I think it is safe to say that 2008 has been an above average year for bouldering development in Wisconsin. Websites like MountainProject have helped rekindle interest in bouldering at Governor Dodge, an area many people never really thought there was enough solid rock to climb on. Many new climbs ranging from V0 to V9 have been opened this year alone (most of which were found, cleaned and climbed in sub-optimal summer conditions). It remains to be seen whether or not more climbable rock will be found at the “the Dodge”, but considering that almost all the current areas are basically roadside blocs leads one to think that more is out there for the dedicated gardener explorer.
To give you an idea what some of the climbing is like at the Dodge , here is a video Neil put together after a recent outing. Among other problems, it features Mr. “I will climb 8B soon” Nic making a rare repeat (3rd ascent?) of Jason Huston’s area testpiece Sandstone Violence (V8).
Governor Dodge State Park from Neil Berget on Vimeo.
And yes, V8 qualifies as a testpiece in Wisconsin…
some of that stuff looks actually quite illgnar nice… not at all bad! fritter power and good sandstone… you bitches have been holding out!
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Indeed. Despite all the retarded comments I make about choss, gardening and buschwhacking there are some very quality lines at the dodge.
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I wonder if alex did sandstone violence while he was there recently.
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If he wasn’t so brave and humble maybe we would know…
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I think this is a good area… but not great. Sandstone Violence is the best line I looked at and for all the rock at G.D. only a few lines are worth going to.
In my opinion the “best” Bouldering areas in the Midwest (MN,WI,ND,SD,IA,NE)
1-Mt.Baldy “black hills” (SD)
2-Sawmill Creek Dome (MN)
3-Taylors Falls (MN)
I have not been to Devils Lake but I am planning to go sometime this season, But as for the rest of the Mid I have been der’ and done dat’. I would like to see what others think.. oh, and P.S. Sandstone Violence is at least a grade (if not 2) harder then Veritas stand start (CO) and is on par with the grades in the south…
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Alex who? and is that a shot at my shameless self promotion?
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and that Veritas Comment was a shot @ the sock…
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looks about as good as some of that athens, ohio, bouldering. the midwest rides again.
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The dodge is the proverbial “it is what it is” area. Is it world class? No. Is it better than anything else within a short driving distance? Yes.
And that was only like 1/2 of a shot at your shameless self promotion.
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I presume that Alex means Alex Nimmer. Speaking of which, Brian, why the hell don’t you and that kid get back up here to Taylors?
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I was planning on doing so last weekend but nefarious ankle breaking shenanigans prevented me from doing so. I’m hoping to make another trip up this season but it looks kind of doubtful.
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so if veritas stand is v8, which i admit possible, then this rig is v10? woah.
i need to climb in the south! seems like tons of colorado climbers had said it’s way hard… so is colorado way soft? many folks think no… and colorado climbers are tending to own standards in europe and sud afrika, save for font… so is it a style thing?
the only kid from colorado i know to come back and say the south was piss easy was one willis frenchie lemaire, whose sneak attactics on shiesty sloping problems and body position trickery is LEGENDARY. he actually told me with a straight face that i would climb *everything* at HP-40 if i had a 4 day trip. this comment was at least a few years back and he may not remember it, but it resouned in my mind…
then again, the same was told of me for hueco, where i’ve not owned anything, and priest draw, and other places similarly un-owned by me in a couple day weekend.
so, i believe narc should create a chart of similar style areas with a continuum of softness for cross analysis and such.
this seems like oh so a narc job.
finally, i think it’s hillarious that so dak is considered “midwest”. when in my mind it is an extension of wyoming.
hey narc: how bout a master list of real midwestern bouldering areas, extending out to ohio, listing all the most classic lines of all the grades at each area. if not legitimately classic, if even considered an “area classic” it shall not be included. then, attach photos and videos to this master list.
you will own midwestern bouldering.
also: someone get me a fatty gig at an estate planning and estate/trust administration firm in the midwest so my wife can get off my case and then i’ll actually climb at your areas w/ you.
joyeaux!
narc: go send guns n roses in soill…. open hand everything and no thumbs required.
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Many things to respond to…
1) When you live in the midwest and you are accustomed to driving near double digit hours for weekend climbing trips, half the country is “local”.
2) When you live in the midwest and decent bouldering can be hard to come by, refer to part 1 when we begin to claim ownership of outlying areas.
3) A list of midwest bouldering areas is a stellar idea and one that has been brought up to me previously. Sounds like a good project for this winter.
4) Grades are obviously very area/hold type/conditions/attitude/sex life/alignment of the stars dependent. I haven’t climbed enough out west to compare with the southern areas like HP40 to be an authority so I will refrain from commenting too specifically about one area compared to another. I will say this: so far Yosemite bouldering seems to be hard and everywhere else is soft by comparison.
5) I hope to get to SoIll by next spring. My open hand is actually my worst grip currently. Go figure.
