Here is a very nice blog entry written by Andy Ryan. Andy went climbing with us in Camden last week. The climbing in Camden is superb. With terrain suitable for folks of all ages and abilities, and amazing views, the climbing in the Camden Hill’s is a must do if your in the mid coast. A big thanks to Andy for writting this trip report and for sharing it with everyone. We look forward to climbing with you again!
The view from atop Barrett's Cove cliff. One of many great climbing areas in Camden
We were up in Maine on vacation 2 weeks ago and for people who love the outdoors, Maine is like a playground. There’s so much great hiking, biking, paddling and climbing.
I spent many hours in the kayak and did some hiking but I wanted to feed my desire for rock climbing. As I was thumbing through the pages of a local magazine I stumbled across an ad for climbing. I was stoked! The place was called The Atlantic Climbing School (http://www.climbacadia.com/). They had 2 locations; Acadia National Park up in Bar Harbor (about a 2 hour drive from where we were) or Camden which was only 20 minutes. Sweet! I gave them a ring and got one of the founders of the school, Pete Fasoldt, on the phone. Super nice guy, and hooked us up with a 4 hour beginners class.
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| Barret’s Cove – Camden, ME |
Friday couldn’t come quick enough. We met our guide on Rt. 52 in Camden, right next to Lake Megunticook. As we looked to our right at the turn out, I could see the rock face that we would be climbing. It looked pretty intimidating to say the least. At this point I was thinking that maybe I should have done a few more indoor trips before I tackled something like this, but I forged ahead.
Let me talk about how awesome our guide was. His name was Ryan Howes. Absolutely brilliant. Very laid back, extremely knowledgable about climbing and the terrain. Just an all around great person to have for your very first outdoor climbing experience. I really lucked out here. He came prepared with all the gear, and a tremendous amount of patience.
First things, first…signing of the classic waiver form, so if I crack my head, I can’t blame ACS. It was funny though, unlike most waiver forms, that I typically sign after merely skimming, this one I read pretty thoroughly. After signing, we got into our harnesses and tried on some shoes. Thank God the shoes fit pretty well. Ryan then went through all the gear that he was bringing up with him, which was very cool. The engineer in me was studying each piece, marveling at the engineering and wondering how much money I was going to have to plunk down to suport my upcoming gear junkie habit.
Once we had all our gear, Ryan led us up the path to the beginning of the ascent on the rock. What was really cool about this whole experience was that Ryan took the time to carefully explain everything, including the types of terrain that we would be encountering, the history of the area and the ecology. I was very impressed. We even got into a discussion about the Access Fund (http://www.accessfund.org/) and how Ryan received a grant a few years ago to help restore some of the climbs and paths. Very cool stuff.
So, onto climbing. The first thing we got was a lesson in knots and general rope handling. We practiced the knots a number of times until Ryan felt comfortable that we knew them. The next thing I got was my very first belay lesson. It looks pretty easy, but there are definitely nuances with this skill, especially if I were to climb with different people.
Now that I had the belaying down, it was time for Ryan to put himself in my hands…uh oh…I asked him if he was sure about this, and he said yes, and off he went. Something I learned is, that apparently someone needs to go first to bring the rope up, which I believe is called top roping. I guess I thought the ropes just magically appeared, or maybe I was expecting Ryan to take out a “batarang” to get the ropes connected.
Anywho, I watched him climb up the rock and I was actually pretty nervous until he placed his first safety anchor in. He continued all the way up to the top, as I fed more and more rope to him. Once he had the rope secured at the top and through all the safety anchors, it was time for him to come back down and see if his belay lesson took. Thankfully, I did ok. I really give the gear most of the credit here though. It made it pretty easy.
So, first up was my son. After another refresher in knot tying, we got Jack on the rope and I decided to let Ryan belay him. Just felt more comfortable, this being the first time and all. I believe we started on something called Becky-Joy, which is a 5.5 I believe. Jack was a little timid at the start but then settled in and started climbing like a little monkey. He made it all the way up, listening to Ryan the whole way. He did so great and I’m very proud of him. He came down just as well, placing the rope back into the anchors like he’s done this a million times before. It was pretty cool to watch.
I was next up, and like Jack, I was very timid at the start. No idea really what to do. Again, Ryan was great, giving me tips along the way, but mostly he watched and analyzed the way I was climbing. I made it to the top without restarting and felt exhausted, but extremely happy with what I just did.
The great thing about where we were climbing was that it afforded us a number of routes without having to take the rope from the top. The next couple of routes were actually better than the first. They were about the same difficulty but they allowed Ryan to help us with some of the varying techniques that climbers use for certain situations. One of the climbs I was really able to focus much more on my balance and my breathing, which were key.
The final climb was not really a climb, it was an epic fail, but something to aspire to. One of the routes is called “Old Stud”, it’s a 5.10a. For a beginner like me, it looked impossible, and it was. I was able to climb about 4 feet and that was it, completely stuck. Oh well, maybe next time.
I really couldn’t have asked for a better first outdoor climbing experience. The weather was perfect, the terrain was exactly what I was looking for and the guide was awesome. I can’t wait to get out there again.
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