Hey all, every year I attempt to lead as many routes as possible in a day at the lake and was wondering if there are any "big days" that othres have logged. Personally I've always thought that 25-30 in a day would be epic. What the history? I would expect some DLFA standard of 30 routes with a cocktail for each or something along those lines...

My personal record is 14 routes in a single day, swinging leads with Burt Lindquist. That, however, was in mid-November. With some better strategy and a significantly longer summer day, I'd bet I could hit the 20's fairly easily. Now, if I had to lead that many routes (instead of leading half, following half), that would be quite a challenge.

Ben Sanders and myself had an "Ironman Day" in 2005, same day as IM WI. I think we got 20 routes that day, east and west bluff, all on-sight leads. We originally went for 15 but were having a good day so we went further. I recall Watermarks, Jolly Rodger, Dippy Diagonal, and track cracks.

didn't jason huston do some big solo days when he lived in the area? if we include free solos as ascents, then he surely has had the biggest days. if not, it'd be hard to do too big of a day at DL, what with setting up all the belay anchors and all.

best place for (non solo) big days in MN/WI has to be red wing. a few months ago i did all the 11's -- 31 in all -- in a day. it was super fun and, with all the fixed anchors, way easy in terms of logistics.

now, if you also count bouldering, the best place for a big day would have to be taylors falls. for a truly big day, do some circuits at taylors, then hop in the car and go to sandstone, where you can do more problems. you could probably get in 30-40 problems that day!

Group Campsite B in Governor Dodge State Park would be a good place to do a crapload of boulder problems in a single day, especially because of the wealth of easy problems.

Back to Devils Lake, though, a cool challenge would be to try to do the maximum possible number of routes on the summer solstice, between dawn and dusk. Any takers?

Back in the early 1990's, when I lived in the midwest, I set a personal record there with over 40 pitches in a day there, swinging leads with a partner in June. We hadn't started the day trying to accomplish that, but mid-day we decided to see what we could do.
The key was to keep the grade mellow and not do anything too hard, so that it was 5 min to lead, 5 min to follow each route. We thought, after that day, that it would hvae been possible to do an "el cap" day there, doing 3000+ feet, about twice what we actually did do. The End, Sometime Crack, and a few other 10's (I forget) as well as TR-ing flatus 3D and Black Rib that AM had slowed us down, but if we had stuck with 8's and 9's I'm sure we could have done 60-70 routes anyway.
It think the best place to start a temporate/cool day is the East Bluffs, hiking up to the top at sunrise with plenty of water, then working your way down and into some shade. You can eat lunch while relocating down to the tracks/birthday/railroad ampitheatre. I bet you get 40 routes in easily... Counting the East Bluffs alone I recall seeing over 100 routes 5.8 and under. With an early start, reasonable fitness, some effort, and ideal weather, I'd think a 4000' lead/follow day would be possible.

Dylan and I on that Nov. day were trying at about 75%. We were doing a points game that day as well involving points for difficulty based on grades posted in latest guidebook addition so we were going after some harder routes a bit harder. I remember well making the mistake of choosing to lead "Kamakazee: for the points foolishly forgetting it is only rated 5.8 in the guides.... DOH! I think we could have easily done more if we stuck to easier grades. Doug Hemken and I made it to 19.5 routes on a very warm September Day in 2009 from just after dawn to right at dusk (we were putting the final coil in the rope and straightening out the lead gear for the last time just as the sun dropped below the horizon). I think we could have done more that day as well if we had notched it up by maybe climbing more easy routes, some simul-climbing in places, and brought more water (it ended up being a much warmer day then we had originally thought and neither of us drank enough H2O). Tony... I would love to take a crack at 40 routes on lead as a team with someone and plan too... I guess we will see... there are plans in the works for a 24 hour event, obviously involving climbing sans light (and after curfew) via headlamp..... should be able to get to that coveted 40 mark using that tactic. EB... I like the cocktail approach but for me they would have to be in hopeful celebration afterwards followed by some sort of repeated jumping over a large fire pit blaze...

