Cape Ann climbing renaissance

I would just like to put it out into a forum thread (rather than bunched up in the destinations section) that I am totally stoked about all the folks out there who are keen to revitalize the Cape Ann climbing scene. Not to say that the scene was ever dead here, but the fact that so many of the old "lost" lines are being made usable again is great. It has always bugged me that there will be a line of people queuing up for a top rope at the Main Wall at Red Rocks, when there are SOOOO many other amazing routes with in spitting distance that have been pushed to the wayside.
My two cents on vague guidelines? (These are merely suggestions, as that I've already broken a few of the "old school" rules.)
I feel that naming an unknown line that has been recently cleaned is great (we don't need a list of 40+ unnamed routes) but bare in mind it MAY have been done before so just be willing to change the name if it turns out to already have one.
I feel that the ethics of "mixed routes" should certainly apply any time bolts are being considered. If there is reasonable gear, don't put in a bolt. That being said, even Herb Stillman says that a lot of the old lines were serious ankle breakers (i.e. solos or "R" and "X" rated lines) and that had things been different "back in the day" that perhaps more lines should have gotten a few well placed bolts to keep them user friendly.
Top anchors are great..... one can always learn anchor building but it is nice to have a fast, easy and tree friendly set up at the top of most routes (rap bolts for anchors are especially nice if the line is leadable).
Route manipulation- This is a grey area but I am a firm believer in properly cleaning a line.... which may involve removing hazardous blocks etc. but use your best judgment. Dynamite is right out!
Now get out and clean. Spread the love!

A massive scrub session the other day has recovered most of the main wall at Down Under in the Red Rocks area. This place is actually taller than the main cliff at Red Rocks in places! There are loads of cool features including great cracks, scalloped slabs and crimpy faces. We put in a few sets of top anchors where they would do the most good but long slings are still recommended. We are waiting on the elders to give us names/ grades for the old lines but if you have any sense of adventure, just go throw up a rope and have fun.
Get out and get some traffic on this spot.... it ROCKS!
Thanks to John, Chris, Corey and Eli for all the hard work.

The redrocks conservation area contains such a large variety of climbs, it's hard for me to see people stacked up at main wall. Down under is 70% cleaned up and ready for a day out. While we wait on the elders info and permittion for lead bolts and etc... Don't forget there is also kong boulder literally at the bottom of the cliff. The forgotten beast of cape ann that not enough people have dared to get their chalk into. Not to mention the plateau boulder, Oz wall, masters wall, south wall, and several other small crags that need some tlc. And thats just at redrocks!

Get your gear ready, spring fever is coming on Cape Ann.

Great job from team "scrubby" over at the South Wall (Red Rocks) today. It turns out that due to its orientation, even when the main wall is freezing (literally ice on some routes), the South Wall is a great destination because it is very sunny and mostly sheltered form the wind. This place is still a bit hard to find but well worth the adventure. Currently following the highway south from Main wall is the most straight forward, though certainly a bit of a bush bash at times. What it lacks in height it certainly makes up for in quality of rock and variety of climbing styles. There are already a handful of gems there... with plenty more to be discovered under the lichen!

Oh.... and if anyone knows what happened to all of the new top anchors at Down Under??? Those responsible for putting in the bolts have been very up front and honest about putting them in..... it would only be fair for those who removed them to fess up as well, eh? The odd bit is that the face bolts were left..... so perhaps the responsible party was not even a climber? Who knows. It may be time for either glue-ins or installing an elevator!
With some REALLY long slings, it is still well worth going down and climbing on the nicely cleaned walls there. I have been climbing on Cape Ann granite for almost 18 years and only recently did I realize just how amazing the main wall at Down Under really is!

Bump.

This is a real shame.

I haven't been able to make it back there yet to see all your cleaning efforts, I know it's a LOT of work.

I can't imagine that area gets much traffic from non-climbers though. Wonder who would do something like that?

