A 2010 Throwback: 20 Routes at Mount Nemo in a Day

In Mid-August 2010, Justin Dwyer and Chris Scullion completed an impressive 20 routes-in-a-day enchainment at southern Ontario’s mysterious Mount Nemo crag.

Inspired by an article in Gripped about Andy Genereux climbing 50 routes on Yam on the year of his 50th birthday, Dwyer and Scullion decided to climb 20 routes in a day at Mount Nemo. See that article here.

The rules were simple: climb a minimum of 20 routes, descend at least once by every gully listed in the guidebook, climb at least one route on each wall listed in the guide and climb the classic lines Dufte 5.9, Cat’s Tail 5.9, High Society 5.10d and Camel 5.7.

The pair started climbing at 9:08 am and finished at  8:15 pm. Although the the pair consider the day a success, they fell short of their stringent goals as they were unable to use two descent gullys, missed climbing on five walls and did not send Cat’s Tail and High Society.

“All in all we climbed an estimated 375 metres of technical climbing between 5.2 and 5.11 and walked nearly six kilometres,” said Dwyer.

“It was brutal, we moved slow, climbed slow, racked slow, were slow with our changeovers, but we succeeded in climbing 20 routes together. Exactly 12 hours car-to-car.”

Route / Start / End
The Racoon 5.5 / 9:08 / 9:20
Dufte 5.9/ 9:30 / 9:54
Who’s Done It 5.4 / 10:17 / 10:34
steve’s Corner 5.2 / 10:52 / 11:05
Helmut’s Route 5.7 / 11:18 / 11:38
“new” route CG 5.5 / 11:50 / 12:05
Nicorette 5.10c / 12:13 / 12:28
The Roof 5.3 / 12:35 / 12:50
Vanna 5.7 / 1:00 / 1:20
Wideload 5.9 / 1:27 / 1:41
Running 5.11a/b / 1:43 / 2:00
Crazy Legs Ale 5.7 / 2:10 / 2:35
Guido 5.10b / 2:45 / 3:13
Missing Toe 5.10c / 3:35 / 3:50
Oh Ya It Fits 5.4 / 4:05 / 4:30
Grunge 5.5 / 4:45 / 5:10
The Long Wait 5.10d / 5:35 / 6:00
Camel 5.7 / 6:55 / 7:24
Ein Kleines 5.7 / 7:30 / 7:45
Kabine Crack? 5.7 / 7:55 8:15

Mount Nemo is located about 40 minutes outside of Toronto, contains close to 300 routes and is a popular crag for many southern Ontario climbers.

Characterized by sections of loose rock and complex route finding, Mount Nemo provides a surprisingly isolated mysterious climbing experience for anyone willing to explore the five-kilometre long cliff.