Courage Highway: A Four-Pitch Ontario 5.11

Orient Bay in Northern Ontario, north of Lake Superior, has a number of 100- metre walls next to Highway 11. For over 20 years, climbers have been adding new routes and updating old ones. This fall, long-time Orient Bay developer, and southern Ontario local, Steve Charlton returned for some unfinished business. He joined Thunder Bay climbers Aric Fishman, Kyle Brooks, Cory McFarlane, Andy Noga and Duncan Hutchison to complete a decades-old project and push it to the top of the wall. In the end, the team completed Courage Highway, a four-pitch all-bolted 95- metre 5.11b to the top. “I really look forward to more people being able to enjoy a place I love so much,” said Charlton. “To see a route go directly up the centre of the wall and have the moves go at such an attainable grade, is truly a gift from the rock gods.” needed only three tries to complete Jaws II at Rumney in New Hampshire. The hard sport route is one of only f ive in North America, of which Megos has now climbed t wo. The f irst being his Fight Club 5.15b in Banff. After his rare ascent of Jaws II, Megos said, “That went a bit faster than expected. I tried it twice, using a few different combinations. Then on the next go, I just did it.”