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Welsford Rendezvous Roundup

Welsford Rendezvous Roundup

Despite a last minute scheduling shakeup, the first ever Welsford Rendezvous climbing festival was a resounding success!14457320_1117308925030536_4545548092491285740_n

On Saturday evening, a strong contingent of the New Brunswick climbing community came together on a chilly and fire-less night to celebrate our shared passion.  In attendance were two of the original three pioneers of New Brunswick climbing, Colin Bell and Fred Doucette. These fine gentlemen were presented with Pioneer Awards and their acceptance speeches were brilliantly nostalgic and crowd pleasing.  It was so great to hear stories about those first years, and to relate to that same spirit of adventure that binds us together today. While not climbing these days, Colin and Fred were no less interested in seeing where climbing has come in the province since their first adventures in the late '70s. Remember, these guys put up Pink Panther before a lot of us were born!14457484_1825626577671889_5366921974225387046_n

The evening also included the Ascent NB Annual General Meeting, a demonstration by the Remote Rescue Team of a steep angle rescue using the new rescue gear cache, and more festivities that included a pull up competition, a rope coiling competition, and some tasty BBQ and frosty beverages.

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The climbing challenges were held on Sunday, where we saw several teams vying for the Cochrane Lane Classics Challenge, with Francois Côté and Eric Sloan besting the competition by climbing the 13 routes in a time of ~6h50m! Alec Manley and Dom Caron came in 2nd with a time of ~7h32m, followed by the brothers Sam and Will Jones at ~8h. The bar has been set and no doubt everyone will be back next year to beat that time.

A single team comprised of Ian Lingley and Lucas Toron took to the Welsford Crags Challenge, which saw them cycling between climbing routes at Cochrane Lane, Eagle Rock, and Bald Peak, before returning to Cochrane Lane in a time of ~1h53m. Well done!
Awards went to:

  • Pioneer Award - Colin Bell, Gilles LaCroix and Fred Doucette
  • Cochrane Lane Classics Challenge - Eric Sloan and Francois Côté
  • Welsford Crags Challenge - Lucas Toron and Ian Lingley
  •  Women's Pull Up Comp - Franca Zambito
  • Men's Pull Up Comp - Greg Hughes
  • Rope Coiling Comp - Max Heffler14448980_1826013847633162_9132734873001602362_n14484790_1117308958363866_559244407897044137_n

A big shout out and thank you to all the participants and folks who came out to support this event.  Considering the circumstances we consider it to have been a huge success and will be continuing next year.  Stay tuned for more info about what we have planned for the next one.

A HUGE thank you to The Radical Edge in Fredericton, River and Trail in Rothesay, and Ocean Trail Source for Adventure in Moncton, for donating awesome prizes for our climbing challenges and door prizes.  You would not believe how excited everyone was to have their numbers drawn for door prizes! It was like a zombie apocalypse (pics anyone??)! Also, thanks to Maybee Brewing for giving us a break on the cost of some delicious beverages!

And of course Ascent would not be where it is without the support of our sponsors, Precision Pilates, Fredericton Volkswagen, and of course14446048_1117308988363863_6051375226740547734_n, UNB Rock and Ice. Their continued support has kept Ascent alive in the first few years as we grow into self-sufficiency. Thank you guys so much!


Sunday also saw Ascent NB hold its first ever Beginner Rock School.  The sun shone on the participants who braved a windy day at LShape/Joe's that saw a half dozen cold but short rain showers get us all worried it was the end of our day.  Instead each shower passed and the sun kept coming back to warm us up. Everyone had a blast and was no doubt pretty sore the next day (or two!). More info to come!

Posted by ascentnb on

Welsford Rendezvous – September 24th

Welsford Rendezvous – September 24th

This weekend Ascent NB is holding the inaugural Welsford Rendezvous on Saturday, September 24th, at Cochrane Lane Cliffs, Welsford, NB.

The date is quickly approaching and you no doubt want to know more about what is coming up.  Our rain date is October 1 but the weather forecast is now looking good for Saturday!

Here's the schedule of events (yes things have changed slightly due to a last minute and completely unexpected closure for moose season by CFB Gagetown Range Control):

Saturday

  • all day till 5 pm :: Climbing at all Welsford crags Eagle Rock and Bear Mountain
  • 5:30 pm :: BBQ in the gravel pit at Cochrane Lane/Ascent New Brunswick Rescue Team Demo
  • 6 pm :: Ascent New Brunswick Annual General Meeting
  • 7 pm :: Pull Up Comp and Rope Coiling Comp
  • 7:30 pm :: Awards Presentations for climbing challenges, door prizes and a special award being presented to Colin Bell and Fred Doucette.
  • 8:30 to 11 pm :: Live music – jam session

Sunday

  • 11 am  :: Pilates Class by donation in the Farmers Field with Cara Hazelton of Precision PilatesPrecision Pilates Logo
  • noon  :: Climbing Comp Registration and Start (Cochrane Lane Classics and Welsford Crags)
  • 6 pm :: Climbing Comps are finished – all participants return to Cochrane Lane
  • 6:30 pm :: climbing competition awards presentations

*Please note that there is an entry fee for both the Cochrane Lane and Welsford Crags Challenges.  It is $10 per person.  You must also be a member of Ascent New Brunswick.  A prorated membership purchased today would be $20.

We're not sophisticated enough to accept plastic, so please bring oodles of cash to buy T-shirts, to cover your climbing challenge entry fees or membership dues and for the barbecued goodness and refreshments. We will also have a donation box at the event site too if you're feeling generous!  We will be giving away a lot of prizes donated to us by our sponsors: River and Trail in Quispamsis, The Radical Edge in Fredericton and Ocean Trail Source for Adventure in Moncton.  Thank you sponsors for the swag!


Remember, Ascent New Brunswick is a completely volunteer based non profit organization that needs financial help to cover its insurance costs.  You can learn more about what Ascent is doing to become more self sufficient at the AGM but know that the dollars you contribute at this event will go a long way towards helping climbing in New Brunswick.


For anyone who would like to camp, you can set up your tent in the farmers field. Here are a few things that you should bring for the event:  a camp chair, your favorite refreshment glass, a puffy jacket (sorry, absolutely NO FIRES), your headlamp, and most important.......your stoke!