RMF Member Submission: Connecticut Climbing in the 70s - Part Four
Connecticut climbing in the 70s - part four
Written by Mike Heintz, August 2023
In 1974 a dedicated group of locals set out to explore all those outlying crags we'd been looking at while belaying atop Ragged, or driving to it. Ragged's "golden age" was really the 60's when Sam Streibert and John Reppy climbed most of the prominent lines there. For the surrounding cliffs it was to be the 70's. The "good" traprock extended north as far as Rattlesnake Mountain, and south as far as East and West Peaks. In addition, separate ridges to the southeast extended the potential to include everything over to Chauncey Peak. A limited amount of good climbing was also found within the West Hartford reservoir system, pushing things even further north.
Doug Madara, Mother’s Lament (5.10), Ragged Mountain 1976. Photo by Kim Smith.
There are two classic 5.10 leads on the Small Cliff at Ragged. Anticipation and Mother’s Lament. Both have barely adequate protection. Doug is shown here tackling the crux on Mother’s Lament. Unfortunately, he fell from the very last move, and with the stretch in the rope, his feet just kissed the ground as his fall was arrested. It was the only time I’ve ever seen Doug shaken up.
The many varied crags which fall under the general heading of "Shuttle Meadow" became quite popular, and were closest to Ragged proper. I understand virtually all of them are off limits now. It's a shame. The cliffs are varied, and though short, there's a lot of good climbing out there. The first to be visited was a crag later dubbed the Grond Cliff, after one of its harder routes. This place was remarkable because Kim Smith and I "discovered" it just by walking a short way from the parking area at the Main Cliff at Ragged, (the 1970's parking area over near the dike, not the current one). Remarkably, it seems nobody had ever strolled over for a look. Barely rising above the trees, the Spider Wall has some of the best rock around. Even if it is off limits, sneak over there and see what you're missing. Candle in the Wind (5.9), is one of the most beautiful routes in the state.
Across the reservoir and easily viewed from Ragged is the Fox Den. It's ironic that the old guidebook described this as a particularly cold place in the winter because that's the only season I remember anyone visiting it. There are several good options here, including some wonderful post guidebook hard routes, but the real treat (no pun intended) is the delightful finger crack, Crack and Treat, just off the water. Although it's a long and difficult expedition to reach during warm months, we used to always make an annual winter pilgrimage across the ice to climb it. The name requires explanation. Back in the 70's one of the only stores which sold climbing equipment in Hartford county was in West Hartford, and it's name was Clapp And Treat.
Pinnacle Rock will always be a special place for me. I grew up in the town of Farmington, so Pinnacle was in my back yard, I had been messing around there as far back as the late sixties. I almost killed myself there as a teenager, when I took a factor 2 fall on a rope purchased from Sears & Roebuck, where my mom worked. I frequently camped out there with my rowdy school chums where we experimented with all sorts of mind expanding substances. In 1974, Kim Smith and I put up a lovely little route. We protected it solely with pitons, which we left fixed. In that sense, it was an early sport climb. Eventually, the pins were removed and it protected adequately with nuts. It was a pretty little green slab, so we named it Emerald City. When the route stood alone the name seemed poetic. Surrounding routes were added, and named along the same theme, which I think detracts from the creativity of the first one.
The real reason for bringing up Pinnacle Rock however is that no other crag in Connecticut has changed so much, except perhaps the whole Cooks Gap area which was quarried into oblivion. Up until the mid 70's Pinnacle Rock overlooked a farm. All of those suburban homes below were just grass and cows. We had to park just up the hill from Cook Street, and walk through those fields, past the cows, to visit the crag.
Another remarkable discovery was Cathole Mountain. For over a year Casey Newman talked about a crag he drove past on his way to Ragged from his home on the coast. He spoke of a beautiful right facing corner, capped by a roof. It wasn't until a freezing November day at Ragged that a lack of motivation prompted us to go explore. That corner looked even better up close than it did from the road. Soon Casey was tackling it on lead, while I froze my butt off that unseasonably chilly day. I was too cold to follow without pulling on a piece at the crux. Thus, I missed out on the FA of Pegasus (5.8), one of the very best routes in the state. It still bugs me today.