Josh Schmale and I did 20 routes in a day during a the 10 hours of DL Hell challenge. However, we probably did about 12 routes between 5.7 and 5.10, then soloed 8 routes under 5.6.

• Edit Yes, be sure to drink lots of water. I ended up pulling the roof of Bloody Mary on lead while I had simultaneous forearm and bicep cramps in both arms.

You could have a decent day and stay on the East climbing 5.4-5.8, me thinks a good list would be:

Last Gasp
Easy Overhang
Birch Tree
The Pedestal (2)
The Spine
Brinton's
Berkeley
The Rack
Vacillation
Full Stop
Broken Ladder
Peter's
Michael's
Push-Mi, Pull-Yu
Coatimundi
False Alarm Jam
Double Overhang
Foreplay
The Pretzel
Charybdis

That's 20 routes 5.4-5.8 that are all pretty good, and protect fairly well. Add a grade or two in either direction and accept a little less quality and you could easily double that number. I think this would be a weekday challenge for sure as weekend crowds would cost too much time waiting.

Log days is what we use to call em. I seem to remember old Barney Schafer and I having some pretty good ones on the east bluffs. I seem to recall swapping leads on at least 20 more than once with at least 15 in the 5.10 thru 5.11 range and nothin weaker then 5.9. think we even threw in Laundry chute and All The way once(maybe not on the same log) Throw in a few cheap swills and some W--d and you have a pretty good day.
But we were way lite compared to what I think Dave Groth might have accomplished once. peace and fuk-nes

Heck man....... it's alwways been a goal to be able to live up to just and easy day out to someone like Barney (it always seemed to come so easy and effort free for him)and Dave Groth... Hmm Well... I think I have a better chance of winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning.

The thread is about leading at Devil,s Lake not else where. I have done the Nose in a day which is 31 pitches.It seems like you can do more pitches that way because there is no moving gear from one climb to the next and you are leading in blocks.Plus you are not stopping to drink swill between leads.Havent done any marathons or iron mans so have no experiance with those.The Nose in a day was the best day of climbing I ever had and also the most tiring.A day is 24 hours so at DL you could climb for 24 hours.....just bust out the headlamps and keep pulling down thru the dark. Bet you could do many pitches that way. peace and f-nes, steve s

At the lake it should be a sum of the following

Vertical feet gained climbing
Vertical feet gained hiking
Miles hiked

I don't think that rangers like people climbing and hiking at night on the bluffs. I have had the rangers shine the 50K Watt spotlight on my during my hike out because they saw headlamps up on the trail. They nevered stopped to talk to us though. I always took it as a sign to get off the bluffs.

Rhoads, please define mid-grade. Are we talking 20 5.8's (hard as hell, but conceivable), or 20 5.10's (EEK).

I think I quit after 4 one day many years ago....that's about my best at the Lake.

We've taken a few minor stabs at it 18 5.6-5.10s casually but a sun rise - sunset is in order just to see. I don't know about you others but I need a little carrot in front of me sometimes...good stuff from all. Also if you like that kind of stuff the west bluff towers should become a curcuit for sure. We did 15 in a day, but I think Remo jacked that up to maybe 20+ in 24hrs if I'm not mistaken. That might be the biggest day yet!

24 in 24 Eric, but who's counting?;) Were working on a bigger more epic adventure this year called the Ridge-Run. More pitches and more miles for sure. Details to come...

The 24 hour climbathon sounds great by the way Burt. Jugs got me all pumped about that idea.

My best was 20 routes in 10 hours with Mike & Jesse ... a party of three. Burt & I came close to that at 18.

I've heard of several people doing an "astro boy", but am not sure how many routes that would be.

EB, I thought your tower tour was about 25 routes? Edit - oh, I see now that was Adam.