Wisconsin 

Anyone climb at the cliffs near Greenleaf off WI Hwy 57? One hiker mentioned it had the same Niagara escarpment limestone as High Cliff State Park but taller cliffs.

I was curious if anyone knows of any bouldering that's been found in southern wisconsin or northern Illinois that might not be very well known? Just figured I'd ask. any info is appreciated. thanks!

I scoped out a great deal of the central area just north of the border (my folks live there). The best I found was a stone watertower (project still), and a stone barn (V5 traverse)....any true rock was all choss or too short.

Anyone climb around Niagara, Wi? It seems like there is a decently long and high cliff band with no houses on top or anything so it might be a city/county park. Maybe the mill there owns the part behind the mill but most of it seems pretty accessible. It does look quite virgin (dirty) though. It also looks like high quality High Cliff stone under the dirt/moss/etc. I checked out the Niagara's website and they don't really mention the cliffs specifically though it sounds like there are various other gorges, etc. in the area.

The new Union South in Madison is advertising that they have a climbing and bouldering wall and is opening this week...anyone know anything about the size and/or quality of these supposed walls?

I am consulting for the U South Wall. It's about 30ft tall and features 4 auto-belays, plus a small boudering cave. The wall is mostly geared to beginners (I did the setting) with a harder route or two mixed in (5.10 max). There is also an awesome crack to climb (Jason Skinner FA). One of the auto belays is on a "realistic" wall which looks good but severally limits what you can set on it.

All the holds are Nicros and setting is mostly done by hold color and not by colored tape (less mess).

Hours are roughly going to be 4pm-9pm I think.

I believe you can go down and check it out starting next Monday.

Thanks for the info...any pictures of U South?

To All Chicago Area Climbers:

I am looking for partners to go to WI climbing and other locations(Jackson Falls, DL, The Red, Grand Dads, etc) with.

I have an Airplane and can fly us there. Please send me a PM if you want more details and the cost of sharing the flight expenses. Hope to meet a few of you soon. I can fit up to 4 climbers with me in the Cherokee 6(with room for gear). I also have lodging available in a log cabin in the area :)

Devil's Lake: The top of Sunken Pillar/der Glotz on Balanced Rock Wall is missing! Large rock fall in the last few days. Doesn't change the rating of anything but there is a different look. Perfect climbing day today. 50+ degrees in the middle of January!

Is there any climbing in northwestern Wisconsin? I'm headed to some cabins this summer near Siren, WI and Hayward, WI and I'm trying to find something to climb on while I'm up there -- a mini-crag, a boulder, a retaining wall, anything! So far I haven't had much luck searching the interwebs.

Hey Greeley,

Check out Interstate State Park near Saint Croix Falls. Lots of great Trad, TR, and bouldering opportunities. Good luck.

Thanks, Remo. I know about Interstate Park, but I was hoping to find something farther north. Know of anything?

Does anyone know the condition of the wall at willow? I heard there has been a lot of rain lately. Is it climbable?

The Minnesota Bouldering Guide is finished!

Get your copy here!

midwestboulderingguide.blogspot.com/

Greeley, you might be closer to Duluth. Check out stuff in Duluth and Ely's Peak and of course further up the Shore.

Hi all! My wife and I will be out west this summer sport climbing and bouldering (CO & WY) and we would like to break up our trip back east and WI looks like a good place to stop for a couple of days. Which area(s) should we look to stop and climb at? We won't have any trad gear as that's what we do regularly... Thanks for the beta.

CJ,

The bouldering at Governor Dodge and Devils Lake is excellent. As far as sport climbing you could check out Grandad's Bluff, Necedah, Hillbilly Hollow or Governor Dodge. Devils Lake is the mecca of toproping and a bunch of webbing with a set of nuts is all you'd need to see you through that.

If you choose Devils Lake or Governor Dodge drop me a line on your way through.

Thanks James! Governor looks great! We LOVE climbing on sandstone and there appears to be camping there as well? Hard to pass up a one stop area. We'll be coming in the later half of Aug and it would be great to meet up with a local!! Would you be willing to sent me your contact info at some point? Is there a guide book or topo available anywhere (in case we're not able to hookup)?

CJ - Just send me a message through MP when it gets closer to you getting out here and if I'm around I'll meet up with you guys. As far as guidebooks go, MP has the most up-to-date info available.

Cheers,
James

I am looking for a partner around the Eau Claire area with ropes that would like to clean and establish some new lines.

Out of the two areas (Devils Lake and Governor Dodge), which is more enjoyable to climb and find problems at? I'm looking to spend some time bouldering in these areas.

John- how much time you got and what are your goals? High concentration of stuff with easy approaches at gov dodge, but rock can be suspect. DL stuff is more spread out with better rock but longer approaches. Either area you choose I'm sure you will have fun. There was a storm that knocked over some trees at the best area at the dodge recently (group camp B) and some problems are covered on deadfall right now.

Hey Chris thanks for the quick reply. I plan on staying for 3-4 days bouldering in the area. I'm coming from Michigan and there are rumors here that most of the boulders in DL are hard to find due to lack there of a proper guide book. Dodge seems most appealing thus far, simply because of the sandstone(despite the choss) and the size of the area seems much smaller then DL.

Is there any word when some of these trees in the area might be taken care of?

The downed trees are tricky because you are allowed to cut up fallen trees for campfires, but for that you need to rent a group site. You can't just show up and start cutting. So, the WCA is coordinating a time for that to happen but it won't be in the next few weeks probably. There is still plenty to climb.

If you get bored there, the "north shore" area at DL is easy to find, and from there you can hike the east bluff trail and there is a lot that's easy to find along there, too. Likewise, there are a couple areas that are easy to find on the west bluff along the tumbled rocks trail. Don't let the rumors dissuade you from climbing at DL. The guidebook is coming...