DFrench wrote:Bump. This is a real shame. I haven't been able to make it back there yet to see all your cleaning efforts, I know it's a LOT of work. I can't imagine that area gets much traffic from non-climbers though. Wonder who would do something like that?

I have absolutely no knowledge of any of this, but...

Southern New England does have a long history of people getting upset with bolting. Even if Ken Nichols never makes it to Cape Ann, I'm guessing there are other people who might be upset with bolts getting placed.

I would really hate for Cape Ann to be the next location in the never-ending bolting wars, with bolts placed...then pulled...then placed...ad nauseum. Even though I'm a traditionalist at heart.

Can someone describe the damage. What happened exactly? How and when was it discovered? Where were the bolts located? Were the hangers removed or were the bolts chopped (or flattened)? What damage was done to the trail? Etc. Pictures would be great too. I think in these cases its best to compile an accurate trail of evidence that exists in a public forum so everyone can be on the same page. This will definitely help if there are more episodes. Otherwise events like this can quickly become confusing and descend into gossip and hearsay. Bolt wars are often as much myth and hoodoo as they are actual fact.

It’s really weird to me that someone would pick on Down Under and not other, more conspicuous areas. And that they would pull top rope anchors, which as a practice is pretty well established and necessary at Redrock. I hope this means its just kids being punk kids and doing stupid things. (I write that as former punk kid who did stupid things.)

In any case, please post as much information as possible here (or maybe even in a separate thread).

Grew up in Cape Anne, started climbing after moving out west, but i've been watching some of the development in the area, and in Lynn Woods area and i'm STOKED to get back east and pull on some hometown blocks! Cheers to everyone who's put in effort out there.

I hope the choppers come clean, sounds like maybe non-climbers?

I am not ready to shout "bolt war" quite yet.... but here is the full story (at least my version of it).
The intro- Chris McNeil and Corey Baker started doing some extensive cleaning on "lines of unknown origin" in the Red Rocks area, especially at the Down Under wall. They not only did a great job of cleaning the crack wall but they also cleared and marked a trail out to the pipeline, took photos and posted the known routes on this site. John Chepes and myself, Matt Natti saw the work they were doing (I have listed all names not for "ego" but because we are quite proud the work we have done to restore a local climbing resource and do not feel the need to hide our identities in the chat room) and decided that rather than continuing our cleaning efforts elsewhere, it was best to pool the collective effort and really make DU ready for the masses. In one big push, we all finished cleaning the main wall and then added 5 sets of top anchors at convenient locations along the top of the cliff (some with rings, some just standard bolt hangers). I also bolted a short slab and retro bolted an the old sport line called "Down Under." The anchors were placed with the blessing of the great Herb Stillman (the Jedi- ninja slab master responsible for a huge amount of the climbs in the Cape Ann area, including DU). I have also spoken with Essex County Greenbelt Association, who own the land, about development of cliffs on their properties and was told it was not only fine but adds value to their land for recreational use.
The meat- Chris and Cory started noticing that the trail markers they had put up (flagging tape and carins) were being removed. They also noticed that the trail they had cleared kept getting recovered with brush, branches etc. Although they did not retag the trail, they did do a good job of trying to keep the trail open. After a week of "trail wars," the group of us returned to DU to do a bit of climbing, only to find that all of the top anchors had been removed. The anchors were 3/8" x 2 1/2" 318 SS tru-bolts, over drilled (in case they needed to be replaced at some point) and set in pairs close to the edge of some of the lines which were hardest to top rope. When the anchors were removed, the hangers were taken off and the remaining bolt studs were hammered into the rock. Not only were the anchors we had placed removed, but the old existing bolts were removed as well. The only bolts left on the cliff were the face bolts (both old and new). What gets me is that IF a climber had wanted to remove bolts from the cliff, I would assume they would use the TR anchors to facilitate removal of the face bolts BEFORE removing the top anchors?!?
So......" who done it?" It is possible it was kids, but why would they take the time to pound the studs in to the wall? It could be neighbors or other land users who don't agree with climbing (but lack the means to remove the face bolts) or it could be a climber upset with new bolts "at my old stomping ground," who just didn't bring a harness. I just don't know. I doubt anyone will come forward but here's to hoping. Regardless, the 4 of us involved in this project are interested in resolving this issue one way or another and continuing to climb at DU. We are have also discussed the formation of a local climbing organization (Cape Ann or even all of the North Shore) to try to gain a unified voice about problems like this.... as well as gaining access to other areas which may not currently be open to the public. Thoughts?