6) WI is chock full of overweight sausage eaters. Surely that means big business for estate planners no? I’m sure we have plenty of horses for Mrs. Hands as well.
7) You could probably do all the worthwhile problems at The Dodge in a day or two
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the south is soft, there just aren’t any hard problems down there…
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there you go again with that elitist attitude!
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to counter act the softness of colorado, i’m eating way more and starting to exercise less. my abs are turning soft and my stomach is starting to over hang my waist line like the ‘font scales’ at HP 40.
midwest here i come!
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on a serous note…
If you come here the best areas in the Midwest (proper-no SD) IS Sawmill Creek Dome see bortobreathe.blogspot.com or ask the “Plow King” A.K.A. Brian Husama Camp..He knows what is up I can’t say a ton but I know of boulders the size of houses and rock like dark waters in Minnesota.. that is all I can say before I am shot. oh! and what is with these boulders in Ohio? I have a list with the “best I have seen” top 3 each grade 0-12/13..I t may be interesting to see what else people have to add (or -) from my list.
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Im kidding…
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Me too of course…
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best of the Midwest, or at least a quick list.
v0-“The lushes lip trav” @ Sawmill
v1-“The slab” @ Sawmill
v2- “The Tenth Plague” @ ?????
v3-“The Good Times Are Killing Me” @ G.D./ “Big Boy” @ Taylors Falls/ “jaws (stand)” @ Sawmill
v4-“lung or plunge” @ Taylors falls/ “lukewarm Persistence” @ Sawmill/” Coffee and Cocaine” @ ???
v5-“the Pendulum” @ ????/ “unknown” @ the now closed sandstone..
v6-MMMM…stumped? maybe “Sizzle foot” @ Taylors?
v7-“Mikes Left” @ Taylors/ “pay back” @ Sawmill/ “Dragon Fruit” @ ????/ “Counselor Moon” @ Sawmill
V8-“Sandstone Violence” @ G.D./ “The Cave Trav” @ Taylors
v9-“Arcarsenal” @ Swede’s Forest/ “The Juggernaut” @ Sawmill
v10- “Lloyd’s (SDS)” @ Taylors/ “The Exodus” @ Sawmill
v11- “Left Of Lloyd’s” @ Taylors
v12- “The Amateur” @ Sawmill
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2 more things..
1. Jamie, what about the Shield…you didn’t do that one?? did you? It has to be kinda hard..
2.What is the v9 you speak of @ G.D.?
I’ll add one more
3. I have not been bouldering @ Devils Lake, with that said there could be some add ons.
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The full traverse along the Hangman bloc is supposed to be V9. I’m not 100% sure how it goes but it sounds somewhat contrived.
The Lake has several quality lines. Jenga (V6ish), Alpine Club (V9ish) and the unrepeated Keymaker (V10ish) come to mind.
There is also bouldering at Rib Mountain SP that is supposed to be good. Other pockets of sandstone bouldering exist as well. I have not been able to get out and check any of these places though.
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I would like to think, If it was great we would know about it.
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True however Taylor’s and Sawmill are both pretty good and I don’t know of anyone around my area that had ever heard of either of them before I began spraying about them.
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nic 0 – narc 1
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Starfish and Anchorpoint at DL are really good at V6/7. Top quality problems. Beautiful soup is cool but the keymaker looks better. Nic, I’d love to get you on Alpine Club and see what you think of it. In my eyes, way way harder than Sandstone Violence but really good. Mike Simon might have the most recent ascent of it from back in 2004. Oh, and Slope of Dadaism is a fantastic 3 at DL. There is a nice little circuit of good stuff at DL. I’d love to show you around.
The 9 at dodge is pretty contrived, just my opinion though. Especially after working the full traverse for a little bit. SV is still the best line out there, by miles.
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I would love to see those two lines as well Steve. Are they both on the Tumbled Rocks/West Bluff?
Where is Slope of Dadaism? I don’t believe I’ve ever done that either.
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I looked @ the trav (not what I get mobbed up on)
I would love to get out to DL sometime soon, Maybe around thanks if it is not full of snow. What is the alpine club like? Steep? it looks steep.
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Anchorpoint is on the west bluff and starfish is up at the reserve. both are really good problems, in my opinion. Starfish is an absolute classic and anchorpoint has probably only seen 3-4 ascents, that I know of. Its good but has pretty tricky beta.
Slope of dadaism is up by Monolith. if you walk from Venus rising back towards the north shore for a couple of minutes and then cross to the other side of the trail there is a mini bluff out there. there are three lines on it with slope, some random and painful V3 and a massive dyno project. Slope is good though. really fun but maybe a touch reachy. not bad though.
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Words to describe alpine club are hard to come by. I wouldn’t call it steep though. Steve would know better though. I’ve never seen anyone get past the first move…
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Yeah, Alpine club isn’t really steep at all. Maybe slightly overhung, 10-15 degrees. Deceivingly hard. really hard. It’s only two moves but looks super simple and easy. I think i was making comments about flashing it when we walked up to it. Then spent 4 days working on the first move. It’s just a big lockoff with your left hand to get a right hand sloper and then you pounce up to a left hand crimp/gaston and it’s over. Peter said that he put in well over 200 goes before the FA.
