Bradley 1

So yesterday I went out to Bradley for the first time! This was the last large bouldering area in New England I had yet to visit, so I was psyched to finally get out there! Surprisingly, after the winter we've been having, the weather was amazing for once. The temps were 45 and sunny, and everyone was psyched.

Liam excited about the cave. 

After hiking twenty minutes through a foot of wet snow in sneakers we arrived Mr. Bill's Cave, the crown jewel of Bradley. We all immediately threw ourselves at the only available 'warm up' in the cave, the fun and unique 'Methods' v6. Methods involves surprisingly subtle climbing up a short overhang on blocky sidepulls, leading to a drop off jug. We all managed to get up it in a few tries.

Jonah warming up on Methods v6
 

Next up was 'The Prow,' a v10 on the left side of the cave, which is known for its long and sustained nature, needless to say, I was not thinking i'd have an easy time with it. Doug immediately jumped on it, and fell pretty high, and a few other people jumped on, and fell lower down. 

Doug Ianuario mid-crux on The Prow v10

Liam sprayed me down with the beta, and I set off through the initial crimp crux, grabbing some very unpleasant holds. I kept on doing moves, expecting to fall, but the holds never got worse, and before I knew it, I was high up on the face, pumped out of my mind, trying to locate the crimps in the sea of lichen covered traprock. About a minute late, I managed to get a good stance up on some good holds, where a wave of disbelief washed over me. I had never done v10 in a session, or flashed v9, so a v10 flash felt unbelievable, especially one of this style. I walked down from the boulder barefoot through the snow and didn't even care. 

Augy on Methods, and Me on The Prow. 

What happened next was even more incredible. Brian sent The Prow a few tries after me, followed by Jonah, taking it down yelling, splitting his finger, followed by Liam, and then Doug, and Finally Mason. It was the largest 'send-train' I have experienced. 

Jonah Prowing 

Next we all threw ourselves on Busted Shadow v11. I managed all the moves pretty quickly, except for the long lock off, not wanting to risk re-splitting my finger on the crux 3-finger crimp. That being said, I am expecting another trip soon, to try to take it down. After that we hiked up the hill, and climbed a cool line called 'Cypher' v8, characterized by a long move to a flat edge. Brian flashed, and I sent in a few tries. We finished off the day by trying 'Suspense,' a scary v9 suspended over an icy pit. Once the snow melts i'd like to return for this one too. 

I know I will be making a return trip to this place. Pronto. 

-Kai Webler