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Welsford Rendezvous – Sept 8th

Welsford Rendezvous – Sept 8th

The date is fast approaching!  The third annual Welsford Rendezvous, on Saturday, September 8th, will see climbers from New Brunswick and beyond once again flock to Welsford to celebrate our sport, our access, and each other!

Last year's Rendezvous was not without it's issues, but thankfully in the end everyone came away having had a fulfilling day of climbing and this year will only be better!

Come and participate in a variety of events. Climbing challenges during the day and a gathering at the gravel pit at the end of Cochrane Lane will round out the day. A BBQ and games and a Roped Rescue Team demo will be followed by Ascent NB's AGM, a special awards presentation, prizes awarded to the challenges participants, door prizes, pull up, rope coiling, and blind tie in competitions, and more!

Sunday will see Heather Loomer lead a by-donation morning yoga session (depending on interest) to help sooth our aching muscles, and hopefully another sunny day of climbing. As well, Sunday will see an Introductory Rock School conducted at Joe's Garage & the Lookout.

Bring enough cash to cover the $20 admission & food, as well for tshirts, hats, etc. Access to festivities is limited to Ascent New Brunswick members (not a member, become one!).

Camping is encouraged at the back of the field, but absolutely no fires and please leave no trace.

 

 

 

Climbing Challenges

In an effort to increase our margins of safety, the climbing challenges this year will NOT be timed. We don't want anyone to rush and make mistakes just to gain some glory. If you complete a challenge, your name is entered into a hat and prizes drawn randomly.

  • Cochrane Lane Classics
    • Climb 13 of the original routes from the first guide book written by Colin Bell.
  • Sunnyside Throwdown
    • Climb as many routes as you can!
  • Points Challenge
    • Points per route are determined by difficulty and number of attempts; climb a few hard routes or lots of easy ones to tally your points. We'll publish a chart with the points scheme soon.

 

Posted by ascentnb on

Walton Glen Gorge Climbing Access

Walton Glen Gorge Climbing Access

Ascent New Brunswick recently received a letter from the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources concerning Walton Glen Gorge.

The Walton Glen Gorge is part of a provincial Class II protected area and as such has some strict guidelines concerning activities occurring there. Lately, there has been some media attention brought to the area and as a result DNR has asked that we convey a message about Walton Glen to the climbing community.

They want climbers to know that all recreation activities done in Walton Glen need to follow Leave No Trace principles and be respectful of the land. They are open to climbers being there, but are concerned with the aggressive cleaning of rock often associated with putting up rock climbing routes.

This is currently not a popular area for rock climbing but with the recent extension of the Fundy Trail Parkway access to the gorge could become very convenient for climbers. If you want to put up routes in Walton Glen please make sure they follow a Leave No Trace ethic.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

Posted by ascentnb on

Access Announcement

Access Announcement

Photo credit to Rob Powell

Ascent New Brunswick is thrilled to announce that it has successfully negotiated with CFB Gagetown for better access to Welsford Crags!

Over recent years, there have been a lot of closures of Welsford climbing areas due to military training exercises on the base. We recognized that our cliffs were included in a large area where training almost exclusively took place many kilometers from Welsford. In light of the distances involved, we requested a small sub area be created for climbers who wanted to go to Welsford crags. CFB Gagetown was very receptive to this idea and agreed to the creation of a special sub-area covering both Cochrane Lane and Mount Doug!

This means training in the rest of the base will no longer necessarily result in closures at the cliffs. This amendment to the areas began in the spring of 2017 and since that time there have been no closures of Welsford crags due to military training exercises. As a matter of fact, so far this year there have been zero closures of the Cochrane Lane cliffs, while Sunnyside and Mount Douglas have only been closed for 4 days due to the moose hunting season.

Ascent New Brunswick is extremely pleased with this new access arrangement with CFB Gagetown. The military have been absolutely fantastic to deal with and very accommodating toward climbers now. Let's keep this new arrangement secure by renewing your Ascent New Brunswick memberships (or purchasing one if you have not), calling in and out to Range Control, and respecting the land.

Our community is very strong and should continue to enjoy great access to climbing if we all stick together. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

Posted by ascentnb on

Membership Renewal 2017

Membership Renewal 2017

The rock season will soon be upon us so now is the time to renew your Ascent NB membership!

Ascent New Brunswick is streamlining its membership renewals; moving forward, all yearly memberships will expire with the fiscal year on April 1st.

You can renew your membership by sending an email money transfer to ascentnb@gmail.com, setting up a one time or yearly renewal via Paypal, or by giving an exec member cash in person.

If you have a yearly Paypal renewal already setup, don't worry - these will continue to roll over on the calendar year until you cancel them.

Posted by ascentnb on

Black Diamond Gear Donation

Black Diamond Gear Donation

Hot on the heels of the UNB Rock and Ice donation of a key piece of rescue equipment, Ascent New Brunswick has received a second substantial donation.  This time from the renowned climbing gear company, Black Diamond!

