ascentnb on Ascent New Brunswick is very excited to announce that we have partnered up with Fit Rocks Climbing Gym in Moncton!
Fit Rocks has made a significant donation to our cause and will be selling Ascent NB memberships and t-shirts at their facility. Ascent NB will be offering special rates on memberships to Fit Rocks Gym members and will actively promote this awesome new gym.
ascentnb on 
On Saturday, March 18, Ascent New Brunswick held its second ice school at the Glebe Road ice cliffs near Sussex. Fifteen participants were led by six instructors for an intro to the fantastic activity of ice climbing. A good time was had by all on a brilliant sunny day in March.
Thank you to all the participants for being so awesome and a special thank you to UNB Rock and Ice for the gear loan.
We would also like to thank the instructors - Marc D'Astous, Chris McLellan, Luc Gallant, Max Heffler, Mike Delaney and Greg Hughes who graciously volunteered their time.
Stay tuned for more Ascent New Brunswick climbing schools coming up this year including Intro to Rock and Climber Self-Rescue.
ascentnb on Mouse over the pdf below and you can navigate between page 1 and 2 for all the information.
AscentNB_SRI&II_2017
ascentnb on 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.
ascentnb on Update: This class is now at capacity. Feel free to contact us if you want to get on the waiting list.
Update: Glebe Rd has been chosen as the location for this session!
The first Ice Climbing School was such a success and in such demand that Ascent NB will be holding another session on Saturday, March 18th! The first ice school sold out 2 weeks before the event so don't wait long to sign up!
This full day event costs $100 for non-members (and includes an Ascent NB membership thru April 1st 2018) and $60 for members (including all UNB Rock and Ice members). Half of the fee is required as a non-refundable deposit, and no refunds are permitted in the final week before the event.
All technical gear is provided (boots, crampons, ice tools, helmets, harnesses) so all you'll need is layered warm, waterproof clothing, your lunch, and your psyche! Space is limited so sign up early.
Minimum age of 14 (at our discretion). Under 16 requires adult accompaniment. Under 19, must submit in advance a waiver signed by the legal guardian
To register:
All proceeds will go to help pay for Ascent NB's single largest expense, the insurance policy that our land use agreements require.
Thanks Thomas Raithby for the pics!
ascentnb on UPDATE: We're now at capacity for this class. Feel free to email us to get on the waiting list!
Ascent NB will be holding its first Ice Climbing School on Saturday, February 4th! The event will be held at the Hatchery, in the Sussex area.
This full day event costs $80 for non-members (and includes an Ascent NB membership thru April 1st 2017) and $50 for members (including all UNB Rock and Ice members). Half of the fee is required as a non-refundable deposit, and no refunds are permitted in the final week before the event.
All technical gear is provided (boots, crampons, ice tools, helmets, harnesses) so all you'll need is layered warm, waterproof clothing, your lunch, and your psyche! Space is limited so sign up early.
Minimum age of 14 (at our discretion). Under 16 requires adult accompaniment. Under 19, must submit in advance a waiver signed by the legal guardian
To register:
All proceeds will go to help pay for Ascent NB's single largest expense, the insurance policy that our land use agreements require.
Details on boot sizing, location meeting times, etc., will be distributed in the next couple weeks.
ascentnb on Anyone wanna go bouldering in Welsford?
A few adventurous souls took the time to traverse the eastern slopes of the Mount Doug massif recently and found ~40 quality boulders! A couple of these have definitely been climbed in the past, but the majority have clearly never been touched. Granite glacial erratics are apparently in no short supply in Welsford if you look in the right places!
The southern boulder field has fewer boulders but is closer to the parking, while the northern clusters have a lot more problems but will take longer to hike up to. No doubt there are dozens more waiting for someone to walk by close enough.
Here's a map! Click the waypoints for more info.
Once a trail is built, the southern boulders will be from 5 to 15 min walk, and the northern area reached in max 30 min. Quality problems abound and the quantity is there. All that is needed now is someone to clean them off and send!
ascentnb on 
Sunday September 25th saw Ascent NB hold its first ever Beginner Rock School at Cochrane Lane!
The day began windy and chilly but the sun broke through and shone on the 25 participants who braved a windy day at LShape/Joe's. Students learned their figure8 and how to belay before tackling a few routes. This was followed up by a rappelling lesson at the Lookout.
Everyone had a blast despite the half dozen cold but short rain showers that had us all worried it was the end of our day. Instead each shower passed and the sun kept coming back to warm us up. All were knackered by the end of the day and no doubt pretty sore the next day (or two!).
A big thank you to the instructors for helping to put this event on, and a huge thank you must go to UNB Rock and Ice for partnering with Ascent NB and helping to carry the torch of climbing in NB forward. The event raised nearly $1000 towards covering Ascent's insurance bill, and is a big step towards becoming self-sufficient!
We'll be holding another rock school next year in September. If there's enough demand we may also hold one in the spring. Fire an email to ascentnb@gmail.com to sign up for information on the next rock school!
ascentnb on Despite a last minute scheduling shakeup, the first ever Welsford Rendezvous climbing festival was a resounding success!
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!
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.
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:
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 course
, 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!
ascentnb on 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
Sunday
*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!
