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| Finding turns in the Joffre Lakes Basin |
Defending our Wildest Landscapes
1 day ago
Showing posts with label Squamish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Squamish. Show all posts
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Photoset from Whitsler, Joffre Lakes
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Squampton! - Rock On to the Squamish Buttress
Ah the life of a climber in Portland - driving, driving and more driving in search of granite. Every summer, Kristin and I make at least one northerly pilgrimage to Squamish, BC in search of long routes laced with beautiful cracks. Set high above Howe Sound, the granite walls of the Chief offer some of the best multi-pitch trad climbing in the Pacific Northwest. Coastal rain forest eventually gives way to clean granite cracks unearthed from layers of moss and dirt by generations of dedicated climbers. Several hundred feet up the wall, all alone with you and your partner, you can enjoy sweeping views of old-growth forest, salmon streams, waterfalls and alpine ridges topped by snow-capped peaks and the queen of the area - Mt. Garibaldi. This places keeps drawing us back year after year.
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| From Rock On to the Squamish Buttress |
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Angel's Anniversary - July 4th Trip to Squamish
Five years ago, we gathered friends and family at Timberline Lodge for a wedding celebration on the slopes of Mt. Hood. Our favorite people from all over the country traveled to Oregon to wish us well, and we danced the night away to Papa Grows Funk while outside the mountain stood watch as she has for thousands of years. For the next three months, we rode our way across the West in a 1978 VW van named Blue, climbing pitch after pitch from the North Cascades to Banff and Rocky Mountain National Park with many more stops in between.
Soaking up the landscape of North America, we celebrated by searching for that sublime satisfaction of the perfect climb with the perfect partner.
Five year later, we sat at the Canadian Border in a 90 minute line, 2 hours after running out of gas (in the Prius) and five hours after leaving my sister's house in Seattle. What better way to celebrate #5 then road trippin' to Squamish for a weekend of climbing? Right at that moment, I thought anything would be better than sitting in that God damned line with all the other tourists. We got stymied by the masses and it was pissing me off. What should have been a five year mini-reprise of the climbing honeymoon was turning into a five-hour ordeal of traffic, borders and delays.
We had laid a plan to travel to Squish on Friday and climb a few pitches at the Smoke Bluffs. Saturday morning, we would wake up and climb Angel's Crest, IV 5.10b, 13 pitches up the North side of the Chief - Kristin's biggest climb to date.
Sunday and Monday we would kick back, enjoy the buzz of a successful route and climb some more cracks till we had to return back to Portland.
The plan went awry. We finally pulled into Squamish late on Friday afternoon and got in a couple of pitches in the Bluffs up by Penny Lane. We met a couple of people and got to talking about weekend plans, and they had already talked to three other parties headed to Angel's Crest the next day. They also told us how they screwed up the approach to AC, ending up in North North Gully only to find the base of the climb three and a half hours after leaving the car. Hmm ... crowds and getting lost. Sounds great.
Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am and were headed up the trail by 6. We dutifully trudged up the forest, found the entrance to the gully and then started looking for the climb. We roped up and scrambled up some scruffy 4th/5th class towards what we thought was the buttress. After a couple of pitches of this BS, we finally accepted the fact that we had made the exact same mistake as our friends from the day before and ended up on the approach to North North Arete. Arrrgghhh! Just as we turned around, another party showed up looking for the same climb. At least we weren't the only ones - I guess misery loves company. We pointed them in the right direction (downhill) as we rapped off and packed it up. So much for Saturday.
Sunday we finally got our act together and once again found ourselves walking through the old-growth forest at 6 am. This time, we knew where we were going and found the start of the climb after about 20 minutes of walking. And off we went - the Angel's Anniversary.
P1 - Climb the cedar tree. It bypasses two scruffy pitches and deposits you right at the start of the Angel Crack. Its also faster and a good way to pass parties low on the route. Plus the fifth is the "wood" anniversary!
P2 - Sweet! Early morning air, a clean crack and nice views. The .10a crux is at the end, with excellent rests along the traversing pitch. Save a little gas in the tank.
P3 - The supposed crux. Step down to the left, then a couple hand jams into straightforward face climbing past 2 bolts. I thought this was pretty easy for .10b.
P4 - Easy climbing up broken terrain.
P5 and 6 - Another solid .10a pitch Enticing cracks head straight up but climb right on face holds to a right facing corner with a finger crack. Easy for .10a. Instead of belaying, head straight up the face until you get to the forest. About a 185 feet.