As you may recall, Ascent New Brunswick committed to organizing a high-angle rescue team donated to Ascent NB by Black Diamondas part of its land use agreement with Base Gagetown. Part of the plan for this team is to provision a cache of rescue gear. As climbing and rescue gear is not cheap, this stood as a significant extra financial cost to Ascent.

With this in mind, local climber and Ascent member Mark d'Astous took it upon himself to reach out to his friend, the well-known Canadian ice climbing legend and Black Diamond athlete, Will Gadd, and to Holly Hansen at Black Diamond to appeal for a donation of gear to help out the team. Black Diamond came through big-time with a generous donation of well over $1000 worth of gear, including harnesses, helmets, belay devices, carabiners, head lamps and back packs! The gear will provide the base of the gear cache, ensuring that no matter where rescuers are when they receive the call to aid, there will be gear ready for their use waiting in the gear cache in Welsford. This will help minimize the time needed to arrive equipped and ready to perform a rescue.

So a big thank you to Black Diamond for recognizing the value in our rescue team and in supporting the Ascent New Brunswick mission! Thanks must also go individually to Mark, Will, and Holly for their help in making this donation a reality. You guys rock!

Posted by ascentnb on

Thank you Precision Pilates!

Thank you Precision Pilates!

We would like to recognize Fredericton's own Precision Pilates for their continued support of Ascent New Brunswick via a second annual generous cash donation to Ascent New Brunswick.

Precision Pilates Logo

Cara Hazelton, founder and owner of Precision Pilates, has known the New Brunswick climbing world for well over a decade and recognizes the value in preserving access to our local climbing haunts. We owe Cara a big thank you today! Financial support from local businesses such as this is crucial to Ascent New Brunswick in these first few years.

Precision Pilates has been a supporter of the local climbing movement for some time, at times offering super popular movement classes designed for climbers! Go sign up for a workout and you will not be disappointed - the core workout will do wonders for your climbing! Also, check them out on their Facebook page!

 

Posted by ascentnb on

Kletternügen!

Kletternügen!

Ascent NB is pleased to announce financial support from another strong local business - Fredericton Volkswagen!

Many New Brunswick climbers have opted for vehicles from the sleek and efficient Volkswagen line up.  Fredericton VW recognizes this and has decided to give back to the climbing community via donation to Ascent New Brunswick.  This donation will help ensure we continue to cover our insurance costs for the land use agreements we are oh-so-close to finalizing.

Thanks again to Ascent member Dan Caldwell and the rest of the gang at Fredericton Volkswagen for supporting Ascent NB!

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Finally… Ascent NB Swag!!!

Finally… Ascent NB Swag!!!

As promised... we got you t-shirts!

As a fundraiser we're hoping to sell out of limited quantities of new Ascent NB official t's! We've got distinct styles for ladies and gentlemen. Both look really sharp and sizes are available in S, M, L. The ladies style is more fitted, with shorter sleeves, and the colour is truer to green.

 

These beauties are going to pop against that pink Welsford granite we all love! Wear em' for your next magazine photo-shoot.

On sale now to members for $20 as a fundraiser that will help us cover our operating costs.

In-person pickup available in Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John. We'll be bringing what's left to the upcoming A.G.M.

Contact us to order one up or talk to any member of the executive!

Stickers available too for $2

Posted by ascentnb on

Update – Land use agreements

Update – Land use agreements

With the upcoming AGM, many of you likely want to know where Ascent NB stands now with respect to acquiring our first land use agreements.

While not yet signed and sealed, we have made significant progress in securing agreements with our largest and most important landowners in the province, J.D. Irving and CFB Gagetown.

In the spring of this year, Ascent submitted official proposals to both these landowners. Summer being a busy time for everyone, it took a couple months for these to go through proper channels before getting an official response. However, in both cases we recently received very positive responses and are now in the process of finalizing the agreements. We are aiming to have both agreements in place by the AGM.

There will be a lot more information about these agreements available at the AGM, so please come out in person if you can and show your support!

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Safety Alert – Updates

Safety Alert – Updates

Both recent Safety Alerts are now over thanks to the volunteer efforts of our community.

Some Enchanted Evening (Cochrane Lane)

Joe's Garage/L-Shape, probably the most popular area at Cochrane Lane, has had the hazardously hanging dead fall removed. Marty Thériault managed to safely dislodge the dead-hanging tree and trundle it from its high perch. It apparently gave Marty a good battle to actually dislodge it completely despite just "hanging there".

Dihelio (Sunnyside)

The loose fourth bolt on this very popular route has been replaced. It is impressive to see the effect of what must be dozens (or even hundreds at this point) of falls on this bolt over the years; the bolt would not come out with manual force, but was clearly jiggling within the hole. The new bolt is about 15cm up and left from the original, and is now on a vertical plane. This should prevent the same mechanics from loosening it in the future.

Have at it! - Adam