The Climbing
Typical of schist in Vermont, the rock is not the most solid in the world.
What it lacks in solidness it makes up for in solitude. By Eastcoast bouldering
standards this area is remote. There are no roads or hiker's trails beside
the boulders. The vast majority of climbs are slightly overhanging, but very
steep climbing exists in the cave on the Ramones boulder and on the Serious
Overhang. Holds span the entire range from jugs to crimps to pockets to slopers,
making for good variety between the climbs. Because of a severe lack of talent
amongst the developers, the harder lines in the area are still awaiting their
first ascent. This is not by any means a destination area by itself, but
if you're in the area to climb at Smuggler's Notch, or live within an hour's
drive, it is worth a visit. It's a great escape from breathing the fumes
of tourist's SUV's at the Notch. It's also a great early and late season
alternative, when the road to the Notch is closed. The most worthwhile lines
are marked with a "*". Potential exists for approximately 50 problems when
fully developed. A word about ratings: These problems have only been climbed
a handful of times by less than a handful of climbers, so expect the ratings
to be way off. It's okay; ratings aren't what bouldering is about anyway.
Getting There
From Burlington: Take exit 11 off of 89. Head east to Jonesville.
Turn right onto a bridge and cross the river. After crossing the river, turn
left on to Duxbury Rd. (also known as River Road in Waterbury) and go between
5.0 and 5.1 miles. There will be a pullout big enough for 3 cars on your
left (Be courteous and leave space for others). You know you've got the right
pullout if there is a large field just past the pullout. If this pullout
is full, there are other pullouts, used by fishermen, just down the road.
Please don't park in the field!
From Waterbury: Cross the river and take River Road (also known as
Duxbury Road in Jonesville) west. Keep an eye out for the intersection where
a road comes in from the left towards Camel's Hump. From this point, drive
1 mile on River road to the pullout described above.
Finding the boulders: Cross to the south side of the road and step
into the woods. On your left you'll see a large gnarled tree that splits
into 4 or 5 trunks. On you're right will be a fairly large flat open area
that is covered with tall ferns during the green months. Walk towards the
back right corner of this flat open area, and another dead tree. You should
be able to see the trail going uphill from here. Walk about 10 minutes and
you will cross what looks like an old logging road. Just past this road you
will see a waist high rock in front of you, and big, heavily vegetated boulders.
Walk downhill of these, keeping them to your left and some small boulders
to your right. You will see the Ramones Boulder in 30 seconds-- Highball
with a beautiful orange face (the orange rock is crumbly), and a cave on
its right. Another large boulder is just uphill.
Ethics
This place is as pristine as New England bouldering gets. Aside from the
trail and the remains of an old logging road, there is no trash, graffiti,
or other human impact. Keep it this way. Pack out your tape, food wrappers,
and cigarette butts. The climbers who discovered and developed this place
enjoy the challenge of finding holds and figuring out sequences. So, if you
use tick-marks, or large amounts of chalk, please, please, please brush them
off before you leave. A great deal of work was done to layout the trail to,
and around the boulders. Stay on the trail. If you accidentally kick the
branches that mark the trail, be courteous and replace them. Near the Dux
Soup boulder, trampling has caused some erosion, unearthing the roots of
a tree. Please walk around this area. It was a conscious decision to leave
the bad landing at Tossed Salad boulder. Respect that. Try not to clean ferns
from the top of boulders. Although access is legal, the privilege of climbing
here can easily be taken away. Try not to draw attention of the locals and
land managers. Get into the woods quickly, and leave your radios and loud
screams at home. |
Ramones Boulder and Surrounding Area
A. Ramones Boulder - Discovered the week after Joey Ramone died, all
problems on this boulder are named in memory of one of the original punk
bands. Though this is the coolest looking boulder in the area, its rock is
also the most suspect.
1. *Gabba Gabba Hey - V4 There are 2 cracks on the face. Climb the left one
to some pockets, then to a low point in the rail above. Highball. Short people
will have a hard time getting on, and making the last move.
2. *Project- Up the right crack to the pockets on Gabba Gabba Hey. Get someone
heavy to try it first, so you don't have to worry about crumbling rock.
3. *Ramones Farewell Tour -V1X SD in the overhang on the left side of the
boulder, then traverse the rail to the highest point. This problem is made
even more highball by the hill sloping away from the boulder. Having Scott
Blunk for a spotter would be a good idea.
4. *Coney Island Coaster- V3 Start in the jug above the cave. Climb up and
right over the cave. Continue right as far as possible.
5. Project- Climb out of the cave. Several variations possible. Way hard.
The quality of the rock in the cave is better than on the rest of the
boulder.
6. *Bop 'till you drop- V3 SD with feet in the cave and hands on low crimpers.
Top out at highest point near arete. This one is tricky until you find the
very positive micro-sloper. Variation: V1- Start standing with left hand
in what could best be described as a pocket, even though it isn't.
B. Nameless Boulder
7. Nameless Traverse - VO Start as far right as possible. Top out at the
arete. Not worth naming, and some say the same about the climbing.
8. Nameless Arete - V0 Try to stick to the left side of the arete and avoid
the large flakes on the right. Contrived.
9. *Project - Some of the best quality rock at Duxbury, Start on crimps in
the middle of the face and follow the seam up and right. Not that hard, it
just hasn't been attempted much yet.
10. Ben's Mom - V0 Easy and dirty and probably not worth climbing on to.
Traverse underclings from right to left.
