Sandstone Quarry Update

Sandstone Quarry Update

All of this is in process of being developed. Climbing is legal. Bolting is legal but has to be approved. Thanks to Jeff Engel, Nick Gamel, etc! for opening up this area.

Directions

Map of Area (courtesy Shawn Tracy)

ALERT: Poison Ivy is very rampant here if you go into the underbrush. Especially around Diagonals Wall. If you bring RoundUp and spray around the climbing walls, I sure won't complain. I've been working to get rid of it but it will be a while and the oil is still around. Sax Wall and Relationship wall is clear, but Route 7 Quantum Chaos you may want to flake rope in the right corner and don't let it fall to ground on left, there was a huge poison ivy patch that I took out and the oil is still there.

Take Claritan antihistimine a day or two before you show up and continue taking them until after you leave to reduce reaction. Use scalding water on itches and it will feel really good and go stop itching for 4 hours or so. Use Ivy Block or other poison ivy potions and shower and wash clothes after you leave. Use soap and water on rag to clean rope. Bring soap and water and wash rag with you to wash hands and shoes, pants regularly. Bring plastic bags and second set of clothes and put in plastic bag and wash them.

UPDATE: (as of 5/2008) I nuked most of the poison ivy around Diagonal and Sax wall, no worries. Might be little patches.

Drytooling: People have historically drytooled (ice axe, crampons, herd of cats on crack) here so there really are no rules that I know of to stop anyone from drytooling. However, since installing bolts makes access easier, drytooling traffic has increased and thus destruction of routes has and will occur at an increasing pace. I personally prefer people drytool over on the other walls where you historically ice climb in winter (Main flow, reservoir dogs), but I can't stop anyone from doing otherwise. I just ask you do what is best for Minnesota climbing.

HISTORY (from Dave Pagel)

.....Regarding Sandstone climbing: my earliest memories are of top-roping there in about 1979, 1980...something like that. Then, and after that, Sandstone was mostly a spring thing for us (we went there when the wind, lingering snow, or temps on the North Shore made climbing further north less than comfortable. Once the Shore came into condition, we never went there again until fall again. We would very occasionally visit in the winter and do the one big waterfall, but we never played around on the other mixed stuff until Dahlberg brought that sort of thing into vogue around the mid-eighties. We never named anything-- seemed presumptuous since others had clearly visited before us (a bit like Carlton Peak in that regard). We identified the climbs there by "panels" (sections of rock that were bounded by drill hole scars) and used those as out of bounds markers, etc. I suppose it was a bit like the route setting business that people do today at climbing gyms. The whole experience felt very artificial and contrived because of those drill hole scars--which is probably why the place never really caught on with us. Of course the few routes on the more natural cliff faces there were our favorites (and we just called them things like "the big diagonal crack"). Nonetheless, we thought of it as an important enough crag that when we built the indoor climbing wall at UMD in the late 80s, we included a panel of natural rock from there (along with panels of rock from Taylor's Falls, Blue Mounds, Red Wing, Palisade Head and Carlton Peak--representatives of all the different types of climbable rock in the state of Minnesota).

......As I mentioned before, we had no doubt when we were going there that others had almost certainly climbed there before us. I think it is important not to diminish the efforts and the spirit of those who climbed (unheralded and unrecorded) during the 70s, probably even the 60s in Minnesota. I do, however, think that you are pretty safe crediting a number of the mixed climbs to Mike D. I remember he had produced a sketch that he circulated to a bunch of us showing the names, locations, and ratings of the mixed climbs he worked out in secret before he took a large group of us to his "secret fishing hole" one winter weekend. In terms of mixed possibilities, he was the visionary at Sandstone.

