Niagara Glen, July 17, 2004

I was home in Ontario visiting family for a week in July, so I made my annual pilgrimage to the Niagara Glen bouldering area, near Niagara Falls.  This is the biggest bouldering area in Ontario, the rock is limestone, with lots of interesting pockets and features.  The only drawbacks are the abundance of poison ivy, and the annoying jet boats which constantly whiz by on the river.  Trev, Fras and I packed up the car and headed out around 9:00 in the morning.  The forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms, but the weather looked clear, and stayed that way all day.

We started out by warming up on some of the Glen's classic moderates, like Walking Spanish Down the Glen (V0), which Trev is climbing in the photo below:

Next we moved on to The Cigar Problem (V2), a super fun problem climbing an arete, which Fras is shown climbing in the sequence below:

We then headed over to the black boulder, and did two good problems on that, Graffiti (V3) which Trev is shown on below.  This was a really fun problem which started under the roof, then made a big throw to a sloping dish, which Trev is doing in the photos, then a move left to some pockets, then straight up for the topout.

And the second was I Love Barbie (V3), which Cam is shown on in the sequence below.  This was another really good problem with a big cross though shown in the first photo, then a move left to a sloping rail, then a match and move up and right to some pockets then straight up.

Next we headed over to Fras's summer project, a V10 called Razorblade Rodeo.  This is an awesome problem, located on the 45 degree wall (named for... you guessed it, the 45 degree overhanging face).  It is the sit start to a super hard V6 called Bonfire Rodeo.  Fras did well on it, doing all of the moves and getting some good links that he had never done before.  He is shown on the initial moves (the hardest ones) in the sequence below:

Next we headed to some boulders on the river bank, where we ate lunch and did a problem called The Big C (V6/7).  This was a really good problem with some hard moves under a roof, then a throw out to a sloper, then a heel hook mantle sequence to top out.  Cam is shown climbing the problem in the sequence below:

Next we headed over to my nemesis, a V5 called Brave New World.  It is an awesome problem, one that I have been trying sporadically over the course of a few years (whenever I am home for a visit), and one that consistently shuts me down.  After my yearly failure on this, we moved on to an awesome dyno problem called The Immaculate (V3).  The first photo shows Fras booting up at the base, and the next three show each of us doing the dyno move:

Next we moved on to a fun V3 called Yes Dear, but most of us were too tired to send, and we decided to call it a day.  So we hiked out, and made the drive home, with the obligatory stop at Dairy Queen for blizzards.  All in all a super fun day of climbing.