Sorry for the delay in updating my blog, we got back back a bit late after climbing and the blogging sort of fizzled after that, so now that I am home I'll do all my updates at once.
Day 4 we had set aside for trying the crag we found on day 2. We picked up
Boule (round loaf) of bread, Some Pain
au Chocolate and some little strawberry tart things and headed for the rock. Here Michelle and Lewis are crossing a dam which is half way up the hill to the crag. I think the dam might be an old Hydro electric dam, but may mow supply water for cooling the oil fired power station at the bottom of the hill.
I have no photos of the actual climbing, as I was either climbing, or belaying most of the time. Michelle took some climbing photos which she may post on her
blog later.
Here is a annotated view of the crag.
We set up our first anchor at the top of the red line in this image. We used one existing piton and really went to town placing our own protection with a total of 3 nuts and a tricam (it was our first gear anchor) The red line marks the approximate route we climbed. This section of the wall is pretty easy going, probably a 5.6. It is quite positive and has some big horizontal cracks and ledges, a good place to bring young climbers.
After a lunch of bread and cheese we set a second anchor, at the top of the blue line, There was no existing protection here, but there were some nice cracks to place nuts, so we went to town again and put in 4. Lewis and I rappelled down, but it looked like it would be a bit of a mission to set up safe top belay here and the rope was running over a big edge so we couldn't bely from the bottom, so unfortunately we didn't climb this one. I think it would be a fun climb, there is also a nice potential climb the the right, marked in yellow, it starts on a face then goes up a v groove to the top. There looks like there is lots of potential on this crag, so it is defiantly worth taking a rope and some gear if you are a climber heading to SPM.
After a day out on the crag we returned to town for an ice cream and a bit of a walk about. We found this very strangely shaped house, this corner is only about 30 degrees! There are a number of oddly shaped buildings like this in St. Pierre, I guess that space for building in town must have been at a real premium at one time, so they used every inch they could. Most of the homes are detached, but only just, many homes are only inches apart, I was wondering how they paint houses that are that close together. The only way I could see would be either with a roller on a very long stick (but sometimes there isn't even room for a roller) or by dismantling the wall from the inside, painting the siding then rebuilding the wall.
Here is an image I shot back in November while on a prospecting trip on the Baie Verte Peninsula (Newfoundland). We Flew into this location by chopper and spent a week wandering around kicking rocks. This was one of the nicer mornings as it was neither snowing or raining.
Here in Salluit it can be hard to find some of the most basic supplies, I couldn't fine a hammer or paint brush the other day! Even basic food can be a problem, we went almost a week with no bread, milk or eggs in the shops. However the pot shop is always busy and I assume well stocked. Perhaps I should drop in there and see if they could order in some bread with the next shipment!
My first post for a while. I went for a walk along the beach in Salluit the other evening and noticed some kids playing in a boat, and another kid doing what seem slike a popular pass time here, throwing stones. it is not unusual to see kids standing in the road throwing stones at each other, or at houses, windows, pretty much anything.
Today was a day of climbing - well, not for me - I was photographing, but Lewis did some great climbing. He came second in the Junior division at the Wallnuts Rockfall climbing comp. In this image he is negotiating the Junior final route, which he, and 3 others completed, drawing for first, so to break the draw they climbed in a super final on a different route, he placed second on that route. He did very well, Michelle and I are quite proud of him.
After Lunch We went to check out the cemetry, there was a very nice garden in front of it. It is a fine example of how many of the public gardens look in St. Pierre. They obviously put a lot of time into these gardens, but it is well worth it as really make the place look special.
I have no photos of the actual climbing, as I was either climbing, or belaying most of the time. Michelle took some climbing photos which she may post on her blog later.
After a day out on the crag we returned to town for an ice cream and a bit of a walk about. We found this very strangely shaped house, this corner is only about 30 degrees! There are a number of oddly shaped buildings like this in St. Pierre, I guess that space for building in town must have been at a real premium at one time, so they used every inch they could. Most of the homes are detached, but only just, many homes are only inches apart, I was wondering how they paint houses that are that close together. The only way I could see would be either with a roller on a very long stick (but sometimes there isn't even room for a roller) or by dismantling the wall from the inside, painting the siding then rebuilding the wall.
Langlade, Grand Barachois and Miquelon.
There have been a number of farms established on this sand bar, some lay abandoned while some are just starting up. This View is looking north from the sand bar toward the Island of Miquelon.
We traveled to and from Langlade on the St. George, which transports goods and passangers to this island where many of the residents of SPM spend their summer. Since there is no dock at Langlade we landed with the aid of a Zodiac which took us from the St. George to the Beach.
After Mooching around town for a while we decided to head for the hills. I am on a bit of a mission the find somewhere to climb here. I searched the internet for info on climbing here, but there was nothing to be found. So, is this because there in no good climbing here? I would find that hard to believe given the geology and the coastal exposure.
After a little more Hiking we did find a reasonable looking crag with some climbing potential. The rock is solid and looks pretty nice to climb. We decided to hike up to the top to see if there were any good places to set some anchors for a top rope system.
Well, I guess we were not the first to look at this rock and think about climbing it. This is an old Piton that had been hammered into the rock as part of an anchor used by a previous climber. There were 5 pitons here, a group of 3 and a group of two. They all seem solid, and we will may well use some of them as part of our anchors (backed up with our own gear) when we have a go at this crag on Friday. I can't wait to get back out there, looks like fun for the whole family with moderate routes proably in the 5.6 to 5.9 range.
