Hardest ICe route

[john]

WHat do you think is the hardest ice route which has been led in NB and in the Maritimes?

[Fred]

why? you gona go do it?

[The Mitt]

If your talking maritimes, I would say something in Newfoundland. Like one of the 1500 foot flows, aparently Jim Bridwell put something up about 6 years ago and said it was the hardest in the world for that time (losely quoted from memory of reading a Climb mag). For NS I would say Moose river for pure ice.

Mitt

[martha]

If your talking maritimes, I would say something in Newfoundland.

I think you mean 'atlantic'... Maritimes is just NB/NS/PEI.

But I agree..if he means Atlantic, then definately something in Newfoundland. However, if he means Maritimes...then I dunno... something in Grand Manan? Little Salmon? hmmm..

[Shawn B]

Hardest which HAS been led in NB would probably be Outa Control. There are others probably harder which haven't been led yet. Not sure about NS. Safe guess there's nothing harder in PEI.

[Fred]

There is one crazy hard long route waiting to be done in Grand Falls. The farthest route left on the topo on Joe's site.

[Stef]

The is definatley some crazy stuff on Grand Mannan, waiting for the right sicko to come along...

Wasn't there pillar given a tentative WI6 on TR somewhere near St. Martin's. "Sharks tooth" of something like that?

Dave's mixed line in Upper Tier is pretty stiff, as far as I know it hasn't been repeated on lead. Also, there was a series of discontinous smears at the back of the Amphitheater last year that would proably go at M-stupid hard.

[Joe]

"SharkTeeth" originally applied to the left side of Walton Glen Falls. When I first top-roped it in 1994, it was not completely filled-in. I had a very hard time on it, and thought it was way harder than WI5, so the shakey "6" label. But since then, I've climbed it fully formed, and it's a 4+. I had renamed it in the guide as "Center Face", one of those Kelleher FA's that he doesn't want to name.
Regarding hard routes, the two hardest lead so far are Outta Control, and Uncomfortably Numb, at St. Martins. I didn't include "Numb" in the guide yet, but will today. It's 5+, with a good roof. Also, Nautical Disaster is pretty stinkin hard at the start. In my book, a 5+ must be >60m of dead vertical, or shorter with overhanging sections. With the possible exception of Grand Manan, NB doesn't offer much long vertical ice. I think the overhanging stuff has the potential for new hard routes.

[PaulB]

Back in the day, any ascent of Cave Fever was considered a big deal!

[Brad]

My old driveway in rothesay in the winter was pretty brutal...