Bouldering in Maine

Eagle Bluff

Ali Aslam sent us some beta for bouldering in Clifton, Maine. Eagle Bluff is located in Clifton, about half an hour to  45 minutes from Bangor, heading towards the coast (Ellsworth and Acadia area). All one has to do is get to Route 9 heading into Eddington/Clifton area. Stay on this until you turn right onto Route 180. Head down this for 2-3 miles and then look for the approach trails on the left side of the road. The one for the Bouldering Trail is next to a stump and you can either pull off into a small parking area or park on the road shoulder. Hike up this trail for about 10 inutes and then you will begin to see the boulders. Mike Veazey provided us with a map and some beta for some of the problems here. New! Click here to view the map. Poking around and following trails will lead to more boulders. And bring cleaning tools and your first ascent mojo, cause there's a lot of uncleaned stuff.

Ryan Parker on Split Rock at Eagle's Bluff. Photograph by Ali Aslam.

Acadia National Park

     A crew from all over New England recently converged on the rocky coastline of Acadia National Park to explore the bouldering potential there. They found tons of bouldering scattered along the coast from Sand Beach to south of Thunder Hole (both well-known tourist areas in the park). The bouldering here is on a light colored granite and consists of all types of problems. Some of the landings can be tricky so bring the pads and some good spotters. Unfortunately due to the nature of the coastline (littered with rock of all shapes and sizes) it is tough to give specific beta to any specific problems. The best way to go is to bring your sense of adventure and head out along the coast. Stop and climb whatever you find interesting. This is a great place to go in the heat of the summer.

Sandy Medeiros topping out along the coast of Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.

York Harbor Beach

     There is some decent some seaside bouldering at York Harbor Beach in York, Maine. There is a good spot halfway between Long Sands Beach and the Nubble Light House. Approach via Long Sands along the coast. Heading north on Interstate 95, take the York/Ogunquit exit. This exit is before the Maine Tolls. Take the first merging right toward the visitors center, then the next right at the light. Drive for about 3/4 mile to the next traffic light then take a left. Drive along this road past the statue for about 2.3 miles until you see the ocean. The road cuts left then moves with the coast. Park along the fence next to the park. Then find the gravel trail that goes toward the ocean. This will join with the cliff walk. Its about a 5 minute walk from there, walking away from the beach. Feel free to walk along the waterline to discover some cool cliffs and some fun routes. Jason Nelson has put together a websit with maps, photos, and some problem descriptions. Click here to check it out. The ownership of this land is being disputed. A York policeman said that climbing is not prohibited here, but that if someone asks you to leave, to do so politely and there would not be any problems.

Jason Nelson boulding near Long Sands Beach. Photograph by Jason Nelson.

Phillips

     Newenglandbouldering.com's field correspondent, Lee Soares recently discovered a riverside bouldering area in the town of Phillips, Maine, about four hours north of Boston, MA.  Click here for more on this new area. Also, in Phillips is Dagget Rock. Click here for more info on this area. To get to Dagget, take 95N to Route 4 North. Follow until you come to Phillips. Stay on Route 4 and go by Ron's Texaco on right. Take a right off of Route 4 just past Ron's. Take a left on to road with double yellow line. Follow about 2-3 miles and go over bridge. Stay straight as you merge with a road on your right. Take first right after old house. Look for a sign to Daggett. About 2 miles is parking on right side, trail is on the left.

Lee Soares trying to stay dry on Wet Dream, V4/5.

Mt. Battie, South Side Boulders, Camden

Dick Day writes, "These are beautiful and huge boulders right along Route 52 just north of Camden. I've had a lot of fun developing these routes. Most of the problems are moderate (sub V6) but there is some hard stuff lurking here (you have to wire brush off the lichen). On some of the problems I pulled what I could and note the project variations which most likely hit or exceed V5 (Boulder-romma project, Gold Rush project, Burning Spear project). Other lines are full on projects: Blue Berry Moment, Pussy Finger and Freedom Rider. There are several projects that I just didn't have time (or skin left on my fingers) to send but are moderate: Tybo, Scratch and Sniff, and Bald Mountain.

I found these boulders a year ago (summer 1999) and since I live eight hours away, a whole year passed before I returned on vacation. After posting some info on newenglandbouldering.com, I was amazed there were only very faint signs that anyone had been there. There is a vague reference in Townsend's "Guide to Rock and Ice Climbs in the Camden Hills" to bouldering potential on the Southside of Mt. Battie. So where are all you Maine-iac boulderers?! Anyway, since I guess I represent "the local" developer, here are my ethics: brush off the holds. I hate seeing tons of chalk caked and dumped all over the place. Wire brush only where necessary. And keep a low profile. And drop me an email rday116055@cs.com

To get to the boulders, go eight tenths of a mile north of Route 1 on Route 52 in Camden. Look for a yellow gate and a gravel utility road. Park just beyond the gate. The boulders are immediately on the right. (If you pass the Carriage Trail on the right you have gone too far, and if you come up to Barret's Cove cliff you have really gone too far.)

