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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

Rendezvous Recap

Rendezvous Recap

The Welsford Rendezvous did not come off without a hitch again this year, but still saw the community rally and enjoy a beautiful weekend of rock climbing and festivities.

Despite a week's postponement due to forecasted rain, a good chunk of the climbing community managed to adjust schedules and attend the weekend's events. Many teams competed in the various, fun oriented, climbing challenges during the day before returning to the gravel pit. Climbers were spread out across the entirety of Cochrane Lane and Sunnyside. Even the slack liners got in on the action with a high-line first ascent of Amphiteatre!

Frank Zappa made a special guest appearance at Joe's Garage. Apparently, he was honoured to have a wall named after his album. Thanks to Michel Martin for playing the part.

After the exhausting day, folks gathered and rejuvenated with a delicious array of food and drink before attending the Ascent NB Annual General Meeting and awards ceremonies. Thank you to Audré, Sonia, and Kristen for the putting together amazing food - no one went hungry! A shout out to Silver Valley Farms for a deal on the delicious corn and to Trailway Brewing Co for reserving us some top quality brews.

Elections for Ascent's executive followed and saw Greg Hughes and Mike Delaney stay on as President and Secretary/Treasurer. New blood entered the ranks this year with Jon Adamson taking over Vice President from Kristy McClellan. Thanks Kristy for your time!

Steve Adamson was then recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Steve accepted the award in style sharing some great climbing stories. Congratulations Steve and thanks for all you've done for New Brunswick climbing!

The evening rounded off with awards for the climbing competitions. Many awesome prizes were had and barely anyone came away completely empty handed thanks to prize donations by our sponsors The Radical Edge, River and Trail, Outward Bound Canada, and Cruel Shoes Climbing.

Of course the weekend can't fully be recounted without mention of the dramatic accident and ensuing rescue of climber Matt Cormier. Despite the odds and thanks to some incredible luck in his fall, the quick response of EMS and local climbers and just being a plain old tough SOB, Matt was in relatively good shape and made it down to the farmer's field in a matter of 2-3 hours. It's been amazing to hear how well Matt is doing on the road to recovery already. Take a moment to send Matt some support in his recovery.

Thank you to AmbulanceNB and the Welsford Volunteer Fire Department for their efforts and quick response in Matt's rescue. As well, thank you to the Ascent NB Roped Rescue team and to everyone who has contributed to training and equipping the team. The importance of our training has never been more obvious nor more valuable.

Considering all possible outcomes, I think we all saw the weekend as a complete success.

 

Comp Results:
Cochrane Lane Challenge
- 3 teams competed with Ian Lingley and Josh Shewbridge winning in a time of 6 hours and 40 minutes.
Sunnyside Throwdown
- Isiah Jabbour and Matt DesRoches won with 18 climbs
Cochrane Lane 3 Star Selects
- prize draw winners were Keri Lynn Leblanc, Mike Delaney and Andy MacLeod while Dom Caron and Alec Joseph won for best time at 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Pull Up Comp
- Brittany Gionet for the women and Igor Ignatov for the men.