Harry Brielman, Keystone Crack (5.10), East Peak. Photo by Tony Trocchi.
Harry came onto the scene in the late 70’s and seemed to follow in the footsteps of Jim Adair. Harry contributed several bold lines which aren’t likely to see many repeats, except on top-rope. Keystone Crack, depicted here, is located at Castle Craig, a cliff which was quite popular in the 70’s, despite the objective hazard of frequent projectiles hurtled from the lookout tower above.
No article about climbing in Connecticut would be complete without mention of East Peak, the development of which is arguably at least as significant as Ragged itself. It actually began back in the 60's, again with Sam Streibert. His three great mega classics, Cat Crack, Reflections of Fall, and Thor's Hammer (with some aid), are still some of the best routes in the state. Bagging the FFA of Thor's Hammer is one of my proudest Connecticut achievements, and leading all three in a day used to be considered an area test-piece. East Peak was always the place where new limits were pushed. Sam's Cat Crack, (along with Henry Barber's free ascent of Subline at Ragged) brought 5.10 to Connecticut. Bruce Dicks' Rite of Spring, at 5.10+, was for a short time the hardest route in the state until Tony Trocchi and I freed Dol Guldur later in the same year at 5.11. The arête just right of Thor's Hammer (it seems to have several names) was climbed by Sam Slater at 5.13 years later, probably the first route of that grade in the state.
Kim Smith, Thor’s Hammer (5.9), East Peak, Meriden, CT. Photo by Peter Cole.
Thor’s Hammer is one of the most iconic routes at East Peak. No other route stands out like this one as you drive up past the reservoir to the parking area atop East Peak. It was first climbed (with aid) by Sam Streibert and John Dowd in 1964; and first climbed free by myself, Tony Trocchi and Ken Nichols in 1975. Often climbed in two pitches, Kim is shown here starting the second pitch.
It's funny. I've hardly touched on many of the significant climbs of that era. As I said at the outset, this was about the flavor of the times, or the "Spirit of the Age" if I can borrow a phrase from Pat Ament (the title of his biography of Royal Robbins). As memories flooded back to me they led to unexpected places. I never would have thought the memory of walking across the ice of the Wasel Reservoir with a group of friends, just to climb a thirty foot finger crack, would surface before more historically relevant climbs; But there you have it. In the end, it's not about the relevant climbs. It's about the events which brought joy. It's about good times spent among friends. One of the single most memorable days in the whole of my Connecticut climbing career doesn't even involve climbing. It was on another frigid November day (there seemed to be a lot of these), when Mick Avery and I set out to explore the climbing potential of some obscure crags we had spied somewhere up on South Mountain. The day was as unproductive as any I can remember, except for one thing. Mick had brought along a stove and the fixin’s for making grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a miserable cold day, but we sat up there making and eating grilled cheese sandwiches, the taste of which I have never been able to match since.
In closing, I'll finish with a quote which became iconic for the decade. A bunch of us were hanging around IME up in North Conway talking, when Ed Sklar, somewhat of a climbing philosopher/wit, came out with a statement which would soon find itself printed onto a popular T-shirt:
“Climbing may be hard…but it’s easier than growing up.”
Mike Heintz, Cotswold Way, UK. 2018
Mike Heintz was very active climbing throughout the 70's and 80's. He has over 100 first ascents, and first free ascents, here in Connecticut, and several more throughout New England and New York. He briefly ran a climbing school here in the late 70's, after guiding for IME up in North Conway. He is a retired engineer, currently residing in Bellingham, WA with his wife Kristina, where he spends his time designing tiny houses and drinking martinis. He still gets out to the crags occasionally, but climbs now like the old man that he has become. Hiking, especially long distance walks in the UK, is his current passion.