Climbing at Rumney with a big crew

18-May-13 through 19-May-13

Daniel and Erin had planned a whole weekend of climbing up at Rumney.  Unfortunately I couldn’t make the first night, since I’d set up an appointment a few months previous.  Instead, I drove up on Saturday, so that I could get most of Sunday to climb.

Saturday, 18-May-13

• The day starts with pain – I drive down to Enfield CT to get my dreads cleaned up.  It’s nice to have them looking and feeling good, but 5 and a half hours is a bit long for me to sit still…
• Head back to Boston to pack and hang out with Marla before I pick up Gabe from Alewife – a straggler who, like me, couldn’t get up to Rumney on Friday night.
• The drive is clean, though it’s a bit rough finding the camp.  Daniel picked a new place… more of an outdoor hostel than a campground.  It’s cool though – almost a co-op style farm
• We hang out, have dinner, and chat and drink late into the night.  Though not too late, because climbing is totally happening ASAP!

Sunday, 19-May-13

• I’m torn from my tent early… far too early for a Sunday, and doubly too early to be sport climbing.  What is this, Trad?  Jeeze… One of the guys Daniel brought along is hollering and kicking tents, trying to get us moving.
• You think I’m cranky… you should see Daniel and Erin when their morning nookie is interrupted… He’s not a happy camper.  I poke fun at them, of course, before starting to cook the eggs.
• Wait, no.  We’re going to cook at the parking lot, so that we get parking spots.  Smart!  Instead we pay at the main house and drive out to the cliffs!
• Cook eggs, brew espresso… people actually come up asking how much we’re charging for food.  “$20 for a plate!” we reply.  No one buys it 🙁
• After running back to get my shoes that I forgot, we start climbing up at the Main Cliff… nothing crazy, just a few fairly clean routes.  Daniel starts by teaching some folks how to clean gear… I’m honestly impressed with him, because he doesn’t even kill the guy who woke us up.
• Daniel, Erin and I take up a multi-pitch route:
  • “Big Easy” – 5.7 of clean sport
  • I take the lead on the 1^st pitch, then bring Daniel and Erin up
  • Daniel takes some of the second, but lowers off after a bit thanks to a tweaked hand or something
  • I clean out the next two pitches… or maybe just the 2^nd.  I can’t remember how many pitches there are.  It was fun though!
  • Good climbing – big holds and easy moves, but quite tiring.  I enjoy it immensely, and everyone rocks it out without much difficulty.
  • Someone tries following us directly up – we end up making them hang off the last bolt, since they want to clip into our anchor and belay off it while we’re using it.  No… no.  Not so much no.
  • After we get off Big Easy, almost to the minute, the rains fall and we start the wet walk back down to the cars.
  • Stop in at Tilton Diner for some food on the way back, but it’s mostly an uneventful drive down the highway and back into Boston.