Elevation: 193 ft
GPS: 44.24707, -69.08739
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Shared By: Matty Zane on Jun 1, 2008
Admins: Ladd Raine, Jonathan S, Robert Hall

Description

General:
The Camden Hills, on the west shore of the Penobscot bay, near Camden, Maine, have a variety of rock and ice climbing on a half-dozen small cliffs. While no Camden climbs are very long, some are of high quality. In particular, some of the ice climbs here are exceptional.

The Camden hills are composed mainly of metamorphosed rock that can vary wildly in appearance.

Gear: 
A standard Camden rack for the trad routes ranges from mirco-nuts, to a 3.5" Friend. Most areas take mainly small gear. It should be kept in mind that while the majority of the climbs in Camden are not extremely difficult, finding adequate protection can be. Many of the climbs have substantial run-outs, so it is best to be solid at the grade before leading the climb.

Guidebooks:
The defacto bible for the area is Camden Climbing, put out by locals Ben Townsend and Alan Rees. It's available at Maine Sport Outfitters in nearby Rockport.

Ben Townsend is very active on MP as well, and is a great friendly local guy, always up for giving some beta or sharing the secrets of Camden. Hit him up.

Guiding Services:
  • Equinox Guiding Service - New kids on the block this guide service is primarily focused on climbing both rock and ice in and around Camden Hills.
  • Atlantic Climbing SchoolWith an office right in Bar Harbor these guys primarily serve Acadia and Camden, though they will guide any location in New England and also offer guiding internationally. Locally owned, these guys put out the last couple guidebooks for Acadia.
  • Acadia Mountain Guides - Also based in Bar Harbor along with a location in Orono Maine, this school focuses primarily on Acadia but also guides throughout New England, along with occasionally offering AMGA classes. Owned by John Tierney, who wrote the original Clifton Guidebook.

Getting There

All of the Crags can be reached from pull-offs off of Route 52. The approaches range anywhere from 2 minutes to 1/2 hr.

249 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at -Camden Hills

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
V5 6C
 3
The Crack
Boulder
V6 7A
 5
Pompadour
Boulder
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
 33
O-C-D
Sport
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
 49
Charlotte's Crack
Trad 2 pitches
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
 22
500 Pound Flakeout
Trad, TR
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 30
Glory Hole
Sport
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 26
The Million Muppet March
Sport
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 6
ladder line
Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R
 4
White Streak
Trad
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a
 25
The Bolt Ladder
Sport, TR
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 26
birds eye (aka- FB)
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b R
 24
Brown Eye
Sport, TR
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 22
sun spot
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 3
Hot Corner
Trad
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13
 18
Cracked Up
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
The Crack 10. The Spot > Geo Cache boulder
 3
V5 6C Boulder
Pompadour 10. The Spot > Pompadour boulder
 5
V6 7A Boulder
O-C-D 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 33
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b Sport
Charlotte's Crack 04. Barrett's Cove Cliff
 49
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b Trad 2 pitches
500 Pound Flakeout 02. The Verticals
 22
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b Trad, TR
Glory Hole 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 30
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
The Million Muppet March 09. Guide's Wall
 26
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
ladder line 13. Hot Spot , Rock C…
 6
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad
White Streak 04. Barrett's Cove Cliff
 4
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R Trad
The Bolt Ladder 02. The Verticals
 25
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a Sport, TR
birds eye (aka- FB) 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 26
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Sport
Brown Eye 02. The Verticals
 24
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b R Sport, TR
sun spot 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 22
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
Hot Corner 13. Hot Spot , Rock C…
 3
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Trad
Cracked Up 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 18
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13 Sport
More Classic Climbs in -Camden Hills »

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