MORE HISTORY (from Mike Dronen)

Back in the mid '80's I kept asking a bit about Sandstone as I'd drive by it on my trips between the cities and UMD where I was doing my undergrad. I'd generally get blank looks on most people's faces. Somewhere around '86 Dahlberg shared a bit about the place and about "some guy" (I think he even knew the name) who wanted little to nothing to do with climbers in the quarry - someone who'd chase you out of there if he saw you. Believing about 50% of that and accepting a "just try it pal" attitude, I began work on a possible line on the "drill wall" (I believe Mike had already put up Sigma at the time and so I knew he wasn't simply trying to keep anything under wraps). I eyed a line on the "drill wall" that would follow the crack to the right, then exit left onto the face and do a kind of "S" route on slopers to the final high step and slotted pocket pull to the top. At the time I proposed "escape" as the route name, as it followed an "S" kind of line and had that "prison-esque" metaphor.

At the time, what existed (if at all) was probably closer to a no bolt ethic, but looking at the man-made nature of the place itself, and the less than great situation for setting up a tr on the climb, I justified a couple "as discreet as possible" bolts at the top. Interesting enough, I never saw hide nor hair of what I began to assume was a mythical figure described by Mike, but I did discover near the end of fall after establishing the climb that someone had defaced the lower part of the wall, chipping what I can only assume they thought were holds (the possibility of any direct start on that line was inconceivable) required to do the route, not realizing the line started in the crack - so hey, maybe the guy existed. I never saw another climber (or person) that whole season while in the quarry, but on several occasions as daylight waned, had the creepy feeling that I was not quite alone.

I showed the route to several others, the only one who I knew to work out the moves while I was there was long time friend Paul Bjork. In the late '80's and early 90's I climbed with Paul, et. al., and knew Dave Pagel a bit from UMD - greatest of times, now reliving those with my two daughters (12 and 13), who willingly (yeah!) accompany their old man down the road to TF (we live in Lindstrom) where he watches them learn the craft.

Picture Era 1983-1984

Tommy D, Al Grahn, Others....

Relationship Wall:

North facing wall 200 yards north of bathrooms where wall turns from east
facing to north facing

Named after two guys decided they needed to work on their relationships more - while bolting of course.

NOTE: You can name these unnamed routes - Sponsor

Relationship Wall	Relationship Wall

Compromise, "Yes Dear", Arbor Day	Routes 4 & 5

From Left to Right

#1 - Compromises:
1. 5.10'ish
2. Lead
3. Bolted 10/25/05
4. Bolted by Jeff Engel, Mike Endrizzi
5. FFA J. Engel J
"Adoption"
1. 5.11d/5.12a
2. Lead
3. Bolted 10/25/05
4. Bolted by Jeff Engel, Mike Endrizzi
5. FA: James Loveridge
6. FFA: J. Engel J
Arbor Day
1. 5.12'ish unknown???
2. Lead (Missing last bolt but top anchors exist 10 foot runnout at end)
3. Bolted 10/25/05
4. Bolted by Jeff Engel, Mike Endrizzi
5. NO FFA
Unnamed Arete
1. TR
2. Bolted 10/25/06
3. Bolted by Jeff Engel
4. NO FFA
Unnamed Slab
1. TR
2. Bolted 10/25/06
3. Bolted by Jeff Engel
4. NO FFA

Sax Wall/Muskrat/Generic -

(Wall name is being debated)

Far end of park near walk up/off near railroad bridge.

WARNING: Better be a good 5.10 leader. This has 2 ledges
on it so make sure you watch your clips and belayer pay attention. I'm rating these a little harder than they really are because of ledge fall potential.

Named for Pat Matkin climber sax player. One of the first route sponsors on this wall.

Sax Wall	Sax Wall	Sax Wall	Sax Wall

Route 1 & Body and Soul	Route 3 and Multiple Sax Partners	Route 3, Route 4 and Multiple Sax Partners	Multiple Sax Partners and Route 6

