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Devil's Lake partner needed for Saturday, September 27

Original Post
Chris Maher · · Hilltown, PA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 5

I just arrived in Wisconsin from my home in Idaho for a six-month job and will head up to Devil's Lake after work on Friday. I lead upper 10's on trad and have beaucoups experience.

Travis Kaney · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 420

Come to Boulder Bash at Governor Dodge State Park!

Chris Maher · · Hilltown, PA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 5
Dylan B. wrote:Go to the boulder bash this weekend; lots of people will be there and you'll meet future climbing partners. Also, be aware that Baraboo Quartzite (the rock at Devil's Lake) is pretty unique when it comes to climbing technique and gear placements. You might want to dial it back a few grades for the first couple of climbs until you get used to it.
Thanks for the advice - I will dial it back to start out. I'll see about the Boulder Bash. I climb sport, trad, big wall, mountains and ice, but I've never been much of a boulderer. Is there a web page for the BB?
Chris Maher · · Hilltown, PA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 5
TravisK wrote:Come to Boulder Bash at Governor Dodge State Park!
Thanks for the invite!
Travis Kaney · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 420
Sean Peter · · IL · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 105

Hey Chris-
Hope you found someone for this weekend. Next weekend the Chicago Mountaineering Club has an outing and could be a good way to meet some folks. We met up with them for the first time last weekend and there was a great range of climbing abilities and some really cool people. Also got to meet Pete Cleveland and watch him float up very difficult routes at 74yrs! One of the highlights of my summer getting great beta from and just chatting with a legend!
There were some groups that went off and lead stuff, and others that stuck to TR, so I'm sure you'd find someone to pair up with if the partner finder here doesn't pan out. cmcwebsite.org for info-

Ben Scheele · · Burnsville, MN · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 5

Hey Chris,
I definitely encourage you to join us at the CMC outing ( cmcwebsite.org/ ) this weekend. I will do my best to show you to some classic leads there, and steer you away from any sketchy and/or sandbagged routes that I know of. And with the CMC, you can get your fill of a wide variety of topropes too, which will get you accustomed to the climbing there quickly. It is going to be beautiful out there for the next few weeks with the fall colors. Last weekend was great, so I hope you got out. It may be a bit cool this weekend, but it should be prime sending temps, and there are many areas in the park that are quite comfortable in those conditions. I hope to see you there.

-Ben

Patrick Allen · · Chicago, IL · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

Hi Ben and Sean,

I am going up to the lake on Sunday mostly to hike around and check out the bouldering areas. Is there anyone that is part of the CMC outing who is familiar with the bouldering in the east bluff and wouldn't mind showing 2-3 people around?

Pat

Chris Maher · · Hilltown, PA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 5
Sean Peter wrote:Hey Chris- Hope you found someone for this weekend. Next weekend the Chicago Mountaineering Club has an outing and could be a good way to meet some folks. We met up with them for the first time last weekend and there was a great range of climbing abilities and some really cool people. Also got to meet Pete Cleveland and watch him float up very difficult routes at 74yrs! One of the highlights of my summer getting great beta from and just chatting with a legend! There were some groups that went off and lead stuff, and others that stuck to TR, so I'm sure you'd find someone to pair up with if the partner finder here doesn't pan out. cmcwebsite.org for info-
Thanks for the invite Sean. Last weekend I met a couple of good climbers as soon as I got to the rocks and climbed several routes with them. And this weekend I'm going back with the one of them.
Is there a meeting place/time the CMC will meet there at DL this Sat?
Chris Maher · · Hilltown, PA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 5
Ben Scheele wrote:Hey Chris, I definitely encourage you to join us at the CMC outing ( cmcwebsite.org/ ) this weekend. I will do my best to show you to some classic leads there, and steer you away from any sketchy and/or sandbagged routes that I know of. And with the CMC, you can get your fill of a wide variety of topropes too, which will get you accustomed to the climbing there quickly. It is going to be beautiful out there for the next few weeks with the fall colors. Last weekend was great, so I hope you got out. It may be a bit cool this weekend, but it should be prime sending temps, and there are many areas in the park that are quite comfortable in those conditions. I hope to see you there. -Ben
Thanks Ben. I'll be climbing at DL this weekend with a guy I met there last weekend, but I'll look for you guys as well.
Ben Scheele · · Burnsville, MN · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 5

Chris, I'm glad you found some people to climb with. I have done that myself on occasion, and have always been welcomed to join groups out there. I love how great the climbing community is.

The CMC outings start with a gathering at the CMC campground on Burma Road at 8:30am or so, where you can sign a waiver, hear the official warning, and then join a group to go out and climb, which will be led by one or more rope leaders who know how to get there and what the climbs are like. On busier weekends we usually split into two or more groups so we don't clog up any one area too badly. We often go to more obscure areas, since you can only climb in the popular and/or busy areas so many times before you get tired of that scene.

Sean Peter · · IL · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 105

Hey Pat-
Honestly, I've only climbed with CMC once so far- so I'm not sure about the bouldering involvement. My guess from what I saw is that it's more roped climbing both lead and TR. But there are many folks in the group that seem to know every inch of the lake- so they'd certainly be able to help you find locations. I know personally, even with the guide book in one hand and MP app in the other, I've done a great job at getting lost along the west bluff looking for stuff. But the East bluff is usually crawling with plenty of people to help with directions and ideas of what to jump on. About 50% of the time you'll ask a group what route they are climbing (or what buttress it is even) just so you can get your bearings of where you're at …. and they'll have no idea- they just saw something that looked good and jumped on it. (which is kinda cool actually) but walk down to the next group and they'll give you some great suggestions and help you find what you're looking for. I'm sure that goes for bouldering as well.

Ben Scheele · · Burnsville, MN · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 5

Pat,
Yeah, the CMC isn't so much about bouldering in general. We do a fair amount of "bouldering on a rope", but I've never been bouldering with the CMC. There is an annual midnight bouldering fest at the Burma Boulders near the campground, but I have never joined in on that. I have been bouldering at DL once at the area near the Leaning Tower, and I actually saw someone in a different group take a fall onto a pad from about twenty feet up. He got pretty messed up, and that kind of turned me off from that scene. I am pretty impressed with the work the local boulderers have put into the MP database, though. I would recommend you check out some of the easier to find (and to protect) sites like the one I mentioned first. Good luck.

-Ben

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Midwest
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