Grand Ledge (aka Oak Park) Climbing

Climbing started at Oak Park back in the 1940s with a couple of students from Michigan State University, Victoria and Don Borthwick. At the time, aid was the norm, using pins and other hardware to scale the rock. A couple of pins can still be seen in the Let Me Go Wild roof near the center of the rock band.  Don was involved in mountaineering after moving out west leading us to believe Oak Park was a practice area for them opposed to a true climbing area we know today.  They were gone by 1950 and little is known about the climbing within the park until the late 1960s.  

The park did have tradition climbing, placing removable gear in the rock as they climbed, but that was short lived.  In the early 1970s, top roping took over as the ethic within the park because the brittle sandstone could not hold gear. With the ample number of trees on the top of the wall, top rope came to the park and has been the norm since. With the elimination of ground falls, climbing became safer overall, and the number of problems expanded dramatically throughout the park. Popular routes such as 5.7 Potato Chips, 5.9+ Doug's Roof and 5.10 Rocket Man were established in the early years of Oak Park. 

In the late 1960s, a climber named Bruce Bright found Grand Ledge and has been there ever since. Known as The Godfather of Oak Park, he simply has too many first accents to list them all, but they include 5.11 Despondency (prior to being chipped), 5.12 Inappropriate Behavior and 5.11 X-Rated. Bill Putnam became a fixture in the park, climbing with Bruce and establishing a large number of climbs including 5.6 Extension, 5.7 Three Mules, 5.10 Finesse, 5.10 Ludwig's Dude and 5.12 Intergalactic Quaalude Trip as the golden era of climbing within the park was underway.

Later in 1970s, more climbers started coming with the intention of pushing up the level within Oak Park. This became the time of the "Grand Ledge Rats" and heightened development of routes throughout the park. Climbers such as Kevin Cieszkowski, Dave Poxson, Jeff Purdy, Jeff Shroup, David Hull, Eric James, the Nienhaus brothers and Jeff McWhorter started frequenting the park and established several new lines that are still considered Oak Park Classics today. These include 5.12 Ragged Edge, 5.13a Enigma, 5.13b Franks Climb, 5.13b Reflections, 5.12 Clean and Jerk. 

This period was also known for "soloing," with climbers going to the top without a rope. Climbing up and down became the norm on popular routes such as 5.7 Potato Chips and 5.9+ Doug's Roof, as well as 5.11 Despondency, 5.10 Rocket Man, the Reflections Wall, parts of the Mermaid Wall, and many others.  

In the late 1990s, bouldering started grabbing hold of Oak Park. Instead of just climbing the beginning of the top rope routes like Despondency or the Trick, true boulder problems were established with low starts and top outs, pushing the overall level of difficulty within the park. Climbers such as Jamie Emerson developed numerous lines that were intended for bouldering in its own right. The test piece that resulted was V9 Resistance, established in 2000, the hardest problem in the park for 12 years. Other climbers, including Adam Page, Mike Slavens, Aaron Hager and Dan Blake, contributed problems such as V5 Suicide Machine, V5 Ride or Die, V6 Climb or Die and V7 Another Mother. The early 2000s saw continued development in bouldering by exploring the possibilities of eliminates. In 2008, V6 Max Scene Arete and V5 Thailand were established by Michael Rathke.  This marked the end of the majority of development within Oak Park, with 95% of the lines we climb today established, recorded and repeated.  

Development slowed to a halt until 2012 when Dylan Barks established V9 Fifty Words for Mank and V10 D-Bag. Brendan Baars established V9 Mass Hysteria in 2017, completing a long-time local project and hardest line up the Ballerina Bulge.  

During the winter of 2020-21 a few old lines were "rediscovered," as they had just fallen off all guidebooks. These include V4 Wall Street, V5 Pick Your Battles, and V6 Mermaid Direct. Over the season, ten more lines were added, including V8 Peace, V7 Anastasis, V6 Homeostasis and V4 The Treat, some with brutal starts.  Of the 100+ climbs listed, only seven go at V8 or harder with Dylan Barks's V10 D-Bag remaining the hardest line since his FA in 2012.  There is still plenty of rock that lacks lines, just needs the right climber to see the problem.   

For over 50 years Bruce Bright has been a presence within Oak Park offering any type of assistance to anyone asking.  From answering history questions on the park or rock to loaning climbers his equipment he has always been there.  Dave Poxson and Jeff Purdy also deserve special recognition for over three decades of continued maintenance and dedication to the climbers and Oak Park.  These three stewards have left a massive gift for past, current and future generations and continue to do so.

Enjoy the park, enjoy the people of the park and do not be a jerk.