Climbing in Acadia National Park

Gabe, Paul and I at the entrance to Acadia National Park, Maine

Gabe, my brother Paul and I just got back from a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. We were really fortunate with weather because it only rained when we were driving. When camping, climbing or hiking the weather was perfect. I am not sure I would want to drive out to Maine again. It was a long time to drive and the frequent toll booths really slow your pace (not to mention over $90 in tolls out and back).

We took a side trip to Lake Placid and the Adirondacks and camped a night there. When we arrived at Acadia, I was amazed at the number of people there. According to the NPCA, Acadia has over 2 million visitors per year and is ranked 9 among the most visited national parks. The density of traffic was probably worse than any other national park we have been in. It is probably because Bar Harbor is smaller town with narrow streets. Parking was nearly impossible to find.

With all that said, camping at the Blackwoods campground in the park was fantastic. We enjoyed our time there. However, the best part was the climbing. We climbed at Otter Cliffs and The Precipice (Son of "O") and some other single pitch routes over two days. We also did some hiking to take some photos from the top of some of the mountains. Beautiful views of the ocean and the pink granite offered some great photo opportunities. It was some of the best climbing we have ever experienced. I would go back to climb at Acadia again, but would probably lean toward flying into Boston and driving up from there.

Gabe and I on a climb at Acadia National Park . Directly behind us is the Atlantic Ocean.

Climbing at Sugar Loaf in Winona, MN

Gabe and I spent a day climbing at Sugar Loaf, in Winona, MN. It was the first time we had climbed there. The routes are shorter but having a place like that so close to La Crosse compared with the drive to Devil's Lake is great.There are a small number of bolted sport routes on Sugar Loaf, all are fun to climb. Sport climbing is where bolts have previously been drilled into the rock so you can clip your rope into them as you climb to protect you in case you fall. The view is spectacular when you get to the top. We climbed a few routes and then set up a top rope to run some laps on a couple of areas. Contact us at www.midwestmountainguides.com if you are interested in climbing.

Here you see Gabe on a route at Sugar Loaf in Winona, MN

Teachers and Families Climbing at Devils Lake

Getting Angie tied into the rope and ready for a climb.

Jodi and Jax enjoying a successful climbing day.

Gabe and I took the Logan Staff and their families climbing at Devil's Lake on Mother's Day. They fearlessly scaled the vertical quartzite rock faces of Devil's Lake State Park.What a beautiful day it turned out to be, cool in the AM and warm sunshine in the early PM. We also managed to stay away from the swarms of flies by the lake. Everyone had a great time which was followed by a social at The Barn (a local Baraboo eatery).

Skiing at Welch Village

Gabe and I went to Welch Village in Minnesota for a short ski get-a-way on Saturday. The weather was crisp and cold but the snow was great. Welch has a nice selection of runs and quite a few short black diamond runs. We worked out way to the back bowl and met Nick (one of the members of the Mt. La Crosse Ski Patrol) by chance in one of the lift lines. We skied together for a while before Nick had to go meet his family. Gabe and I spent the rest of the early PM on the front side and then headed out to out hotel for the night for some pizza and relaxation. The video above was taken of Gabe on one of the runs in the back bowl at Welch.

Taylors Falls-Interstate Park

On Aug. 9th we traveled home from an overnight stay in Duluth. My Brother Paul, Gabe and I stopped at Taylor's Falls to do some hiking and climbing. It was raining in the AM so we went to the interpretive center to absorb some of the history of the park. In the afternoon, the weather broke and gave us a 3 hour window to do some climbing. Paul wanted to do some rappels because the North Shore (where we had just came from) can be somewhat intimidating to a new climber. We climbed on the Wisconsin side and then we traveled to River Falls where we spent a night in the Kinni Creek Lodge. The lodge turned out to be a great place to stay and I wish we had more time to explore Kinni Creek for fishing and kayaking.

Paul demonstrating his "rock skills" on rappel at Taylor's Falls.

The Jimmy's shirt (from the best Blue's Band in the World) making an appearance by one of the famous Pot Holes created by glacier melt water at Taylor's Falls.

Climbing at the North Shore (Shovel Pt and Palisade Head)

On August 6 and 7, my brother Paul, Gabe and I traveled to Tettegouche State Park in Minnesota to camp and do some climbing at Palisade Head and Shovel Point. We camped in the park and had some cool temps at night which we welcomed because of the hot and humid July we had in the La Crosse area. On Monday we climbed at Shovel Point. We then went back to Shovel Point on Tuesday to complete one route we did not do before driving over to Palisade Head. The biggest difference between the two climbing areas in my opinion is that Palisades give the sense of being a more serious climbing location. The climbs are longer and seem more exposed. At Shovel Point, many of the popular routes are bolted (massive bolts and hangers) to make it easy to set up your top rope. The first day we climbed we had brisk winds coming in off the lake which made it a coat day to keep warm. The second day, it was sunny and calm and the biting black flies were out in force. The views of Lake Superior were spectacular. It was quite a contrast watching the pounding surf on Monday and then the water like a sheet of glass on Tuesday. It was my mistake not to come up here sooner. We will plan another visit next summer.

(L-R) Gabe, Paul and I at Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park, MN

Gabe and I on the North Tower at Palisades Head in Tettegouche State Park, MN

Gabe and I double checking the system before we begin climbing. (If you are interested, the orange rope is a 7/16" static line anchored to two big trees (no bolts on this route) to create our master point. One 60 m rope is used to set up a releasable rappel. As the climber rappels to the bottom on one strand he/she is backed up by a munter controlled by the belayer at the top on the other strand which is tied directly to his harness.  We use a mule hitch to lock it out and then switch to a GriGri to safely bring the climber up from the bottom of the climb.)

Gabe rappelling down to start his climb over Lake Superior at Shovel Point.

The whole trip was not spent climbing. This is the beach at Shovel Point where we spent some time relaxing. We had a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest because it was so cold... I lost.

I took this picture of the Lake Superior shoreline while standing on Shovel Point.

Climbing Devils Tower, WY

Gabe and I made a quick run from South Dakota up to Devils Tower with the intent of doing a one day summit attempt on July 26th. We were a little wore out from climbing in South Dakota so we got a hotel in Hulett and got a good nights rest. We started later in the AM around 11:30 AM. The forecast was clear so we were not as concerned about thunderstorms but we still kept our eyes open to any changes. We went up the Assembly Line route which was a 5.9. We are not used to crack climbing so it was very challenging. It was 110' of sustained 5.9 crack. After we completed the pitch we were both pretty wore out. The last two pitches to the top were relatively easy. We signed the summit register and enjoyed the view from the top for about 20 minutes. Three rappels later, we were down on the ground and back to the parking by about 4:00 PM.

Gabe is starting the 5.9 pitch of the Assembly Line

Gabe and I holding the summit register at the top of Devils Tower

Gabe and I sitting on the edge and enjoying the view on the West side. We are clipped into two bolted anchors. You can see the visitor center and the lot where we parked below.

Gabe getting ready to start the first rappel down to the base 800' below.

This is a short video clip of Gabe mid-route on the crux of Assembly Line on Devils Tower.