have always loved redrocks and the hole area....couple years back i was climbing dougs roof when two tards basically walked threw the vet's property dropped pads n started climbing, said hey guys lets try to be low key here and got the brush off. now these guys prob have nothing to do with u and the vets or the house right next to it prob have nothing to do with the chopping of your bolts but seriously it's 25' of crappy slab your bolting thats 25 feet from somebodys house, got 2 be low key when cleaning and climbing in all of this area. shit loads of chalk, tick marks, tape and beer cans make us look like graffit taging shitbums.

First I would like to add that I really appreciate the hard work you all have done in the area.

However, I am NOT in support of marking the new trails with surveyor's tape. This is very visible to the non-climbing user group and causes confusion to hikers.

I am also emphatically NOT in support of the stapling of the white sign describing the route "Roll them Bones" on the tree at the base of the climb which is in plain sight from the trail. This is not acceptable in any climbing area across the country, please use some discretion and consider how our actions are perceived by the non-climbing users of the trails and open space.

Thanks.

The hard work sometimes can be spoiled by a few careless actions.
Yes the stapled sign is bad form indeed. Quite absurd actually.
It states to please only use the rings on the route for rappeling to
preserve them. What about the tree that the sign was stapled to?
Shouldn't we preserve those too? Redrocks wouldn't be such a
'cool' place without them.

The pink tape had to go also. This leads everyone to the cliff.
Some times not a good idea and possibly led the top anchor pirate
straight to his booty. If you clean, they will come so lets skip the
roadmaps.

Someone has stepped forward and admitted to removing the top anchors at Down Under. The guilty party is one of the "original" old school locals who I do not feel the need to name right now. He is a NEice enough guy but seems to be hell bent on allowing any change in his old stomping grounds. He has promised to continue to remove bolts around the area as that "we never needed them when we started climbing here." The top anchors were removed so "kids these days don't forget how to build a natural top anchor." Oddly, many of the bolts in the area were actually placed by this fella.... and some of the bolts he placed were on previously established routes (with out permission from the first ascentionist). Ah well.
As that all of thee land the Red Rocks cliffs are on are under Greenbelt or town control, I am hoping to work more with authorities to solve tis problem. I am also hoping to follow Western Mass's example and form a North Shore Climbing Coalition..... both to reach an agreement amongst "local" climbers about what direction we should be moving in as far as the local climbing resources. It would also be great to have a solid voice for sorting out questionable access areas such as Great Ledge, Shark's Mouth, Manchester Woods etc.

mnatti, sounds like we need to have a more unified voice and I'm all for creating some kind of coalition to deal with these issues.

Making "kids these days" build "natural" anchors atop the cliff is a LAME excuse for chopping those bolts. This basically means creating inconvenient anchors using trees with really long slings. I'm not saying convenience is a reason to bolt, but they were added and the cliff was a moss-pile before you guys cleaned it. What gives this dude the right to be dictator of the cliff?

Also on that note, I don't believe that Down Under is part of the Greenbelt land. In fact I was under the impression that it is privately owned. I know the vet hospital does not own it so maybe a landowner on Lawrence Mtn road owns it?

Kind of a shame that "oldschool" Cape Ann climbers are nowhere to be found unless they are roused from hibernation to chop a few anchor bolts. Does this guy even climb anymore? Sheesh.

