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Elevation: 1,341 ft 409 m
GPS: 43.99199, -71.65732
Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views: 7,992 total · 138/month
Shared By: Lee Hansche on May 30, 2021
Admins: Jay Knower, M Sprague, Jeffrey LeCours, Jonathan S, Robert Hall
Warning Access Issue: Merriam Woods is conservation land, managed by the Town of Woodstock. DetailsDrop down

Description Suggest change

There are a few sub-crags that make up this zone but it all makes sense as the Safe Space area. The whole spot just has a nice chill out of the way vibe and is a delightful place to get some pitches done. It also has a fair mix of trad and sport routes which is not common at Russell. 

On the left there is an older, and quite enjoyable bolted route and just to it's right, a really fun trad line called It Takes Two 5.8+. There are a couple more cracks over here that Mike Z put a lot of work into digging out and it was well worth the work.

The central area of the crag is beautiful and proud with a variety of climbs up to 70-80 ft tall. The first climb done here that we know of was done ground up by Mike Z and Nick B they left so little trace we didn't realize they had ever climbed here. This was a bold lead through fragile, vegetated rock and required a cool head and a fair bit of chutzpah. The climbs here are 5.10s and 5.11s as well as a nice lil 5.7 on the right.

The far right end has a couple of mini cliffs. A trad route and a sport route have been climbed here so far but I would expect more routes to be added over time.

Most of the Safe Space routes were bolted with stick clips in mind. Plan to use one. 

Getting There Suggest change

There are two main gullies that house the majority of the developed climbing at Russell. This area caps the top of the right hand gully. The easiest approach is to walk the main base trail from the gate with the hill on your left. Eventually the trail takes you past some large boulders and turns up hill. before you get to any of the climbing in the gully look for an off-shoot trail on the right hand side with a pink fixed rope helping you make a couple of steps down. after the step down follow a trail across the hill. You will soon see a cracked buttress of rock with bolts that is the start of the Safe Space. it continues to the right including a few sub-crags.

12 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Safe Space

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
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