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Western Mountains Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Western Mountains

Bald Bluff 79

Bear Mountain Cliff & Boulders 19

Boneyard, The 3

Buck's Ledge 11

C Bluff 6

Chain of Ponds 48

Cirque on Little Bigelow mountain, The 8

Cranberry Pond (Bigelow Range) 5

Daggett Rock 3

Gilead Road Cut Ice 4

Grafton Notch St. Park - Ice&Rock 22

Great Ledges, The 9

Hawk Mountain 3

Jockey Cap 42

Knights Hill Ice 1

Land Of Overhangs, The 9

Lion's Den 3

Mahoosuc Notch Ice 0

Mt. Sabattus 2

Peru Tumbledown Dick 9

Pine Mountain (ME) Ice 4

Pismire Bluff 6

Pleasant Mountain Ice 4

Red Rock Mountain 2

Sawyer Mountain 5

Shell Pond 43

Square Dock (Squaredock) Mountain 28

Sugarloaf Region Boulders 6

Ten Degree Wall 45

Tumble Down Dick Mt. 39

Tumbledown Mtn Bouldering 0

Tumbledown Mtn Rock 8

Twitchell Pond 16

Explore this area in 3D

Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Elevation:	1,014 ft	309 m
GPS:	44.43374, -70.77888 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	331,799 total · 3,627/month
Shared By:	Jonathan S on Nov 6, 2017
Admins:	Ladd Raine, Jonathan S, Robert Hall, Chris Duca Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: Peregrine Falcons in Maine Details

Maine Peregrine Falcons breeding season extends from mid-March through July or August. Hiking or climbing near nesting peregrines can cause abandonment and death of eggs/young. If adults are away from the nest, eggs or young can become overheated, chilled, or chicks can miss feedings. Be on the lookout for agitated falcons that may vocalize, take avoidance flights, or dive-bomb those that are too close. If you encounter an aggressive peregrine falcon please immediately leave the area, and report incidents to Erynn Call, State Raptor Specialist, MDIFW, erynn.call@maine.gov.

To learn more about peregrines in Maine, check out this link: maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife…

Current (2025) raptor closure information can be attained by reaching out to Chris Duca (christopherduca@gmail.com), or by following The Stewards of Western Maine Climbing Instagram site (@_swmc_)

There are active nests on the following cliffs in Western Maine:
- Shagg Crag
- Bear Mountain
- Tumbledown Mtn. (Weld)

Description

North of Lake Sebago & from the Bigelows to the west.

Shagg Crag has it's own site under "Maine" https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105964909/shagg-crag

Much excellent climbing can be found in the mountains of Western Maine, from hard sport routes, to exciting trad climbs at remote cliffs, to just casual boulders close to the road.

The mountains here are discovered anew by each generation, with clues from rusty old bolts to even older pitons hinting at the climbers of the past. Nature is vibrant, and quick to moss over and reclaim the rock in between spates of climbing exploration, and Maine lacks a large enough population at this time to keep much of the climbing in the zeitgeist.

Local legends loom large in memory, and the climbing and the mountains share much of the character of the whites of eastern NH, and in fact constitute a continuation of the same range.

Getting There

A car is required and a Maine Gazetteer, or more likely these days a smart phone. Don't count on reception though.

Boundaries

For purposes of route sorting we'll consider the southern boundaries of this area a line of latitude drawn at Lake Sebago, and the eastern boundaries starting at roughly Lewiston and chunking itself north and east.

488 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Western Mountains

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

V1 5 16 ● Standard Overhang Boulder Jockey Cap > 1. Jockey Cap B… > Peary Boulder
V5 6C 6 ● Rapture Boulder Bear Mtn Cliff… > Boulder Field
V7+ 7A+ 5 ● Swamp Thing Boulder Twitchell Pond
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b 12 ● A.M.C. Route Trad 4 pitches Tumbledown Mtn Rock
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b 25 ● A.M.C. Route Variation Trad 3 pitches Tumbledown Mtn Rock
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 6 ● First Kiss Trad Cirque on Littl… > Off the Beaten Path W…
5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b 9 ● Ghost Trad Ten Degree Wall > Main Wall > Bemis Area
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 4 ● Brown Crack Trad Ten Degree Wall > Military Wall
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 16 ● Pollo Del Mar Sport Shell Pond > High Meadow Wall
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 8 ● Embryonic Journey Sport Shell Pond > High Meadow Wall
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 4 ● Swamp Donkey Disco (its a moose) Sport Square Dock (Sq… > 1. Square Dock… > 3. Critter Wall
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a 22 ● Welcome to Greenwood City Sport Bald Bluff > Dike Wall
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 8 ● Dominatrix Sport Bald Bluff > S Wall
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 14 ● Wild Rumpus Sport Shell Pond > High Meadow Wall
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b 8 ● Sarlacc Sport Shell Pond > High Meadow Wall