Back From Devil’s Lake

Just got in from Devil’s Lake, WI.  The climbing was great.  It was a group of mostly new climbers, so we only hit one route that surpassed 5.8 in difficulty, but that’s just fine by me.  At Devil’s Lake a 5.8 can be one hell of a tough climb.  Supposedly the area has some of the toughest ratings in the country.  I played around on one 5.11b and felt pretty damn good until I got to the crux.  That was it for me.

We kicked things off at the Arousal wall, and I climbed Orgasm (5.8), Foreplay (5.6), Cerebration (5.4), and Second Coming (5.7). I also attempted (as previously mentioned) Orgasm DIrect (5.11b).  Later we hit up Boy Scout (5.4), Brinton’s Crack (5.6), and Chicago (5.8+).  It wasn’t a whole lot of climbing for two days on the rock, but it’s tough to hit a whole lot when you have a large group at a crowded crag.

Devil’s Lake

I’m leaving today, around 5 pm for a trip to Devil’s Lake Wisconsin.  Devil’s Lake is pretty much the hot spot for climbing in the midwest.  The routes there are notoriously hard and stiff in their ratings.  Devil’s lake is not the place to go to bag big numbers, but if you can climb a 5.10 at Devil’s Lake they say you can climb a 5.10 anywhere.

This trip is through Bemidji State University’s Outdoor Program Center (OPC).  There are seven participants and three trip leaders going.  The drive is roughly eight or nine hours so we’ll be staying in Winona the night before and leaving early Friday morning to get on the rock (and perhaps more importantly snag a coveted first-come first-serve campsite) as soon as possible.  The weather is predicted to be sunny in the mid sixties, so definitely beautiful for October.  I anticipate the place will be packed.

I haven’t looked at the guide book lately, so I don’t even know what climbs I’d like to hit up.  I’m probably just as excited to get away for another weekend and spend some time playing guitar around the campfire as I am to go climbing.