Deep in the Northeast Kingdom lie the Kingdom Heritage Lands, 132,000 acres of former and current timberland conserved for public access since 1998. The remote and undeveloped area is mainly the domain of wildlife, logging trucks, hunters and snowmobilers.

Recently, however, increasing numbers of rock climbers have frequented a stunning band of chiseled granite towers set in the middle of the Kingdom Heritage Lands, at a cliff 30 minutes south of the Canadian border and on the northern edge of the Nulhegan basin.

“As soon as you reach the cliff, your jaw drops,” Mischa Tourin, executive director of the Climbing Resource Access Group of Vermont — or CRAG-VT — said last week. “It all is perfect 90-degree angles, like it was built by rock climbers with rock climbing in mind.”

Climbers first explored the cliff, known as Black Mountain (not to be mistaken for Black Mountain Natural Area in Dummerston), around 2005, but only visited it sporadically until it was added to the second edition of Vermont’s comprehensive outdoor climbing guidebook, “Vermont Rock,” in 2022.

Alongside the subsequent increase in use of the cliff, the nonprofit CRAG-VT has spent the past few years working with landowners and easement-holders to preserve access, including creating a climbing management plan and establishing rock climbing as an “acceptable form of recreation” on the Kingdom Heritage Lands.

As part of that effort, six weeks of trail work on the area’s rugged and steep approach trail have been completed over the last two years by NorthWoods Stewardship Center, with significant funding from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.

According to Tourin, outdoor rock climbing in Vermont was, for a long time, defined by the schist that runs along the spine of the Green Mountains — a unique rock covered with tiny impressions, used by rock climbers as “holds.” In contrast, Black Mountain is made up of strong granite covered in “perfect” parallel cracks of varying sizes, Tourin said, which geologically has more in common with the White Mountains of New Hampshire or world-class climbing areas like Yosemite.

The power-line access road that leads to Black Mountain on September 4, 2021. Photo by K. Fiegenbaum/VTDigger

Those cracks, Tourin said, are very conducive to “traditional” climbing, where participants jam their hands and feet into the crack to move upward and place expansion gear — attached to a rope — in the cracks to catch a fall or help facilitate a descent.

“I think I feel comfortable saying that (Black Mountain) is the best place in the Northeast for crack climbing, as far as the number of crack climbs in one cliff,” the longtime climber and guide said. About 70 different routes have been established at the area, most of them of moderate or advanced difficulty.

However, reaching “Vermont’s premiere crack climbing mecca” can be quite the trek.

Black Mountain is located about a three-hour drive from Burlington, on the edge of Averill (population 21) and Lewis (population 0). Following a GPS will likely lead to a dead end, and a high-clearance vehicle is recommended.

The cliff is even a sizable distance from the Northeast Kingdom towns of St. Johnsbury (one hour and 30 minutes) or Newport (one hour), since users generally drive all the way up to the Canadian border in Norton before traveling 6.2 miles south on a slow, rocky power-line access road to reach Black Mountain’s parking area.

“It’s definitely far away,” Tourin said. “The last few times I’ve been there, it certainly seems like more folks in Canada have noticed that it’s a pretty good climbing resource because it’s only a couple miles south of the border.”

Before CRAG-VT’s involvement, the ordeal to reach the base of the cliff didn’t stop at the parking area. Up until a couple of years ago, visitors had to try and locate the access trail, which was steep, prone to erosion, often muddy and lined with prickly plants that latched onto any nearby pants leg.

As of last month, however, trail workers have fully established a sustainable approach trail that includes a welcome kiosk, 38 stone steps, four wooden ladders and 160 feet of retaining wall, a recent CRAG-VT newsletter explained. 

Julia Vitale climbs at Black Mountain in Averill on October 9, 2022. File photo by Mischa Tourin

“Next phases will continue base-of-cliff stabilization, assess more complex gully issues, and explore parking improvements,” the newsletter read. “This work moves us closer to a fully sustainable Black Mountain for years to come.”

According to Tourin, CRAG-VT’s work lies not only in securing access to climbing and stewarding cliffs but also in building community. To that end, the group held weekend member meetups titled Kingdom Climbing Weekend this year and last, renting out cottages at Quimby Country resort in Averill.

“We started it off maybe as a one-time thing to celebrate the start of (CRAG-VT’s) corridor manager agreement,” said Tourin, adding that most of those 40 participants wanted to return the next year to what he described as a “magical little family camp” on a lake.

“It’s a pretty great event and a pretty cool way to bring, I think, a little bit of money into the local community there,” he said.

While the remoteness of Black Mountain can be a draw, Tourin said it’s hard to gauge the future of the climbing area due to its location.

“It’s an amazing cliff,” he said. “I don’t know if it will ever be super crowded, just because it’s so far tucked away in the corner of the state, but it’s definitely a resource worth traveling to.”