C. Rocket To Russia
11. Rocket to Russia - VO Start as far left as makes sense, and traverse
downhill as far as possible, staying low to avoid large holds. Contrived
D. Justin's Boulder
12. Project-Needs Cleaning. Start at the undercling left of the arete and
lunge for the sloper. This easy climb has been eyed since the first days
of climbing here, but no one has bothered to clean it. |
Tossed Salad Boulder and Environs
Follow the trail south from Justin's boulder. The next boulder you come to
is Dux Soup. Past Dux Soup the trail makes a sharp left between two small
boulders, then an immediate sharp right and heads towards Tossed Salad.
E. Dux Soup Boulder
13. *Dux Soup- VO SD at the base of the flake that traverses the whole face
of the boulder. Follow the flake, then top out where the flake ends. Fun!
14. Not All It's Quacked Up To Be-VB Start as for Dux Soup, but climb straight
up. Dirty.
15. *Project-Start low and left on jugs, traverse uphill until some rocks
inhibit progress. Not too hard, just needs cleaning.
F. Tossed Salad Boulder- Top out on this rock and you'll understand
the name. A conscious decision was made to not clean the top out anymore
than has been. Please respect that decision.
16. *Tossed Salad - V0 Start as far left as possible. Traverse up and right
on jugs, and topout at the highpoint. Bad landing, fun moves.
17. *Mescaline- V3? Start the same as Tossed Salad; but instead of topping
out continue the traverse on slopers, turn the steeply overhanging corner,
continue the traverse to the next corner, and topout. Super-long and pumpy.
18. Unnamed-V0 Start with feet in the hole formed by the rocks at the base
and hands on crimpers. Diagonal right.
The next three problems, on the north face of Tossed Salad, are very recent
additions that were added during a weekend spent drinking microbrews. Under
normal conditions, these might not even be viewed as lines to be climbed.
a. Blue Moon - V0 SD near a layback that is too low to be useful, work straight
up.
b. Dark & Cold - V1? SD 3 ft. right of Blue Moon, move up and left to
join Blue Moon.
c. Green Lady - V2? Bear hug, lay back, or crimp to go straight up. Top out
is ugly and vegetated.
G. Arch Nemesis Boulder- From Tossed Salad, head up the trail on what
appears to be an old logging road. This boulder is seen in the trees on the
left as you head up the hill. From the trail it looks worthless, but there
is a quality problem under the arching overhang.
19. *The Underklinger- V1 Start sitting on the left side of the overhang.
Undercling your way right until you can reach over the roof and grab the
pocket. A decision was made to not top this one out so that minimal vegetation
would be disturbed. Please don't clean the topout any more.
20. Project- Start as for The Underklinger and work left onto the thin slab.
Needs cleaning.
H. Project Boulder- Lying east of Arch Nemesis, this excellent boulder
is identified by a right leaning mini-prow on the right, a left-leaning
finger-crack down low, and a large quartz pocket in the center of the face.
Many variations. It is easier to find if you stay on the trail instead of
walking to Arch Nemesis.
21. *Name Unknown-V2? Start low on the right leaning prow.
22. *The Janitor - V4 SD at the right end of the finger-crack. Work the crack
left, then up to the quartz pocket. Named for the man with the toilet bowl
brush who cleaned out the crap-filled pocket that proved essential to the
top out.
23. *Direct Sitdown Variation -V4 SD directly under the quartz pocket. Climb
straight up.
24. Direct Standing Variation- V2 Stand directly under the quartz pocket
and climb.
I. Serious Overhang- Lying North and uphill of Arch Nemesis and Project
boulders, this long, very steep, and tall wall sports some incredibly fun
looking lines that beg to be climbed. Unfortunately the terrible landings
make this a serious endeavor.
25. Detached- V0 SD Climb the short, sandy, detached block on the left end
of the overhang.
26. *Projects- Several hard projects on the overhang. The only real attempt
so far has been on toprope. Crumbly rock and lack of talent prevented success.
The person who takes the time to clean these will be greatly rewarded! |
Creekside Boulders
These two boulders may be hard to find, since rocky, heavily vegetated terrain
has made it hard to build a trail. From Tossed Salad, look southwest. In
the distance you will see the large roots and trunk of a big tree that has
fallen over. This tree is resting on one of the boulders. If you can't see
these roots, another option is to bushwack down to the stream and then walk
upstream to the boulders. They are worth the effort to find.
J. The Great Slab Boulder- Recognized by a beautiful highball slab
on the side facing the stream.
27. Project- Slopers, crimps, and pinches. Needs cleaning.
28. *Schist Jam- V2 SD and climb the crack up. Be careful if you grab the
dead roots at the topout, they're even more suspect than Vermont rock. Variation-
V1 Stand start
29. *Project- Right hand on the arete, left on crimps. Awkward start if you're
not flexible.
30. *The Great Slab- At least three good lines are on this awesome wall,
in an area that lacks slabs. Somebody needs to bring a rope and clean this.
K. Streamside Boulder- This looks like nothing until you step over
the slab lying at its southeast corner.
31. *Upstream- V0 SD Start as far right as possible. Traverse up ledges to
the left arete. Top out. Variation: VB Traverse the rail right to left.
32. *Babble-On- VO SD at the center of face and climb up. Dyno-Variation-
Climb to the ledge, skip the rest of the moves and fire for the great top
edge.
33. *Project- The arete. You better love small slopers. Hard.
34. *Projects- several good-looking lines await the hardman on a beautiful
bulging face. |
