climbing around the North Shore MA

just got home after being gone for years. pretty much trying to think of climbing areas that have no info about them online.

first thought is that there must be climbing in the quarries of Rockport MA? How about Halibut Point's quarry? I know theres at least a few that must have potential. Although they are a little foggy in my memory, mostly from old thoughts regarding quarry jumping in the summer times.

are there any secret spots? the more cracks the better..

so far ive only checked out red rocks since i got back... it was a fun free solo afternoon, but it would be nice to get on some things where i feel rope is necessary around here.

Lots of rock around Cape Ann, but unfortunately most of it is low and slabby and there really aren't many hard cracks. At least to my knowledge. Off the top of my head you could check out dangle's crack (short but 5.10) at southwall and no pro at down under. There is also supposedly a good crack climb at arrowhead cliff but I am not sure what the access is like there now. Other than that there are bunch of boulders out there with some decent crack climbing at harder grades.

The quarries are generally on private property and access is officially barred. You would have to pretty ballsy to climb at halibut point IMO, but some caution and stealth can get you into other ones.

Your best bet is to take up slab climbing and/or bouldering. Or head to Pawtuckaway and beyond.

if you do find any hard cracks, let me know.

Jim

Doug's roof, one little indian and tin man are all great cape ann crack lines. The quarries are sketch as the cops mean business.
Lynn woods has a few. Dog leg crack at wetamoo is a sweet bob parrot line and tour of duty at the bob johnson boulders. Also on the saugus side of lynn woods off route 1 is a nice crack called pizza and beer in an old abandoned quarry.

K so basically i've came to the conclusion that the North Shore doesn't have anything to get excited about.

where are the best spots to venture to? Quincy quarry seems like it may be the closest / best spot?

What about Red Rocks in Gloucester? Some interesting stuff there, even if not entirely plentiful.

If you are looking for crack climbing then you are in the wrong state (and probably on the wrong coast). Your best bet is get to North Conway and Canon before for the season ends. (Hurry!) There are also good quality-- but shorter-- cracks at Pawtuckaway (single pitch and boulders). Depending on where you are, Conway is just over two hours and P-way is just over an hour. Much better options for a Northshore climber than Quincy Quarries IMHO.

If you do start commuting to Quincy for climbing, turn in your Northshore Card immediately.

Jim

If you're willing to drive for about an hour, the best cracks in MA are probably at Crow Hill. Cro-Magnon and Jane are both classic.
mountainproject.com/v/crow-…

It's bouldering but have you checked out Lynn Woods??? My grandparents used to live a few blocks away and there's litterally tons of rock. PM Old Timer on this site... he's one of the main developers.

The cracks at Crow Hill are very good. Farley Ledge is worth the two hour drive and hosts many great cracks from 5.8 to 5.13 with a good concentration in the upper 5.10 to mid 5.11 range. Pawtuckaway has good cracks as well...

GMBurns wrote:What about Red Rocks in Gloucester? Some interesting stuff there, even if not entirely plentiful.

It's a cute crag but nothing to really get excited about. i need to check out down under, Oz, the sunshine wall, and maybe one more spot there though. so far i've just fooled around on the pink floyd and main wall. unfortunately there the hardest lines are probably slab.. which isn't what im looking for.

jim.dangle wrote:If you are looking for crack climbing then you are in the wrong state (and probably on the wrong coast). Your best bet is get to North Conway and Canon before for the season ends. (Hurry!) There are also good quality-- but shorter-- cracks at Pawtuckaway (single pitch and boulders). Depending on where you are, Conway is just over two hours and P-way is just over an hour. Much better options for a Northshore climber than Quincy Quarries IMHO. If you do start commuting to Quincy for climbing, turn in your Northshore Card immediately. Jim

I say quincy b/c my brother lives in Sommerville and i figure itd be an ideal spot to meet him at to try to convince him to climb, since i dont have any partners after moving back a few weeks ago.

i am on the wrong coast also for sure. never been a fan of the east coast, already lived here the first 21 years of my life. Only back nice since i spent all my funds on traveling for 8 months and i need to save up a bit more to move away again, lol.

i'll see if i can convince my brother to make the drive to RI or Western MA. Not too amped up to go to Lynn for bouldering though... i think theres a decent amount of boulders in gloucester/manchester which should be enough for when i want to boulder... im not a huge bouldering fan though.

thanks for the advice guys.

I will say, as a Cape Ann local, that living on the North Shore you simply have to get stoked about bouldering.... or drive a long way for truly staunch roped routes. That being said, hop on Laughing Gull (5.11+ (hahahaha) originally put up with just one cam in the crack, which is 30' up and 10' above the crux) at the Main wall at Red Rocks and tell me it is "cute." Seriously though.... there are more world class boulders in the North Shore than you will ever be able to send in a life time.... no matter how hard you are climbing. Shoot me a PM if you want a good schooling on some local pebbles that will hopefully get you a bit more amped on the local wee stones.

It's kinda of funny this guys calls Red Rocks "cute". I also think it is hilarious he writes off the climbing in Cape Ann and in Lynn Woods just in general after ASKING for advice. Hope you found your cracks buddy. I have a few cracks to clean and project right here in Lynn Woods. Phaeton Rock Cliff has a couple, the Krack House has a sick crack, Mad Science Wall has a sick crack. B Pond Cliff has 2 sick cracks. The Overlook area in Lynn Woods has a sick hands to offwidth. The Driven Boulder has a sick OW. I could really go on and on and on. Some of these are trad climbs, most are boulders. You want areas that aren't "online" yet it sounds like you really want to climb greasy, well known, documented cracks that are long. Go to the Barber Wall my friend. Those cracks are awesome. 

jTaylor wrote: Jim I say quincy b/c my brother lives in Sommerville and i figure itd be an ideal spot to meet him at to try to convince him to climb, since i dont have any partners after moving back a few weeks ago.

A lot of people go to Quincy Quarries to tag and trash the place. While it can be a pretty big drawback in terms of aesthetics, it's super convenient and has a ton of routes with bolts for top rope anchors, making it hard to pass up when you can't make it to a destination. There are a few bolted sport routes.

Hammond pond is probably the next closest crag but with only a handful, easy routes. You'll need a long length of webbing or static cord for an anchor as most of the trees are set back 20-30' from the ledge.

Crow hill is about an hour from most of Somerville and is considerably more impressive than the Quarry and Hammond Pond, which can take just as long to get to with traffic.