Cape Ann 

The Driven Boulder....

Cape Ann in general has a rich history of climbing. Hard locals who you have never heard of have done the majority of these problems back in the '80s. It is out of respect to these individuals that I (nor should anyone else) claim first ascents or name (aside from just a form of description from one to another) these problems. They are there, they have been there, and they have all been climbed. Enjoy, clean up after yourself and respect. Granite.

Chris had me belay him on this slab onsight/clean and scrub/trad... and the start is the crux with 3m of steep slab and no pro till that crack. T.o unknown bugs were killer that day, didn't care to stick around... when will the winter come!?

My parents moved to Rockport a few years ago, and I've been in town a couple times. After a bit of exploration, I discovered a few top rope anchors above a slab at the one of the Lanesville Pits. Anybody know anything about these climbs? I'm planning on checking it out when I return this November. The routes are probably 20-30 feet on what looks like pretty low angle slab, as I remember, so nothing to get too excited about.

It also occurs to me that there could be top rope potential for some longer routes on the walls at a few of the quarries. Not to mention soloing on the quarry walls! One of the Lanesville Pits (northeast?) has a wall which is more than 40 feet. I was also told of a third pit with a 75 foot wall, but I wasn't able to find it. It may also be possible to access the walls by traversing above the water from near the bottom, but I didn't look closely.

Also, presumably people have bouldered on some of the numerous boulders in Dogtown Commons, but there isn't any information here.

From previous posts, I'm led to believe that everything climbable on Cape Ann has been climbed. It would be nice to preserve some of the history, which is only possible if it's documented!

I'm not sure where else to look for information; any help is appreciated.

The top anchors in question were put in by me and get mostly used by project adventure, but there are a number of short, fun lines there for folks climbing 5.5 - 5.8. The best access is parking by the Plum Cove beachball field (resident sticker required) and hiking up the trail. The bouldering in Dogtown is amazing but involves quite a bit of walking, and unless you are very familiar with the trails, it is hard to say where the best blocks are. A Dogtown map is availible (The Gloucester Book Store, on-line? and at the kiosk heading into dogtown off Cherry St.) and a great start for bouldering is Whales Jaw, Peter's Pulpit, and Spiritual Power at the Babson Boulders. PM me if you want a bit more goods.

How are the climbing conditions this time of year? Sunshine wall seems like an obvious choice, but wondering if there are other good cold weather options....

Mop Grip Quarry might be good. Most of the quarries in Gloucester should be warm(isher), but right now I think your gonna be fighting the ice that's starting to come in. Bouldering this time of year is generally a safe bet though.

I was looking for info on some boulders in Peabody when I came across this eccentric site.

the-conglomerate-journals.blogspot.com/2013/03/certainly-dye>>>

Among the many pages of random rock related pictures, there are several interesting ones of large erratics and good-looking outcrops on and around Cape Ann and Essex County in general. Most are historic shots. Many of these are probably known about by some boulderer, but if anyone is bored or motivated (the two are often same thing) and wants to find some new stone to climb dig through these images. You might find something cool.

Jim