Whatever you do, don't drill any more holes until this thing is sorted out. Also, it would have been prudent to contact the City Assessor office to determine exactly who owns the land. Now is the time to do this if you haven't already. I am familiar with Greenbelt land up there, and I do not believe DU is on it. I do believe it is conservation land though. With that classification it can be either privately owned and restricted, or City owned. Either way, permission would need to be granted in order to permanently disturb it. Many people would consider scrubbing off lichen (that is likely decades and decades old) a permanent disturbance. Bolting definitely is. I was the steward for Mt. Ann park for awhile (across the highway) and I know the Greenbelt did NOT like removing lichen from the rock faces.

I am not here to judge, only to advise that if cleaning of rock faces and putting bolts in is on your agenda, then enabling all stakeholders prior to doing the deed is the way to go. I have run across a few of the "old timers" that still climb and there is most definitely an established ethic for the Cape Ann climbing scene. It is not written down anywhere from what i know, but I do understand that if a top rope is available (even if you need long slings) than anchor bolts are a no-no.

The main face of Red Rock has suffered permanently from actions similar to these, so it is well worth the time and wait to sort this stuff out BEFORE you reach for the drill. These holes cannot be patched. I have climbed at DU without ropes, with TR's, and carefully over lichen and have had a great time. In fact, most routes at DU are well protected with a few bouldering pads.

As far as lichen goes, I am certainly not advocating having no regard for it, but I have never understood some people's hyper sensitivity for it here in New England. They act as though you are cutting down a thousand year old redwood if you destroy some of it while cleaning a route. If a route does not receive traffic, it really does not take that long to grow back here in our environment. I have personally seen boulder problems that were cleaned even to the point of being bleached that returned to being covered with lichen in only a few years.

My attitude is that if a route is really good, I have no problem cleaning it off. If the area is used by non climbers, especially birding and other naturalist types, I would be more hesitant to clean, being aware that it is not worth freaking out other users for another so-so route.

I was just at DU today and some of the anchors that would be required without bolts are simply ridiculous. For the 10- and 11+ under the swooping slab, an anchor would be 30-40ft back from the edge, and that would be for one 10" tree.

I think in most cases, bolted anchors create more sustainable anchoring options than trees and can be safer and more effective most of the time. If there were to be a 12"+ diameter tree within 10 feet and relatively in line with a climb, then I can understand someone being upset or even chopping...but when the best option is to bring 40'+ of webbing or a static rope? It should probably be bolted, anchors only of course. It probably wouldn't hurt to paint/camouflage the shiny stainless anchors and hangers either.

Old school "my stompin' ground back in the day" ethics cannot be maintained, they're impractical and dictated by people who usually aren't partaking in the local scene anymore.

After this Spring I won't be visiting the Red Rocks area too often, but I would like to see this sorted out and have some sort of moderating authority to determine what is right and what is not (in writing!) rather than unwritten rules that are enforced with bolt cutters.

While I certainly enjoy the speed of a pair of bolts, there is also be something to be said for an area maintaining a certain ethic. The whole feel of a climbing area changes when convenience anchors are added.

There aren't too many places left in the US with a no-bolt ethic. I personally think they are worth protecting, just for the uniqueness and "no trace" feel that they offer.

If there are more users than the few very occasional "back in the day", insisting on everyone using trees and slings is bad for the trees. The bark gets rubbed and soil around the base gets compacted. Having them damaged and dieing off will end up being more of an impact than some anchors. A couple well done glue-ins with loctited pairs of 1/2 inch quicklinks on each are the way to go, all camoed up of course

M Sprague wrote:If there are more users than the few very occasional "back in the day", insisting on everyone using trees and slings is bad for the trees. The bark gets rubbed and soil around the base gets compacted. Having them damaged and dieing off will end up being more of an impact than some anchors. A couple well done glue-ins with loctited pairs of 1/2 inch quicklinks on each are the way to go, all camoed up of course

All of the Main Cliff are done with glue ins that are rather dull in color (don't know if they were painted) but they don't stick out at all, and are necessary in most places. Rapping straight through the bolts works great, although quicklinks would be a better idea.

I think DU and the surrounding areas are now being developed and traffic is being encouraged, so the anchors provide the best long term solution, or the only reasonable one for several of the routes.