Having done Perfect Medium, another 9 in DL, Alpine club is MILES harder than that one. I’d be interested to see what you think of it. Very cool problem though.
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And I’ve seen two people stick the first move and then get promptly shut down….
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there are alot of V12s I haven’t done nic, in the south or not
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speaking of the shield. just saw two local ascents this week. jimmy webb and jeremy walton. the latter also put up the direct finish to redhouse (Jeremiah) that checks in at v11.
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Sweet video, thanks for putting that up. I personally think that the Dodge is the shit. ‘Course being 35 minutes door to door for me helps. A lot. And having a wife and kid really limits the mileage I can put on for a day trip or weekend. Plus also not really ever having been to any other real bouldering destinations might distort my view some too. I guess what I am saying is that the Dodge is the best bouldering area I have ever been to, hands down. And that is that.
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Ha, good points. Easy access definitely would change my opinion a bit.
I think if you went bouldering elsewhere (basically anywhere) your opinion might change a bit. The dodge is a good area for WI, but you are missing out on a lot of REALLY great climbing at other bouldering destinations 🙂
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Yeah I don’t doubt that for a second.
The Lake is also pretty close for me, but I get discouraged with the frictionless nature of the rock and also the confusing directions to the boulders. I would rather climb than spend 1/2 the time traipsing around looking for rock. Spent 2 hours looking for the imaginary “Reserve” once– along the way I lost my cell phone, jacked my knee, and got in trouble for being late to meet my wife for a BBQ on the north shore. That put an end to my desire to boulder there…
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The Lake is definitely best done with a guide. It can be frustrating walking around looking at frictionless/unclimbable rock.
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I was talking to peter and he got me psyched to try those probs on the west bluff. I also want to check out the reserve and starfish does look rad!
As for the dodge, I love it there. convenient, mostly good landings, new stuff to find and discover.
As for ‘full execution’ which i called V9… Unfortunately it is contrived/forced. The story is that it was my original ‘vision’ and seemed to be the most logical until the beta was unlocked to be able to just stay up on the sloper to traverse it. I however had already put a lot of work into the ‘full’ version and was determined to still do it that way. I would love for someone to try it if they have nothing to do and tell me how they like it or how hard they think it is. The movement is rad, it was hard for me and it was fun as hell so i guess that’s all that matters right?
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I will be hitting up the lake when I come home for thanks. Around the week of 22nd-30th if someone would be motivated to get out one of those days and show me around I would be really pumped!
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and let’s thanks Neil for the video… he has a great blog and shoots a ton of classics in the Midwest.
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Sweat if you get to check out the west bluff let me know, I’d love to tag along, not that I think I will be able to send anything there at this point in time– heal ankle heal!
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Nic, shoot me an e-mail and lets get together. There are some problems I’d love to get you on. The lake is fun once you get used to the nature of the rock. I hated it before I moved to Mammoth, but when I came back I liked it a lot more. You just have to take some time and be precise. It’s subtle…
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I should be around 24th? it is a monday… I would love to hit up the lake, I have my eyes set on a coveted 2nd…
hit me up
nic@fiveten.com
(i can not find your e-mail)
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If conditions are good and plans come into fruition I will probably play hooky at work and tag along. Hopefully it won’t be too cold!
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im plannin on stopin here on the thursday and friday of thanks giving..
does anybody want to meet me out there??
let me know
swee0172@d.umn.edu
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Nic, Narc, Sweaty – hit me up if you’re at the lake any of these days in late November.
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i would love to but it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards for me and it is getting a bit cold a bit to fast… Does the lake and the Dodge get totally snowed in for the winter?
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yo,I am coming in hot tomorrow, Monday the 24th… after a dispute on where to go. who is with me?
nic@fiveten.com
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SNOW DAB!~!!!
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ok.. I did not go to the lake.
but I would like to who is going and when?
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Im for sure going to be at dodge on Thursday. come climb.
-sv
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I watched the Narc walk up Sandstone Violence twice today; made it look easy even. Wow. Nice work Narc!
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Narc’s on a roll! Congrats bro!
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Thanks guys. Pictures to come on Monday.
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His exact words were, “Watch everyone on the Proj get all pissed off when i downgrade this to V4!”
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I believe what I ACTUALLY said was that if Product of the Southwest was V5 and I STILL couldn’t do it, SV must be V4 then by correlation 🙂
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Ah. Right. My bad!
Plus he said, “Wait until I give this one star, Bwahahahaha”
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Does Governors Dodge have a guide book for sale?
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Not yet, but the rumor is that there may be one by the end of the year.
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The guide will hopefully be done by September, in time for the boulderbash. The author has most of it done, but more problems keep getting found and developed.
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