Located on the East shoulder of Bear Mountain. Very sunny, faces south east. 230 foot crag, mostly lower angle slab. Rock type is similar to rumney like schist. This area is very secluded, in fact there is no obvious trail into the base. Make no mistake, this crag is in the deep woods, we almost got carried away by the black flies. You'll need a map and compass, and the skills to use them to get in and out of the Grizzly Cliff.
You may encounter wildlife that the Dept. of Environmental Protection denies exists. We almost called this the Cougar Crag. Nothing burries a deer half in the ground but big cats.
History: I have talked to some folks about climbing here. Bill "Sully" Sullivan, Don Pelletier, Bob Blake, and Randy Noble have explored here. Mike Cox and I were pleasently surprised at what we found. It was a fun diversion, but it's not nearly as classic as central Connecticut's traprock.
Getting There
Follow the Undermountain Trail for 10-15 minutes. Real sudden like, turn right, follow a 353* bearing. Eventually, you'll walk right into this cliff.
Approach could take an hour in good conditions.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Grizzly Cliff:
From the lowest point or toe of the butress, climb strait up a 30' slab (no gear). Climb over some loose flakes (thought provoking) to your first gear. Follow features to a crack past a fixed pin (unnecessary) to the bushy overlap. Belay here off gear at a decent stance (5.6+ 120'). Pitch two: Climb strait up, following fun face climbing past 2 fixed pins (unnecessary) to the top. Belay on top, off gear (5.6 100' or so)....[more]Browse More Classics in CT
I was hiking around the cliff the other day and noticed two bolted (or partially bolted) sport routes on some of the short steeper walls in the gully. One had three bolts/hangers, the other had four bolts, the last one without hanger. Due to the relatively unknown nature of this crag, and the effort it takes to get to this particular spot, I feel as if these are known only to the equippers and myself haha, would like to get on them though, beautiful setting.
I'll try to get some photos up soon. It'd be a nice snowshoe.
Also, there is a fairly easy approach to reach the top of the cliff in 30ish minutes at a brief pace. But then you must get to the base (another 5 of scrambling). I can post directions if anyone wants them.
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