From Left to Right

Route 1 Unnamed
1. 5.9 one move 5.10'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.1.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA - Mike Endrizzi
7. Last bolt is a little run out with ledge below so be careful. Use foot ledges on left and lie back on drill holes up left and right.
Body and Soul
1. 5.9'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.1.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. Sponsored by Pat Matkin - Sax Wall dedicated to Pat Makin and his saxaphone
6. FFA - Pat Matkin
7. FA - Unknown
Route 3 Unnamed
1. 5.9'iish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.11.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA - Joe Mueller
Route 4 Unnamed
1. 5.10'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.14.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. FFA - Joe Mueller
6. FA - Unknown
Multiple Sax Partners
1. 5.10+'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.11.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA - Jeff Engel (Variant) and Mike Endrizzi
7. This route goes straight up from last ledge. I know temptation is to go right but cool part is dyno for ledge. Or trust feet.
Route 6 Unnamed
1. 5.10+'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 10.14.2006)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
5. FFA- Mike Endrizzi
6. FA - Unknown

Diagonals Wall


Route 9,10,11,12,13,15 Left side of Diagonal Wall	Route 12,13,14	Route 16 and 17 Center	Route 7 and Route 8 All the way on the right of diagonals wall

Route 7 Quantum Chaos -
1. 5.9'ish
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 5.28.2007)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA - Mike Endrizzi - 6-16-07
7. Crux is pulling the mini-roof. Do NOT!!! touch the crack to the right at any time!!!! Stay on slab.
Route 8 Unnamed -
1. 5.5
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 5.28.2007)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA - Mike Endrizzi 6/1/07
7. Easy - shares bolts with Route 7. Go up crack to the right.
Route 9 Unnamed -
1. 5.8
2. Sport Lead TBD
3. (Bolted TBD)
4. Bolted by Joe Mueller
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA -
7. Follow arete on left side of Diagonals Wall. Tricky but easy 5.8. Learn how to mantle, think left palm. Start on Diagonals Wall and lieback right on the flake on the drill holes.
  WARNING: Do not start climb around corner to left next to tree. This is very loose death block and your could bring down multiple blocks. We marked it with X's
Route 10 Unnamed - ROUTE CLOSED- Work In Progress
1. 5.12???
2. Sport Lead TBD
3. (Bolted TBD)
4. Bolted by Joe Mueller
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA -
7. Work the first set of 3 drill holes on left side of diagonals wall. Pretty hard to link moves together. One move 5.12, then a couple 5.11's and the rest is easy.
Route 11 Route of Death!!!!
1. 5.9 (with long runner), 5.9 R (if don't use long runner)
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 5.28.2007)
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
5. FA - Unknown
6. FFA -
7. SPORTY!!!!! but very very cool ramp. Stay on the ramp to be pure, don't wus out and go to side ledges and climb up. Better have your head on for this one, multiple tricky moves between bolts, long fall if you don't get it straight. For those who hate the runnout Red Wing Drilling Experience ramp, this whole ramp is like 60 feet of Drilling Experience. Bring a long runner to avoid long fall at the end. You'll know where to put runner. Oh Yeah, look out for the bee hive.
Route12 Escape! -
1. 5.10????
2. Sport Lead
3. (Bolted 6/2008)
4. Bolted by Michael Endrizzi
5. FA - Mike Dronen (Top Rope mid 1980's) (See history)
6. FFA - ???
7. Start on left arcing ramp for a couple feet but head straight up. Has cool finish on finger ledges below the anchors.
Route13 Unnamed -
1. 5.8???
2. Lead
3. Bolted 9/23/07
4. Bolted by Joe Mueller and Mike Endrizzi
5. FA - Joe Mueller
6. FFA -
7. Start Route Ramp Of Death but go straight up, at last ledge do scary traverse right to FBBMEAJMFFAMEUFA and finish
Route14 FBBMEAJMFFAMEUFA -
1. 5.8???
2. Lead
3. Bolted 9/23/07
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. FA -
6. FFA - Mike Endrizzi
7. First route above the pit, start on upper ledge. Look out for falling on iron bars, we tried to bolt so you wouldn't hit them. Could be a ball sack ripper if your a guy, not sure what to say for the ladies. Angle up the diagonal left.
Route15 Unnamed - ROUTE CLOSED- Work In Progress
1. 5.11???
2. Lead
3. Bolted 9/23/07
4. Bolted by Mike Endrizzi and Joe Mueller
5. FA - No one
6. FFA -
7. Same as Route 13 but finish straight up
Route16 Unnamed -

