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[llamero]

I'd been wanting to make this for a while.  It seems whenever I'm down at Monument Cove there's a bewildered group of out-of-staters wanting to know where the routes are.  So yesterday, the wife and I grabbed our new video camera and headed on down to the cove.  No one has ever told me the names or grades of the routes, so the generic names and grades are completely my own creation (sorry bp/fcp).  I should also point out that I only climb V1+ or below, so all these routes fall into the V0-V1+ range.  There's an endless multitude of ways to climb at the cove, so these are just a sample of some of the more popular problems that are climbed regularly.

The classic routes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc-4e3_I4V8

A long traverse problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Us7GATKig

  Hope this helps anyone coming to Acadia,
     Ben

[llamero]

For those not wanting to watch the kick-ass movie with Apocalyptica's tribute to the rock classic "Nothing Else Matters", or a woman sing baritone German, here's a photo guide to the cove as well:

Monument Cove

Monument Cove is between Thunder Hole and the Gorham Mountain parking lot on the Park Loop Road.  You can park right on the turn over-looking the cove, or park at the Gorham Mountain trailhead and just walk over.


The Crimp (V1)
Start sitting on the ground, with the two small crimpy holds as the starting holds.  Pull yourself off the ground and continue going straight up.  If you have a crash pad, you can go right over the top block, otherwise you can detour right for a more solid top-out.




The Roof (V1+)
Start sitting under the roof, feet on the supporting rock, both hands on the obvious jug over head.  Pull yourself off the ground, work your way out from under the roof, and then pull yourself up and over the lip to the top.




The Corner (V0+)
Start sitting in the corner, hands on the small arrete.  Pull up and continue straight up the corner to the top.


The Cave (V1)
Start feet under the roof, hands matching on a low, shallow slot on the left hand side.  Power up to more positive holds, and climb out to the top.  A harder variation is to not use a stem and climb out towards the left (V3?).


New project (V2)
Start sitting on a block to the right of the roof.  Work your way out along the top edge; eventually you run out of foot holds and it's pure campusing joy from there.  Turn the corner, and climb down to traverse around the lip of the roof before climbing out the top just to the right of "The Cave."  Warning: Once you turn the corner the face is not vertical so your chest does get chewed up a bit if you swing.




The Traverse (VB)
If you're taller than 5' 10" this is a VB warm-up, if you're shorter than 5' 3" this is a challenging V1.  Start from just left of "The Cave" and work your way left across the entire face.  Turn the corner at the end and climb up to top out.




The Great Traverse (V1+)
This is a challenging endurance variation of the traverse.  The start is the same for "The Roof."  Rather than pulling up over the lip of the roof, traverse around the edge, and continue on left over the top of "The Cave" and then down climb onto "The Traverse" and follow "The Traverse" to the finish!




Enjoy and feel free to add on any of your own favorite problems!

[bennybrew]

that's a big pile of beta! thanks!

ps i have a bouldering pad. not sure how you'd carry it on yer bike...

[llamero]

I betcha I could fit it on my Xtracycle

[Admin Al]

I betcha I could fit it on my Xtracycle

sweet ride dude!

[llamero]

A quick update on some routes:

Around the Roof (V2)
The wife and I went down to Monument Cove this afternoon, and I finished the "New Project" which is a traverse around the entire roof and would rate it a V2.  Be sure to have a spotter or crash pad for the part where you down-climb to the lip of the roof.  If you lost your balance you would probably knock your noggin pretty good. 

The Cave - No stem variation (V1+)
I also tried the variation on "The Cave" where you don't stem, but rather just claw your way up the face.  It turned out there were some foot holds and a crimper where you'd want them, so that makes this a strenuous/pumpy V1+ in my book (not the V3 I was originally guessing).

[sneoh]

No one has ever told me the names or grades of the routes, so the generic names and grades are completely my own creation (sorry bp/fcp). 

Thanks for posting all these nice pics.  Some of the problems look pretty good.
Do you have a feeling how close your grading of V1 and V2 is to the accepted norms for those grades?
I'll probably be up in Arcadia next summer with the family.  I could probably spring an afternoon free to go exploring around Monument Cove and get on some problems.  Just wondering what to expect.
Thanks,
-Soon

[llamero]

The grading is based off of what I remember from indoor bouldering at the University of Washington, and from the following equivalencies to climbing grades according to wikipedia: V0 = 5.8, V0+ = 5.9, V1 = 5.10-, V1+ = 5.10+, and V2 = 5.11-.  As I have yet to be able to get past any crux harder than a low 5.11, I take that to mean I do not have the strength or skill to climb beyond V2, and that V2 should be near the limits of my strength and skill. 

For Acadia route equivalencies:
V0 = Climbing over the bulge on the first pitch of High Plains Drifter on Precipice (5.8)
V0+ = Doing the hand-jam/layback sequence up Birch Ade (5.9+)
V1 = Worming your way up the wet crack at the bottom half of From Russia with Love (5.10-)
V1+ = The sequence at the top half of Tap Dance at Otter Cliffs (5.10)
V2 = Pulling the crux move on Connecticut Cracks (5.11a)

In terms of what to expect, this is only a small portion of the all the possible climbs on a small portion of the whole cove, i.e. you could spend a solid week there climbing and still be inventing new routes.  Most of the climbing is in the VB to V1+ range, however I have seen some people inventing problems that would easily be in the V3-V5 range; here's a very impressive example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BypEE5eJCgA

[sneoh]

Thanks.  If it happens, I'll look to get on as many V1 through V4/V5 problems as time, strength, and endurance allows.

BTW, the one time I tried CC on TR(!), I could not do the lower crux on it.  I am terrible as a pure crack climber but I do know I am generally OK with V2 problems.  Your mileage may vary. 

[Alore]

Not monument cove but acadia none the less.

http://boulderacadia.weebly.com/index.html

Maybe you should hook up with them and add your videos to their website.