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If you love multi-pitch trad climbing, or want to try it, read on; here is the W5 - what, where, when, who and why - for Bon Echo 2006. For those of you who already know and love Bon Echo, please consider making your first visit on the weekend of May 6-7, to help put the dock in, cut and split firewood, and clean up the hut and grounds. This weekend is free of charge, provided you're willing to work half-day to help open up for the season.

Birthday Ridge

If you've never been to Bon Echo, you have an exciting visit ahead of you. Most routes are exhilarating, exposed multi-pitch climbs, and some start directly from the water, with the first step from the boat onto the rock face. You're welcome to come any weekend, but consider making your first visit our Bon Echo 101 weekend, May 27-28. That weekend, Will Richardson-Little and I, along with many other experienced Bon Echo leaders, will be there to take you up the routes of your choice - anything from 5.0 to 5.10. While this weekend is not instructional, it offers an introduction to the area, and a chance for non-leaders to get to know Bon Echo routes and climbers.

Every weekend after opening weekend, until October 14-15, climbers from the ACC Toronto/Ottawa sections will serve as volunteer custodians, to run the boat and take care of the hut, sauna and other facilities at the ACC campground. I'll be coordinating this activity for 2006, and have put together a list of custodians for our six-month season (see this newsletter or go to the Toronto Section's website).

Sunset on the Dock

Bon Echo climbing can be intimidating, so it's not the best place to begin your outdoor climbing career - it's a wild place. Bon Echo climbers wear helmets, back up pitons with gear placements, and stay alert for loose rock, even on the well-travelled routes. Grades are relatively hard at Bon Echo, compared with other Ontario crags, therefore, new visitors often start on easier routes such as Birthday Ridge (5.0), One Pine (5.3), The Front of the Pinnacle (5.4), or Afternoon Delight (5.4).

Getting to Bon Echo is easy if you have access to a car. Follow these six steps:
1. Call or email the appointed custodian (see custodian schedule on page ??), preferably before the preceding Thursday.
2. Arrange with the custodian for a boat pick-up time (10:30pm Friday night, 10:30am Saturday morning, or another pre-arranged time negotiated with the custodian).
3. Find your way to the town of Kaladar (Hwy #41 & Hwy 7 crossroads) and go north on Hwy 41 for approximately 30 minutes.
4. Drive through Cloyne, pass Smart's Marina and continue past the entrance of Bon Echo Provincial Park. Drive 3 km further and turn right on North Mazinaw Heights Road.
5. Drive 2 km to the parking lot at the public dock, unload your camping and climbing gear, and wait patiently for the ACC boat to arrive.
6. Take the boat to the ACC hut and campground, find a tent site, and store your food in the hut (bring an ice chest and mouse-proof containers). Cooking pots, eating utensils and gas stoves are provided, but you'll need your own tent, sleeping bag and other camping supplies. Don't forget your swimsuit, towel, and sun/bug protection!
7. Pay the custodian for your weekend - ACC paid-up members $10/day (bring your ACC card); non-members $20/day). Members can also buy a $75 season pass.

Waiting for the boat

Our climbing at Bon Echo is subject to a few restrictions, set out clearly in the guidebook (A Guide to Rock Climbs at Bon Echo, by Adcock and Brown). Some restrictions flow from our agreement with Bon Echo Provincial Park; for example, no slinging of any trees for any purpose, limited rappel stations, climbing permitted only on established routes, and closure of some climbs near pictographs. As part of this ACC-Park agreement, you will be asked to sign a waiver form each time you visit Bon Echo, consistent with regular ACC policy for other climbing events. One further restriction was imposed after some serious dog-bite incidents - no dogs on busy weekends (always check with the custodian before bringing your dog).

If you need more information, please contact myself or one of the other custodians on the list (see page ?? of this newsletter or look in the Bon Echo section of our website at www.climbers.org ). See you at Bon Echo in 2006!