Looking from the top of a large low angle slab at the entry to the area:
- To the right is Pussy Finger (project). Start in the pit on the south (road) side. Climb the sharp arête and then the right edge and open face up and left to the top.
- Just in front of the entry slab and down low is Gold Rush (V3). Cave in and with one hand under the lip and one on the lip, move to the lip and then traverse all the way to the right. You have to pause for a sit-spin in the middle.
- Gold Rush the project caves way in. Use the holds underneath and pull for the lip; then finish the traverse.
- To the left of the entry slab is an obvious blocky boulder. Boulder-romma (V2) starts on the crimps on the side facing Pussy Finger. Traverse right and then up from the jug.
- Boulder-romma the project: start around the corner (road side) on two obvious incuts about head high. Traverse around and finish on the regular route.
- Tybo (project) starts the same as Boulder-romma the project and pulls straight up the crack.
- Above the entry slab and to the left is an obvious face. Right up the middle is I-Man (V1).
- To the right of I Man is an overhanging blunt arête that looks interesting (and severe). Father right is a dihedral and maybe even a face climb (all hard).
- Further to the right and below a slab is Scratch and Sniff (project). Start low on the obvious hold. Top off on the slab. (bring a wire brush and clean the top off)
- Above the slab and to the south is a passage way. On the south side is an arch and Space Monkey (V0). (You should be facing back north toward I Man.) Start from a crouched position with one hand on a crack. Climb just the arch (feet on the arch only) and top out very awkwardly. (Starting from a near sit with the two open holds probably makes this a V3 start).
- Directly below Space Monkey is Blue Berry Moment (project). Climb down through the bushes and talus until you are at ground level. You should see a clitoris shaped blunt arête and a horizontal flake. Start on the flake and then stroke and pinch the arête until you have a blue berry moment.
- To the left and up a bit is Bald Mountain (project). Start on the northwest edge/arête, crimp to the right and top out. (The place does look like a John Gardner novel.)
- Above Space Monkey and a few steps south is a huge and obvious overhang and Freedom Rider (project). Start at the notch on the right and freedom ride your way up and left.
- Continuing further south and around and behind another boulder is Burning Spear (V3). You should be looking down toward the road directly into someone's back yard. In front of you is a high angle cave with an orange roof. Cave in a bit. Grab one hold underneath and another below the lip. Then send.
- Burning Spear the project caves way in and climbs out the regular route."

Greenwood

     Seth Smith has developed a bouldering area beneath a large cliff in Greenwood, Maine. He says that he has put up a bunch of problems, and that there is potential for a lot more. Contact Seth at Seth_Smith@umit.maine.edu for a tour.

Jockey's Cap

     Prior to moving to moving to Bishop, CA, Mick Ryan  (check out his great web page: www.rockfax.com) had begun compiling a guidebook for the state of Maine. As part of this project, he compiled a guide to sport climbing and bouldering at Jockey's Cap in Fryeburg, Maine. Issue 13 of the now defunct Crux Northeast contained an excerpt from the as-yet unpublished guidebook. Bob Parrott compiled the information for Jockey's Cap.

     This area is located off of Route 302 in Fryeburg, Maine (just over the border from New Hampshire). Parking is next to the Jockey Cap General Store, across from the Fryeburg Plaza. There are signs that make it very easy to find. Please be considerate when parking, and pick up a soda or a snack from the store on your way out. Unless you are a local, this area is worth a one day visit.

     The bouldering is located on several boulders at the base of the cliff and on the right and left sides of the cliff. The sport climbs are located on the front side of the cliff. The first boulder you reach on the trail is Molly's Boulder. The boulder has 11 problems ranging from VB to V6. Just past Molly's Boulder is the Spiritual Boulder, which has seven problems also ranging from VB to V6. To the right of the Spiritual Boulder is the Peary Boulder, which has 15 problems and three traverses ranging from V0- to V10. The classic problem of the area is located on the right side of the cliff. The Gorilla Traverse, V8/9 starts to the right of a small cave and moves left toward the arete until the climbing eases.

Bradbury Mountain

     Tim Toula's Rock'n Road gives the following directions to this state park: take the Freeport exit off of I95. Go north on Dyer to Highway 9. Follow 9 for approximately 4 miles. Turn right and go 0.5 mile to the park entrance. A visiting boulderer from Arizona e-mailed us the following directions: "On your way in ask the ranger for a map- Park at the Bradbury Mountain parking lot, walk through the play ground to campground parking- take the South Ridge trail for about 0.5 a mile up hill (you will know if you are on the right trail if you walk up three log stair cases). The trail will take a sharp right, when it does there will be a slab cliff about 20 feet high on the right side of the trail. Turn so that your back is to the slab -here is where you can get lost- walk straight down the rocky slope into the woods (on the map provided by the ranger there is a binoculars symbolizing a lookout point here). The boulders will appear after about a five minutes walk deep into the woods.
     Rock'n Road does say that this area may sport some of Maine's most difficult bouldering, so it may be worth the effort to try and find it. It also says the rock is rough. Greg Shyloski and Dave Sharrat have recently added some new problems here, the best of which are Twisted, V5/6, and Love Life, V4.

Land of Overhangs

     This area is located in Mechanic Falls and according to Rock'n Road features blocky roofs and overhangs (sounds good!). The directions in Rock'n Road say to park on the east side of Route 121 about two miles southeast of its intersection with Route 26. It says to cross a set of railroad tracks to follow a vague trail to the cliff's right end. Good luck! Anyone with better directions, please e-mail me.

     Greg and Dave have also recently added some new problems to this area: The Arete, V5, Utmonia, V3, and Excessive Acceleration, V6. Greg says that they are also working on several projects which may check in at the V8 level. Stay tuned.

Greg Shyloski getting in some winter bouldering at the Land of the Overhangs.

Portland Head

     John Sherman's Stone Crusade lists this area as a bouldering area. I went and checked it out and did not see anything that I was willing to risk trying. There does seem to be a lot of rock here, but most of the landings look horrendous. Either you land in a jumble of blocks or in the ocean. Sherman also mentions access issues, so call the Portland Rock gym and check the access before checking this area out. A local recently wrote us, saying "The landings are rough and landing in the ocean can be deadly. I have been climbing there recently with top rope. There are some fun problems and so far access has not been a problem."