Monson Matriarch // Guide Blog

I have spent a little time exploring this climbing area in Central Ma and I think it's worth a short blog/guide write up. (Video at the bottom too)!

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                                                Bunyan Mountain Bloc Topo Monson MA.
About
Monson Ma is in the middle of nowhere really. It’s an old-school climbing area dated back to the 1979 that climbers from RI, CT and MA would regularly visit. (In the link above, don’t follow the directions, its dated back to 1996). The cliff line runs north and south about 1⁄4 mile and ranges from 20’ to 90’ of quality schist granite. On the south end of the cliff is the where some BP’s are, they are cliff ban boulders but at such a high quality, it doesn’t make sense you’re in central MA.
Directions
Either the Mass Pike or Rt. 20 are your best options – below is a link to a map I created for driving and approach directions and also a vague location of boulders.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NSdga6CXFw2yIhL8IakcX8kqfDg&usp=sharing

Parking
Two options – 1) Park in the pull-out on the left, before the last house at the end of Bunyan Rd or 2) Parking at the top of the hill at the Hospital off of Macomber Rd. I have only parked at the Bunyan Rd pull off. It’s about a 20m hike from here. Hiking from the Hospital, you’re on your own, but there is a trail that runs parallel along the top of the cliff.

​Approach
From the Bunyan Rd parking spot - Once parked, walk up the past the last house on the left and cross over the big fallen tree across the dirt road. Continue up the wide trail until you come to a junction, turn slight right and walk downhill and then turn left once you see a trail opening on the left. Continue through the woods until you come to a power line opening and look for a cairn marking the opening to the final trail to the cliff line. You'll see the beginning of the cliff. There is a trail that cuts above the cliff that you could end up on, so if you start to trend up hill and left, cut right to the cliff line.

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The Matriarch Wall
The south most part of the cliff line, can’t be missed. This wall holds some of the best lines I’ve seen in Central Ma. If this face (pictured below) was in any other popular climbing area, it would be 5-star. Check it out! 

A – Project that hasn’t been tried or cleaned (40’ rope should do the trick for cleaning). A vision quest if you want, but pulling the weird lip from the cliff to the detached wall and onto the face should be fun and maybe hard.
B – Monson Matriarch V10 (FA Josh Larson 2017) is a line out of the Rocklands with its orange and dark grey, rounded crimps on very solid stone. Start left hand in slotted jug (right side of the arch) and climb straight up though a series of slotted crimps (dreamy) and then a final right hand punch to a slot. Once you get that slot, move lefthand to a jug then straight up to a wide crack and follow that to the ledge (top out) on the right. 
C – Blue OX V6 (FA by Zach Larson 2014) This line is the next line to the right of the previous. Start on lowest crack (squat start, not a sit) and climb up the deceivingly hard crimps to the top ledge. 
? - The WC Slabs are about 15’ tall, rounded, smooth and almost blank. Some quartz crystals pop out here and there and I’m sure scrubbing some of the lichen off would reveal a 5-star slab! Worth checking out! 

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The Mega-dong Proj
The next best and hardest line here. The dong-dagger will get ya! Walk along the base of the cliff line until you stumble upon this feature. This picture is taken from the north so you won’t see the dagger dong until it's too late... 

The final move to this wild line. Left heel or a high right foot? Either way, it's going to be a rip to the finishing JUG! GO GET IT!

Monson Matriarch | First Ascent from Cold House Media on Vimeo.