Alpine Club of Canada
One hundred of us anxiously waited for the boats to Dover Island. It was the first weekend in August and we had migrated from near and far. For three days we would tackle the blocs on the tiny island, one-kilometre from West Dover, N.S. We had come for Boulderfest, the annual boulder ing rendezvous which brings crowds from all over North America.
Boulderfest has happened every summer since 2001, and grown from a local event to a highly anticipated weekend for climbers everywhere. There is an attendance cap of 100 because transporting and feeding more people would become a logistics nightmare and it would increase the impact on the fragile ecosystem of the island. cns works hard to enforce zero-trace practices where possible, and in the case of Boulderfest there are rules to minimize impact, everything that is brought in must be brought out, including human waste.
On the island the anticipation to start climbing was a buzz. We all had our pads; some people were returning climbers, for others it was their first time. On the boat we talked about the combined efforts to keep Dover clean. Everyone that visits the island understands it is important to work together to preserve access. Dover Island is made of coarse granite; it has patches of grass and pine trees, which are great for camping. The winter weather has a tendency to shift boulders, sometimes moving them into the ocean, so we all wanted to find and send our routes before the season was over.
At the trailhead where the boats dropped us off is the camping area. Beyond are several areas of world-class boulder ing, a five-minute walk from the tents are the warm-up boulders. The anticipation of what lies beyond makes it hard to stop. The warm-up area has 20 problems up to V10. The landings are flat, and the routes are stacked side by side, making it easy to jump from one to the other before trying the classic, The Bear, V4. During the festival large crowds gathered at the warm-up boulders, with a stack of crash pads working the problems together.
It is another five-minute walk to the Solarium which is home to classics such as
The landings are flat, and the routes are stacked side by side, making it easy to jump from one to the other before trying the classic, The Bear, V4
Air Force One, V1, and Community Service, V9. Beyond that is the halfway point of Dover with one of the bigger collections of blocs, The Wave, V5, and Bulldog, V6, are two of the sought-after classics. Solarium was popular and had enough crash pads and spotters to try any problem. With dozens of climbers resting between climbs while others tried their projects, the support and cheering was infectious. When someone sent, everyone celebrated. The recent addition of sun shelters and a free massage station make it common for climbers to spend their whole day there. Problems are scattered across the island, from one end to the other. The classic V8, White Trash, was climbed because the tide was right. If it were any higher no one could have gotten on it, it made for a few great sends. Orange Crush was the must-climb V6, and the best V0 of the province is Orgasmatron.
Along the trail to the next set of boulders is where Exciter, V7, is found. It required a lot of pads so Boulderfest was the ideal time to try it. Next to it are other classy lines, we slid a couple of pads over from Exciter to try the highball V4, John Doe.
The weekend had a number of first ascents. Welcome to Dover is a new V4, climbed by Chris Richardson; it goes up an obvious and over-looked line on beautiful features through an overhang. On the same boulder is the new Moby’s-Dick, a high-ball V4, incipient smears up a slab. There were big sends, big falls, projects climbed and new boulders found, but most importantly, everyone had a great time. At times the weather was clear with the sun shining, other times it was grey and misty.The Atlantic Ocean made for a dramatic back-drop with the smell of sea water and the sound of waves crashing. Night climbing was a popular way to spend the evening; headlamps illuminated the jagged rocks, displaying features missed during daylight. At the end of the festival all that was left was chalked holds, evidence of the efforts by everyone who made the journey to Dover.
With each year cns refines the event. They change the elements of the weekend to ensure each year is as good as it can be. Planning for Boulderfest 2014 is well on its way.