5.8'ish
Lead
Bolted 9/12/09
Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
FA - No one
FFA - Mike Endrizzi
Diagnal ramp. Start on right diagonal where two bolts are on the ramp within 3 feet of each other. Weird start, but doable by 5.8 if you find right holds and crimpers. Walk up ramp as much ramp as there is. Might have to start zig-zagging on shelves. Status: Still dirty haven't cleaned foilage yet 9/23/09

Route17 Unnamed -

5.10'ish
Lead
Bolted 9/12/09
Bolted by Mike Endrizzi
FA - No one
FFA - Mike Endrizzi
10 feet right of Route 16. 5.10 start on small crimpers to first ledge. Easy moves to top ledge. Cool crack finish, total use of cranking right hand ring lock and must trust feet.Status: Still dirty haven't cleaned foilage yet 9/23/09

Sigma Wall??? (unnamed)

(From Shawn Tracy)

Since you've got a Sandstone page with abbreviated guide in place, I'd like to update you some. I've been working on a guide for the area and hope to have it ready by the Ice Fest. It includes all known routes, ice, mixed and rock and consists of probably 35-45 routes.

For now, though, the Sigma Wall has the following five routes established 18 years ago by Mike Dahlberg and recently cleaned by him and myself, with bolting as well. FYI, all of these will have anywhere from 0 bolts to 8 or so as of this fall.


Sigma	WildThing

Sigma
1. 5.12b
2. Sport Lead many bolts
3. (Bolted 10.17.2005)
4. Bolted by Mike Dahlberg and Shawn Tracy
Wild Thing
1. Unknown rating
2. Trad lead - Bolt Anchors
3. (Bolted 10.17.2005)
4. Bolted by Mike Dahlberg

(From Shawn Tracy)

1. Nexus, 5.13? Follows right-facing layback or off-width (your choice) corner to 1 foot roof then follows crack to top (soon to be bolted).

2. Sigma, 5.12+, follows S-curved seam right of Nexus. Bolted, bring draws for route AND top anchors if top roping (this is NOT 12b by Red Wing or Palisade Head standards; final grading is yet to be determined by Dahlberg; please replace "b" with +; so much trickier than any 12b at RW).

3. Wild Things, 5.9+, Trad line right of Sigma following inside corner to roof and corner system to top. Somewhat of a dicey lead, but much cleaner now than 1.5 years ago--still questionable rock-integrity with somewhat difficult gear or runout above roof; leaders beware.

4. Tool Boy, 5.11, Start on flake system immediately right/on start of Wild Things, then either strenuously hand traverse right to left-facing corner on ledge, or balance the foot traverswe on top of ledge to corner (traverse may be being protected by 2-3 bolts in the future...has been trad-led but it is an X-route this way and will likley get a couple bolts instead). Move right out roof to bade of splitter hand crack and plug in gear to a stance on final arete-face to top.

5. The Niche, 5.12 b/c, Start as per Tool Boy via the hand-traverse version but continue past Tool boy to a shallow-rising scoop with a niche at its base. Follow the strenuous face and niche to the top.

There are MANY ice and mixed routes all over the place and a few other rock routes that are worth while as well, but these 5 are by far the best rock routes to date (no offense). They are absolutely off-limits to dry tooling. Currently, the ethic is if there's a face with man-made ledges, dry tooling is admissable but on clean faces, dry-tooling is off-limits. The routes on the wall you've been working on has been the early-season dry-tooling conditioning area for probably close to 15 or more years.

In the guide I'm putting together, I am explaining some of the history and local ethics regarding top-roping options, bolt establishment information, FA's when known, all the ice, mixed and rock routes known to date, the dry-tooling allowances (basically no dry tooling on rock routes without man-made ledges), sensitive areas (historical and ecological) and a few other odds and ends. I need a scaled base map (in progress) and lots of photos (which I plan on getting more of this weekend). It will be a free electronic guide provided by the MCA and it'd be cool if you had a link to it on that page of yours.