Bill and I went up to Rumney this weekend for an ‘outdoor sport climbing tutorial’ to prepare him for our trip up to Acadia next weekend. I took him over to the Meadows, No Money Down Wall at first…but the routes were easy and it was SOO crowded (basically like a dirty indoor gym with trees).

False Modesty 5.7
Way easy and a good first lead (there are no ‘panic’ sections). I’d rate it a 5.6 though. 4 bolts to a quick clip anchor.

Mr. Popular 5.9
Seriously, the first two moves are the crux. Stick clip the first bolt or you’ll be driving home with dirt all over your pants. After you find a way to get on the wall, the route is fun. 6 bolts to a quick clip anchor (slightly overhanging).

Bored with the beginners’ area, we decided to up the ante over at the Orange Crush wall. I scared the shit out of myself leading Purple Microdot 5.10b (10 bolts to quick clip anchors) and then scared the shit out of Bill by making him climb through the crux and actually touch the anchors. The daylight faded fast so we didn’t get to stay as long as I wanted. Orange Crush has some serious, overhanging routes and I can’t wait to go back.

Everything about Rumney rocked with the exception of being eaten alive by mosquitoes… AGAIN. Even when I put 100% deet all over my body they still feast on my flesh. And I think I’m developing some weird allergy to them…all of the bites I’ve been getting recently have swelled up really big and stuff. I thought about taking a picture of one and posting it on here, but I figure that no one really wants to see that. So consider yourselves lucky. If I get West Nile I’ll be sure to turn this blog into a record of my death.

Also, Bill and I forgot to take any pictures of our trip. I’ll post some Montezuma’s Tower pictures and a route description later this week and will be sure to take lot of pictures/video of Acadia next weekend. Stay tuned!

Tags: rock climbing, Travel

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