxicated when you gave it its gear rating.

Thanks for the heads up Dom. I will tend to the tree and any other Arthur damage when I get back to NB in August.
As for the gear rating on Too Drunk I think it is G. Mike plans on doing some more work on cleaning it and when that is done you I bet you will agree

[Greg]

After jumping on a few more routes and talking with other climbers here are a few thoughts about some of the routes' protection rating...
Morpheus should be PG rated
Bottom of Mr. Anderson is R rated. Climbing is prob 5.4 or 5.5 and a bit insecure and slippery. Deck fall potential until gear at about 18 or so feet. Crux well protected by the bolt. Superb rock.
Too Drunk is PG rated.
Night Bird should prob be PG rated as well...depending on how much you wander possibly.
Zen has a 5.6 face climbing section that is PG...although the climbing is on positive face holds. Crux is very well protected. Absolutely superb route...at least the way we climbed it finishing on a thin finger crack on the black face directly below the big pine tree. Combine with Neutral Tribe for 200 feet of amazing climbing.
The Nose is 5.9R and possibly R/X depending on whether the shallow flaring cams hold. Challenging gear on the majority of the route. Very nice climbing with great moves.

Thanks for the feedback Shawn. Good food for thought. re: The Nose....I agree that there should be a bolt halfway up the climb above the flaring crack. I will install one there next month to protect that section of the climb. After making that techy face move there is a great horizontal for a #1 camalot and the gear after that is quite good. Where did you top out by the way? Did you pull the crack through the roof or exit left? Both ways are super fun.
re: Mr. Anderson....I found a yellow tcu and a medium sized nut about 12 feet up before the ledge below the bolt. There are also some small cams if you start to the right on the face out of the chimney. Climbing is a bit harder there though.
I think Zen is my favorite pitch on the entire cliff. Such a great combo of face and crack climbing on very good stone.