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Does anyone know this crag in Roxbury CT?
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I found this area in Roxbury Ct earlier this summer while out for a walk. I could see the rock faces from the road and thought there could be climbing potential. I eventually wandered into the woods to explore the faces and was surprised to find chalky crimps and even 3 bolted routes. There is nothing on MP and I've googled the area, but have had no luck finding any info on the place. I have met one guy who was doing top rope solos on some loose scrambly slopes down the road. He mentioned that there are 2 climbers that he often sees climbing in this area, I haven't had any luck meeting them. I set up a top rope with friends to try the sport routes and found 2 of the 3 routes we tried to be much harder than expected. Probably 5.11D - 5.12B, maybe easier with some more knowledge of the routes. The boulders that had chalk on them all looked harder than anything I can do (so far). I found one slabby face that was dirty and showed no signs of chalk, I think I got the FA on it. There's a field to the south of the road, this field is private farm property. To the north is the hill with all the rock, this land is owned by the town of Roxbury. Here are some pics of the sport routes and one of the boulders:   Any info on this area would be much appreciated! |
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....and now many know of a quiet locals spot. thanks |
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Here's some additional info on the sport routes. The climbs are about 35-40 feet, each has 3 bolts and 2 more at the top. There are not any chains, repel rings, or hooks at the top. The leftmost route is bolted with stainless steel U bolts, which isn't something I've seen on any other sport routes in the area. The hangers on the center and right routes look rusted, but I think they're Lappas Desert Tortoise hangers in the rust color, another peculiar bolt choice for the northeast. The routes from left to right are; red, yellow, blue.    |
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M Mwrote: Yes, if He Who Must Not Be Named (Lord Boltermort) is still active then those bolts won't last long. |
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Great pics and routes, I’d love to know more as well!! |
Ward Smithwrote: I'm originally from CT but didn't really start climbing seriously until moving away. Every time I hear about KN (Lord Boltermort) I wonder how one person was able to singlehandedly stonewall sport climbing in an entire state. Did no one just care enough to stand up to him? How did everyone just come to accept that it wasn't worth bolting anything because of one guy with a twisted sense of ethics? Does the local community just not care about developing the sport? Just seems wild to me, along with the attitude in this thread. Seems like we should be stoked on more people getting out in CT and discovering new crags as opposed to gatekeeping. |
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It is not gatekeeping, it is keeping bolted routes from getting chopped. We did stand up to him in Western Mass, but it took years and years of effort to get the landowners behind us, and the rock was badly scarred in the interim. |
Shay Subramanianwrote: It's not like nobody tried to stop him, the douche would sneak into crags at night and chop bolts. He was actively climbing (and prob chopping) a few years back. |
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I removed the google maps link from my original post. I would have done so earlier if the initial comments explained the situation instead of just vaguely saying "delete" |
HBTHREEwrote: He had a serious accident about 3 years ago---solo fall, he was very lucky to survive. Headline in the local paper was: 'Elderly Hiker Rescued'!!!! From what I have been told he is still suffering from the injuries and is no longer climbing ( or chopping) but, of course, that could change, so still good to be discrete. |
Topo Gigiowrote: This means a lot to anyone finding and developing unknown crags, especially in CT. |
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I'm curious, if any bolted areas in ct are supposed to be kept secret or they get chopped, why are crags like chatfield hollow and bear rock posted on here? They have bolted routes. They aren't perpetually chopped and rebolted. |
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As always, it's complicated--with a large part having to do with the the landowners/ managers. There are many different crags in the State, with many different management situations. Chatfield Hollow is a State Park, with, as far as I am aware, permission for at least some routes to be bolted. Not sure about Bear Rock. Even when Boltermort was actively chopping ( see my post above), he avoided chopping where he knew he would face significant penalties if caught, especially after his experience in WMass. Ragged, for example, is a different situation. While most of the cliff is owned by the RMF, there is a conservation restriction ( thanks to Boltermort!!!), that limits any fixed protection to replacement of the few pre-existing pieces ( so even much-needed anchors are not allowed). |
Shay Subramanianwrote: I believe that at the height of KN chopping activity not everyone agreed that sport climbing and bolts were in line with best practices for the development of climbing, and though many disagreed with his heavy handedness they were also not thrilled with the idea of a proliferation of bolts. |
Alan Rubinwrote: Well that is good news, Alan. |
M Spraguewrote: What is good news? The part he no longer climbs and chops? Or he had a life changing accident? I hate on a lot of peeps, but not really into wishing harm on them. |
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I am actually quite forgiving of people, even when they have been real A holes, once they recognize and don't continue it. At a certain point though, if something removes them from causing misery to others, I am pleased, even if I recognize it was not the best way to have been resolved. It is good news he is apparently unable to continue. It was also a little black humor to someone who has had to deal with him a lot. |
Alan Rubinwrote: Thoughts and prayers... ed " the arc of the universe tends toward justice..." e |
ed esmondwrote: But, what exactly are your 'thoughts' and your 'prayers', in this situation, Ed?---let me guess!!!! |
Alan Rubinwrote: Al, In the current social environment, “thoughts and prayers“ are what you say when you don’t really give a F’…. I would never wish harm on or intentionally do harm to anyone, but the fact he did this to himself, is ironic…. In my experience he was/is a very unpleasant human who desperately needed to impose his will on others. And, in doing so so, showed he had no respect for anyone else. It’s hard to respect or have empathy for someone like that. ed “you reap what you sow…” e |
