Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine

Hi All, I went out to hawk mountain too see if there were any routes up the thing since it is basically roadside.  Found a nice looking but licheny slab with some pretty rusty 5 piece bolts going up in a couple spots and some old pins. The pins seemed to be in better shape than the bolts.   Any info on the routes and who put them up/when? We climbed something to the top that felt like about 5.7? Maybe more maybe less, it was pretty dirty in spots.

Any info would be great, pretty cool to have a cliff an hour from Portland.

Three pics with some minor info here:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/Maine/West__NH_Border/Hawk_Mountain/

Open each pic for the info

It's funny you post this now - I just happened to check it out on a rest day the week before labor day but didn't bother rapping in or cleaning, and didn't come back to climb anything. The slab looked pretty nice and, as you said, probably around 5.7ish. I also checked out Bear mountain in the hopes of finding some harder super-local climbing (coming from Casco) but the approach to the main wall is a super overgrown bushwhack currently, though it should thin up in the fall. There are some pretty haggard looking little sport climbs on the small wall to the left of the main face at Bear Mountain but they didn't look like they were worth hiking back for the rope/brush.

Hello, I climbed a lot in the 80's, and all these routes were probably established by Al Chase in the late 70s who lived nearby. From the outlook at the top, walk down the edge on the right, to where you can look straight down to lip of the bowl. This may not be obvious. We would rappel down from trees to the bolt anchor at the lip, then rap to the bowl. There three climbs worth doing. Looking up from there, the farthest left is a 5.10 with questionable bolts, to a two bolt anchor (5/16 buttonheads.)  Then we would rap back down to climb the 5.9 in the middle (with good pro), rap again, and climb the rounded ridge on the right (5.7 with 1/4 " bolts), past a piton to same belay. Then up the easy slab back to were we started. These climbs my have been upgraded with new pro. We used to leave a rope to get to the two bolt belay, then Batman up at the end.

Hi, I put up the 5.7 slab route with Todd Gregory and Bill Supple in 1980. There were no signs of it having been climbed (certainly no bolts or pegs). That's not to say Al Chase didn't go up and simply solo it before 1980. It was within his capabilities, and he would never tell anyone. Bolts hand drilled on the lead back then. I would be very suspicious if the original 1/4" bolts are still there. A good replacement project for locals. We also top roped the steeper bulge to the left (maybe 5.9). Fun routes.

The photo below is me leading the route on what I believe is the first ascent.

Below is a picture of Al Chase I have from about 1978. He is on Cathedral's Recompense top of first pitch I think. Al would stay with us at Camp Climb in North Conway the previous years, so I had the privilege of knowing him. Al disappeared on McKinley's Cassin Ridge in 1980 trying to solo it. He was something extraordinary. 

Hello Kim, I knew Al, but didn't climb with him. I knew his father, Don, who passed away at 94 last year. Al taught Don to climb, and then Don taught me. We climbed for 20 years, all around, including Bucks, Hawk and Bear. We put up a long route on Bucks in the mid 80's, did you climb there? Alain Comeau and I climbed these routes on Hawk. The picture is taken a year after losing Alan, in Huntington. Al's mother Marion took the picture.

Thanks for posting, Kim

It's cool to see this thread being revived. I am needing to make another trip out there. It would also be cool to update the hardware on these routes, since most of it is going on 45 years old at this point. Could be a really good summer project. Does anyone know names for any of the routes? There is also now a sport route bolted up the far right side of the slab with more modern hardware.

Hi Arne, thanks for sharing. I knew Don and Marion only slightly. Marion would bring us apple pies she made, when Al would come and stay with us. Good people. I’m glad Don continued to climb, and they had community around them. Sounds like Don had a full life!

I’ve never climbed at Buck’s. Brian Delaney took me up there in the late eighties and pointed out the ‘easy’ route. I demurred; Brian graciously consented and we went elsewhere. Good for you putting up a route there. Intimidating cliff!

I have a friend from Colorado ( who climbs well!) who spent several months in Maine last year. He thought Maine has a very high standard. The climbing reflects the climbers!

Thanks again for sharing, it brought back good memories for me.

Hello a beach, the names we used was "Studs" (For a couple bolt studs used for pro) for the 5.10, "High Step" for the 5.9, and "Whaleback" for Kim's 5.7. I drilled the 5/16" bolt belay (on the 5.10) in the late 80's and Kim's 1/4" are from 1980. The pitons are just as old. Yes, this would be a good project on a cool day. You can rap to the bolts on Studs, but it's a thrash through a tree on the way down. The old piton on High Step above the 3/8 bolt is a critical one because of the runout, but it's behind a fragile flake. There was an old piton above the bolt belay for Whaleback, in flake too. 

Good luck

Arne Klepinger