Philip Quade’s Road Trip Update and Historic V11 Send in Calabogie
It was good to get home for a few days between long hauls on the road. I had two days of developing and climbing on my boulders in Quadeville, Ont., and a third day at Red Rock’s Pet Rock Boulders, near Round Lake. It had been almost a year since Kyle Jessup and I had hit rock together, the last time being in Hatcher Pass, Alaska, last summer. In total I began work on an additional eight lines on my boulders, bringing the working total from three to eleven, with a great variety of grades.
Hitting the road once again, I stopped over in Calabogie, and met up with Ottawa-based rock star Alexandra Peirce. Alex gave me a great tour of some Calabogie classics, including her killer bat-hang beta on Twisted by Design V5. We climbed until the heat got the best of us – I would return later in the afternoon with Kyle and get his friend Alicia out for her first day on rock. A solid day out all-round and a great way to kick off the next leg of the trip.
Weather was not in my favour getting into New Brunswick. I waited it out a few days, hoping the rain would clear long enough to head into Munson Lake to scope out some developed boulders on the lakes back end. But after three days it was time to move along. Though arriving in Halifax, I was met with the same fate it would seem. But to our luck, the morning I arrived at Seven Bays Bouldering in Halifax to meet my crew for Dover Island, we were pleasantly surprised with great weather.
It was a big day on the island, full of classics, projects and soaking up the sea-side life. The day kicked off at Warm-up area, and quickly moved on to One Scoop area, to work Orangutan (originally V4 before hurricane damage cut away holds and pushed the problem up to the V6/7 range). I got a lot of great shooting in, and also took some time to get on rock myself. I couldn’t pass up this area without getting a few runs in. Sections linked well on Orangutan, which was a really good feeling, having not hit much over V4 in weeks. I put in several lines in Warm Up area, and took a run at Orgasmatron, a sweet little high-ball classic V0, which also makes for a great crack climb and stellar photo-op. I even got my dyno on for a bit, getting what the crew thought to be the first repeat (moments after Mitch Brinton stuck the FA), on Dinner for Three V3. The wet weather was unfortunate, but I continued to make the best of it, taking a training/work day at Seven Bays and holding out for one more shot at some LOC (Land of Confusion) bouldering.
New Brunswick just wasn’t in the cards this trip, it seems. Clear skies and moderate temps lined the forecast, but as I rolled through Moncton, the clouds set in and the heavy rains hit. The storms ran right along the coast, down to Saint John, hitting both areas I had in my sights. I made an attempt to sit out the rain for a while, hoping it would break and by morning things would be dry. But the rain kept coming and the storm got harder. Finally I checked the weather report one more time and sure enough, the coast was swamped once again with wet.
There was work waiting for me if the weather was good back in Ontario. When I first left Calabogie, I hadn’t had enough of the area. Conditions were looking good, so I touched base with my crew from Ottawa and within what seemed like moments, had a new plan, a project and renewed stoke (after a somewhat disappointing stint of bad weather on the coast). I spent the night in Fredericton and hit the road for the long haul to Ottawa the next day.
After nearly 12 hours on the road – battling traffic and construction – I landed in Ottawa. I took advantage of being back early by taking two days out to train at Coyote Rock Gym, while I stayed with my brother, Paul and his family. I had missed the feeling of a good training day – Feeling completely spent and so productive. In the evenings I worked on research, building tick lists for our shoot in Calabogie, as well as a personal tick list of problems I hoped to get on once shooting had wrapped up and assumed my responsibilities as a good uncle, by spending some quality time watching climbing videos with my 14 month old nephew, Randy, such as La Dura Complete, The Dawn Wall, The Journey: Angie Payne in Greenland. They’re never too young for a good education.
Shooting in Calabogie was a great time – Back at it with Alexandra Pierce and this time joined by Samuel Tiukuvvra. Alex and I had done some previous shooting and exploring in the area before I set out for the east. This time we set a long list of problems to hit, including what would be one of the most exciting moments in the shoot, including the first ascent of Intro to West Side Story V11 by Sam. The now-hardest problem in Calabogie. Sam also unlocked a new project which he believes could run as hard as V13. I’ll be excited to see this one go.
It’s exciting to see so much climbing potential around the area where I grew up, considering the 18 years I lived here, I didn’t know climbing existed. Then, once I started climbing, having no idea that central and eastern Ontario could offer anything of quality. Now, I have three areas within an hour’s drive and much more potential to be explored even closer. We have one more day of shooting in Calabogie coming up before I make my way to northern Ontario and then, begin the journey west, into the last leg of my trip. I can’t believe the half way point has come and gone.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
