Introduction
Welcome to Meriden, Connecticut's very own Cathole Pass! Although not exactly a bouldering mecca on the order of Bradley Mountain or Rattlesnake Rock, Cathole has fun, moderate bouldering on solid rock. It also boasts a handful of quality lead climbs (e.g., no. 48., Pegasus (5.8)), and a few toprope testpieces (e.g., 45., Imperial Wizard (5.11), 47., Danzig (5.11+/5.12-)). So, if you get your fill of bouldering, you can always rope up. Click here to get directions to this area. Unlike Rattlesnake, Cathole has a very short approach (literally, about 5 minutes), and unlike Bradley, parking and access are completely legal, at least for the time being. Of these three areas, Cathole is by far the most popular: even during weekday afternoons during the warm months, it can be jam-packed with people.
For those unfamiliar with Connecticut's own rock (Traprock), it tends to have an abundance of nuanced face holds, and climbing it generally requires delicacy, balance, and quick thinking more so than sheer power (although this always helps). This is especially the case with the bouldering problems in this guide, many of which, unlike problems elsewhere, do not follow steeply overhanging walls or caves. So at the best, you will find these problems unusual and thought-provoking for their grade. At the worst, you will find them uninteresting and sandbagged. In any case, you will probably find that once you have worked out the proper sequence, these routes become considerably easier, especially since strength is not that big a factor here.
Most of the problems described in this guide are only moderately difficult (V0-V4/5) and experienced boulderers can probably tackle them in one sitting. However, what they lack in difficulty, they make up in quality because I have included only the "cream of the crop." They are listed left to right when facing the cliff (which runs roughly North-South). For those who wish to explore, there may be room for more problems on the far left end of the cliff (the left half of the main face), or possibly some lowballs on the boulders near the walk-in trail. If you are gunning to find less crowded routes, try looking at the rock faces off the northernmost (far left) end of the cliff. There are some excellent highball/very short toprope problems listed in Ken Nichol's encyclopedic Hooked on Traprock (1995). Try route No. 3, Tall Tails (5.12-)!
Below is a map of Cathole Pass, showing most of the classic routes and boulder problems at Cathole Pass. The bouldering problems are marked as circled numbers, while the climbing routes are marked with plain numbers (17., 18., etc.). Most of the routes are also outlined, while only a few of the problems have arrows to give you some direction. The following convention was used to grade the quality of the bouldering problems:
| *
Fun, but no outstanding moves or features. ** Interesting moves and sequences, cool rock features *** Classic sequence of moves, completely uncontrived, ascends beautiful rock. Caveat: these are the authors' opinions. Try anything, and see for yourself :) |
Clicking the main part of this picture links you to a larger jpeg image,
oriented for printing on an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. But the other
web page is simply for your convenience: you would probably get the best
quality (and most readable) map by opening the jpeg image in a good image
editor such as Adobe Photoshop, and printing from there. Clicking on
any of the boulder problems links you to the bookmarked descriptions below.
Start on the right side of a short, large, blocky crack 50 feet downhill from Arrowhead (route No. 33). Staying low (~1 ft. from the ground), move left across the crack using the large, obvious sidepull. Once you reach the left wall, head up and left, following the nice finger crack to a finish at the prominent right-facing corner. Covered with spider webs when first climbed, this problem turned out to be a diamond in the rough. FA: Summer, 2001
Surmount the intimidating roof midway between Arrowhead (route No. 33) and the arête to the right, at about the same start as Doomsday (route No. 34). Start underneath the roof, but instead of going straight up, go over the roof with a large, bomber sloper for the right hand and move up and right. Very sequency. FA: Summer, 2001.
Start at a collection of jugs about 6 or 7 feet to the right of a thin pine tree up and to the right of Antti's Roof Problem, and on the ledge system to the right of the start for Realm of the Senses (route No. 39.). From this good stance, move left, staying low (~1-2 ft. above the ledges). Then, squeeze past the tree (the "needle's eye") to a finish in the gully behind the large freestanding block/Arrowhead flake. The temptation to lean back against the tree is huge, but it's worth staying on the rock. Very sequency. FA: October, 2001.
Fun and acrobatic, this problem goes straight up the small cave/arête system to the left of Pegasus (route No. 49.). The only rules are: you can't use the wall to the right of the arête (or behind the 3-sided arete, on the main face), or the footholds down and to the left. So in other words, stick to the arête. FA: October, 2001.
