Cams for TR at Otter Cliffs

hey everyone

What cams should I bring for setting up top ropes at Otter Cliffs next month? Gonna be climbing with the family and some new climbers and want to be able to set up some quick top ropes to get people climbing quick.

Thanks!

Bring a full set from BD .3 - 3 and a few doubles of mid-sized cams would be nice if you might set up more than one TR at once, nuts are helpful too. If you have static rope or some webbing definitely bring it. Some of the anchors are several feet from the edge so it's nice extend, it also helps for slinging boulders... Also, it' sharp! Bring some chaffing gear to clip into your anchor, positioned over the edge under where the rope runs...

Just to underscore RF.... the cliff edge can be sharp. Bring gear to protect your rope.

gibson wrote:Just to underscore RF.... the cliff edge can be sharp. Bring gear to protect your rope.

+1 to this.

Several years ago, a climbing partner core shot my rope on a super sharp block when rapping over the edge of Otter Cliffs. I was thankful it didn't slice all the way through. you can use a short length of garden hose or 2" tubular webbing as a quick and easy rope protector.

As for gear, I'd say a single rack is all you need, especially if you're creative. Doubles could be helpful for some routes.

On this topic, I'm going to be at Acadia in Sept and bought the climbing guidebook. I'm really confused by some of these routes. Most clearly indicate that they require gear. But some of the photos show people climbing with only quickdraws on their harness (no pro) and I can clearly see a couple of bolts. There's no indication in the book that anything is bolted as a sport climb though. Can anyone clear this up for me? Is there sport climbing at Acadia?

zswan wrote:On this topic, I'm going to be at Acadia in Sept and bought the climbing guidebook. I'm really confused by some of these routes. Most clearly indicate that they require gear. But some of the photos show people climbing with only quickdraws on their harness (no pro) and I can clearly see a couple of bolts. There's no indication in the book that anything is bolted as a sport climb though. Can anyone clear this up for me? Is there sport climbing at Acadia?

The majority of (quality) routes in Acadia are gear protected. There are a few pitches of sport, but from what I've done/heard they are not worth your time. If you want to climb at Great Head, there are a few routes there with mostly bolts, but still require some gear. There is an area about an hour from Bar Harbor that is mostly sport climbing (Clifton Crags). Bring your rack for the best routes in the Park though.

zswan wrote:On this topic, I'm going to be at Acadia in Sept and bought the climbing guidebook. I'm really confused by some of these routes. Most clearly indicate that they require gear. But some of the photos show people climbing with only quickdraws on their harness (no pro) and I can clearly see a couple of bolts. There's no indication in the book that anything is bolted as a sport climb though. Can anyone clear this up for me? Is there sport climbing at Acadia?

Otter cliffs is mostly TR with large bolts/iron at the top, rap down to start. Some routes on the left require gear anchors. The rest of the areas in Acadia are trad, a few sport, or mixed (trad with some bolting). The guide should be indicating if the route(s) are pure sport/bolted.

There's info here as well:

mountainproject.com/v/acadi…

The guide doesn't actually state if a line is considered sport or trad. That's where I got confused - couldn't tell if when it said "3 bolts" that meant 3 bolts + cams/nuts, or if it was pure sport.

The MP pages for Acadia aren't so great, they're missing a lot of routes from the guidebook.

zswan wrote:The guide doesn't actually state if a line is considered sport or trad. That's where I got confused - couldn't tell if when it said "3 bolts" that meant 3 bolts + cams/nuts, or if it was pure sport. The MP pages for Acadia aren't so great, they're missing a lot of routes from the guidebook.

I would assume then doing some math with regards to the bolts (60 foot climb + 3 bolts = bring protection), or looking up at the climb when at its base when you're actually there.

The amount of sport routes though is very limited, and from what MP has in its database, appear to be all on the harder side (.10+). Your profile says you lead sport to .11 so there should be a couple routes there, but only a couple. (they even mention this on page 143 (route House of Detention)). I wouldn't doubt there's a few new routes since the old guide, but I would expect to be climbing trad or top roping most of the time.

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u…

If you sort the MP database by sport climbs they'll show up in red. There's some (4?) at The Precipice.

Kevin Heckeler wrote: Otter cliffs is mostly TR with large bolts/iron at the top, rap down to start.

I would tend to disagree, majority of the routes at Otter Cliffs can be led by competent leaders. While it might not be as common, it is certainly possible to leave a fixed rappel line (only about 50 ft of rope needed for a single line) and lead almost every route at the cliff.

I will also add to watch the tide schedule--I believe you can get a chart from the visitors center, if not then google is great.

Sport climbs within the park are limited to Great Head, Canada Cliffs (on the West side of MDI, on the shores of Echo Lake), and several lines on the Precipice. All of these cliffs also harbor Trad lines, and several of the bolted climbs on the Precipice require climbing a pitch of Trad to access. To my knowledge, Otter Cliffs doesn't have any bolts on the climbs themselves, but there are fixed anchors on top to use for top roping (please don't use the trees!)

Hope this helps!

ClimbLikeAGirl wrote:While it might not be as common

This is true.

Hey ZSWAN, sorry for the confusion. I'm not sure which photos you are referring to, but nearly every image has someone who has cams on their harness. In one or two photos, it may be a route with optional gear placements and the climber is someone who has climbed that route repeatedly over the years and feels comfortable going on the bolts alone (e.g. Stratocaster - page 89). As for the distinction between sport routes and trad routes, dig into the descriptions a little and it should be clear. If it only mentions bolts, then it is a bolt-protected route. To echo what others have said, Acadia's sport routes are mainly found at Great Head and Canada Cliffs. And I'd say there are some pretty rad sport pitches at both crags... At the South Wall (aka Precipice), there are only 2 fully bolted routes - Fingers on a Seascape and Scaramouche Arete. Both require approaching via gear-protected routes below.

Also, at Otter Cliffs, only a handful of routes have fixed anchors. Bringing a single rack of cams will open up a ton of options for rigging topropes. And as was already mentioned, guarding that rope on the edge of the cliff is a wise move!

I hope this clarifies things a little. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any more questions.

Stratocaster is a good example actually, the photo in the guide definitely made it look like he's doing it as a 'sport' route. Thanks for clarifying. I ordered the guidebook this week in anticipation of being up at Acadia late September. Really pleased with it, I hope the Rumney 3rd edition is this nice!

If you do an update in a new edition though it might be nice to really call out that particular routes are sport. =)