BOULDER FEST 20/18
Sam Elias and Mark Synnott reflect on a sailing trip to Dover Island
This summer, top American climbers Sam Elias and Mark Synnott sailed from Eastport, Maine, to Nova Scotia to take part in Boulderfest, the annual boulder festival on Dover Island. “As some of you know, I’ve been dreaming about sailing to Nova Scotia since I got my first sailboat back in 2005,” said Synnott on day one of the trip. “It’s hard to believe, but it has taken me 13 years to prepare for the voyage, which just began today.”
They set off from Eastport, Maine and arrived in North Head Harbour on Grand Manan on day one. “We cut it close with the daylight but we were rewarded with a beautiful reach along the island’s north coast as we watched the sunset alongside a pod of whales,” Synnott said. “Tomorrow we are setting off at 4 a.m. to catch the ebb tide for our crossing of the Bay of Fundy and on through Petite Passage on Digby Neck.”
Synnott is a big wall climber who has climbed new routes in Alaska, Baffin
Island, Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, Patagonia, Guyana, Venezuela, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Russia, Cameroon, Chad, Borneo, Oman and Pitcairn Island. Going on a bouldering trip has never been on the top of his list, but with the adventures that come with sailing he’s right at home. “We will be stopping in many places along the way and we look forward to exploring and meeting any Canadian climbers who live along our route,” said Synott on his way to Dover. “I have to imagine there must be a few secret crags hidden out there.”
Dover Island is just off shore of West Dover, N.S., and it’s considered by many to be the best bouldering area around Nova Scotia and the premier bouldering destination in Atlantic Canada. There are high quality bouldering problems and amazing ocean scenery. It is home to over 120 problems that range from V0 to V10 with many new lines waiting to be climber.
“We sailed right on past Dover Island, where Boulderfest will be taking place this weekend, in favor of an anchorage
a bit further east called Rogue’s Roost,” said Synnott. “We’d been told it’s the best anchorage in all of Nova Scotia, and its reputation is well deserved. The cove is so well hidden it took us two passes to find the opening. Once inside we followed a narrow, twisting channel lined with fields of heath, granite boulders and wind stunted spruce. We capped off our day with a dinghy exploration of this magical wilderness area which comprises 22 islands, all of which are uninhabited. On one of them we finally got our hands on some Nova Scotian stone. I’m told by some locals that we are probably the first people to climb on this island. Needless to say, this is my kind of place.”
When Elias and Synnott finally arrived in Dover Island, they’d been sailing for two weeks. They spent a few days at the bouldering festival with dozens of locals who were sending hard problems. “Community Service V9 was one of my favourites from the Boulderfest weekend,” said Elias. “It was put up by my friend Nick Sagar a while ago. I did a lot of climbing on little Dover Island over the weekend, until midnight both nights. It’s pretty surprising my soft skin and swollen boat feet were up to the challenge after two weeks of nothing but sailing from Synnott’s scrappy boat, Camelot.” Dover Island draws far more boulderers than route climbers, but it does offer a handful of short and high quality roped climbs. Located at the mouth of West Dover’s harbour, there are two short granite cliffs with about fifteen trad lines from 5.7 to 5.11. The granite is very coarse and similar to Joshua Tree monzonite. The base provides a sandy beach to belay from. “I was very impressed with the setting and the quality of the stone,” said Elias. “The community was really welcoming and stoked to have us there.” Some of the classic climbs the locals were giving the tour of included Orgasmatron V0, The Coffin V2, Bulldog V6, Orange Crush V6, and I Heel Good V7. “This was my first trip with Sam, but he’s heard the stories about some of my wild goose chases in the past, so I couldn’t blame the guy for being a tiny bit skeptical about what we’d find to climb in Nova Scotia,” said Synnott. “I wish you could have seen the smile that lit up his face when we stepped ashore on Dover Island for the first time. By his second problem, a body length
roof on which every hold was a sloper, he was beaming as he declared the climbing on Dover as world class.”
Elias was raised on competitive alpine ski racing, has a double degree from the University of Idaho in biology and art/ ceramics, and he has climbed new routes up to 5.14+. He even placed second at the Ouray Ice Fest in 2010 and has climbed hard winter routes. He’s spent many months climbing in and around Europe, Venezuela, Turkey, and Asia, and once traversed Russia by train to compete in an ice climbing world cup in Kirov.
“Much of our stoke was fueled by the fact that we were being spotted and cheered on by dozens of Canadian kindred spirits who welcomed us into their tribe as if we were old friends,” said Synnott about the infectious energy that all climbers bring to Dover. “Of course, it was fitting that we were surrounded the whole time by the Atlantic Ocean, the power of which was felt by every one of us. Between climbs, I would gaze out at the churning sea.”
Dover Island has long been one of Canada’s premier locations to boulder. Next time you plan a trip, consider following in the wake of Elias and Synnott and take your time on the open seas.—BP