Layback up the short flake/right-facing corner to the right of Pegasus (route No. 48) and at the bottom of Cat-'o-Nine-Tails (route No. 49). Then, dance around the outside corner to the right to a finish at the base of the big Mind Bender (route No. 51) corner/crack system. FA: Summer, 2001. Note: the beginning to this boulder problem is also pictured on the CT Climbing Hookup! as "Bouldering under 'Cat-O-Nine-Tails', 5.9".
Go up the overhang/arête to the right of Pegasus. Can be made harder (up to V4) by eliminating holds to the left and right of the arête. Similar to Space Monkey, but less acrobatic. FA: October 30th, 2001.
This route ascends the slabby west side of the huge boulder leaning against the cliff across from the Mind Bender face (route No. 51). Smear your way up the right side of the beautiful left arête to the small overhang. Then, work your way right using the horizontal crack with your hands. Finish by going up through the notch on the right side of the slab. An area classic and a nice warmup. An easier alternate start goes up the north side of the boulder to join the regular route. The slab can often be seen bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. The top of the boulder (the "throne") is a nice spot to chill. FA: Unknown.
Start low down on the blocky east side of the giant boulder leaning against the cliff, opposite the Mind Bender face (route No. 51). Then step right, across the walk-through chimney (the "great divide") to a uniquely bomber flake for the hands. Continue right along the south wall of the main cliff about 20 feet, paralleling the trail and passing a black water streak along the way. when you reach the overhangs, stay below them and finish at two trees. FA: Summer, 2001.
This problem (really, a route) is hundreds of feet long, and traverses across most of the right main face of Cathole Pass, from right to left, starting at the base of the Golden Book corner (route No. 52.) and finishing at the right-facing corner that also marks the end of The Spider's Web. From Golden Book, traverse left around the corner to a stance at the original Mind Bender corner/crack (route No. 51). Then climb up and left, reversing the Wrap-Around arête (harder, V3), and continue past the flake to the start of Pegasus. Then follow jugs up and left, following a nice crack (very fun, ~5.4) to a ledge system. Walk left to a stance at the Pink Elephants (route No. 44) corner, then tackle the 5.8 Hidden Hold Traverse across the short wall to the outside arête. Move up a few moves, then continue left about 50 feet (5.3) and do The Needle's Eye (problem No. 3, V2), without stepping into the gully. Move down and left and enter into The Subterranean, the section which passes underneath the large overhangs which contain Doomsday (route No. 34.), Antti's Roof Problem (problem No. 2, V3), and Arrowhead (route No. 33). Continue left on easy rock and finish on The Spider's Web (problem No. 1, V2). Some stretches of the route are pretty highball (~15 ft.). However, the tricky sections are fairly close to the ground. FA: [project--not yet done].
Cruise up the north side of the giant "Sun King" boulder. Begin with a sit-start using the medium-sized jug in the center of the wall. Then, move basically straight up without using either arête. Finish at the good hold high and up left, about two-thirds of the way up the boulder, or continue going straight to the top (same grade, V1). This climb may seem awkward at first, but the trick is to do it with some finesse. Not to be confused with the alternate start to the Sun King (problem No. 7, V0), which uses all available holds (including the arêtes) in climbing up and right to join the Sun King problem. FA: November, 2001.
Sit-start and strenuously surmount the very low overhang about 5 feet to the right of the original Mind Bender corner/crack system. When you can stand comfortably over the lip, move up and left and reverse the "Wrap-Around" arête (problem No. 5, V2). FA: [project--not yet done].
Sit-start from holds under the arête on the main cliff, at the cross-over point of Across The Great Divide (problem No. 8). Using holds just to the right of the arête (and footholds even farther right), pull two or three moves straight up the cliff to an unusually strong flake/jug (the "uniquely bomber flake" on Across the Great Divide) (V4). Finish with a highball topout, and exit left by stepping onto the dais of the "throne" on the Sun King boulder. There is a V3 variation using the sit-start and good holds on the arête. The route is named for the Elf-sword claimed by the Dwarf Thorin Oakenshield in J.R.R. Tolkien's, The Hobbit, since a central hold in the V4 variation is very sharp. FA: October, 2001.