P7 - Move the belay a short ways up through the forest to the ramp system that heads straight up the buttress. The entrance to the second ramp is a bit tricky on thin gear but not at all strenuous. The .10a corner above is super fun!
Move up through the forest again and pass the cool totem.
P8 - Head to the right of the offwidth up a finger crack and then right again to a groove. Kind of short and not that great.
Move up through the forest again to the base of the Acrophobe Traverse. From here you can see the rest of the route, and it looks awesome!
P9 - So fun! Climb up easy cracks and slabs to the top of the lower tower and then walk across on a narrow fin of solid granite. From the end of the traverse, climb up more low angle cracks straight to the summit of the tower and belay from directly on top off of two bolts. Quite a perch!
From there, rap the bsckside of the tower and scramble a short ways up to a fixed line. Climb down the fixed line and scramble behind the next tower to the start of the next pitch at the notch.
P10 - Start up fairly easy terrain on cracks to a ledge. Straightforward pitch.
P11 - Climb up a wide crack to the whaleback arete. Traverse the whale back to the next ledge and belay. Fun position and good climbing.
P12 - This is the real crux of the route. From a tree belay on a narrow ledge, step past a manky old pin to the right until you can see two crack system close together. Head up the right hand crack and over a small roof - probably the crux moves - then into a narrow slot/chimney. Plug in some gear in the back and then up again over a small roof to a good stance under the final headwall crack. Climb the awesome hand crack with amazing exposure and stellar rock to the top and a huge ledge. Woohoo!! I thought this was pretty solid for .10a. Save some juice for this pitch.
P13 - Step right and climb the chimney. Left side in with straightforward chimney moves leads quickly to lower angle cracks and then you're on top. The second should definitely trail the pack off the belay loop for the chimney moves - really only a couple of moves.
From the top, we had a few minutes to relax and reflect on the weekend. We finally found that elusive state of mind - strung out from adrenaline and physically tired but proud of the work with a safe and easy descent back to the car. Ahhhh.
Perfect climb? Mmmmm ... I would say excellent but far from perect.
Perfect partner? Definitely!
In the end, the 5th Anniversary climb parodied lots of other experience we've had on the rock over the last five years. Plans get screwed up. We get lost. Maybe we don't get in as many pitches as we wanted. But with a little patience, we eventually find ourselves in that moment of focus and relaxation with air beneath us and the Angels above.
Soaking up the landscape of North America, we celebrated by searching for that sublime satisfaction of the perfect climb with the perfect partner.
Five year later, we sat at the Canadian Border in a 90 minute line, 2 hours after running out of gas (in the Prius) and five hours after leaving my sister's house in Seattle. What better way to celebrate #5 then road trippin' to Squamish for a weekend of climbing? Right at that moment, I thought anything would be better than sitting in that God damned line with all the other tourists. We got stymied by the masses and it was pissing me off. What should have been a five year mini-reprise of the climbing honeymoon was turning into a five-hour ordeal of traffic, borders and delays.
We had laid a plan to travel to Squish on Friday and climb a few pitches at the Smoke Bluffs. Saturday morning, we would wake up and climb Angel's Crest, IV 5.10b, 13 pitches up the North side of the Chief - Kristin's biggest climb to date.
Sunday and Monday we would kick back, enjoy the buzz of a successful route and climb some more cracks till we had to return back to Portland.
The plan went awry. We finally pulled into Squamish late on Friday afternoon and got in a couple of pitches in the Bluffs up by Penny Lane. We met a couple of people and got to talking about weekend plans, and they had already talked to three other parties headed to Angel's Crest the next day. They also told us how they screwed up the approach to AC, ending up in North North Gully only to find the base of the climb three and a half hours after leaving the car. Hmm ... crowds and getting lost. Sounds great.
Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am and were headed up the trail by 6. We dutifully trudged up the forest, found the entrance to the gully and then started looking for the climb. We roped up and scrambled up some scruffy 4th/5th class towards what we thought was the buttress. After a couple of pitches of this BS, we finally accepted the fact that we had made the exact same mistake as our friends from the day before and ended up on the approach to North North Arete. Arrrgghhh! Just as we turned around, another party showed up looking for the same climb. At least we weren't the only ones - I guess misery loves company. We pointed them in the right direction (downhill) as we rapped off and packed it up. So much for Saturday.
Sunday we finally got our act together and once again found ourselves walking through the old-growth forest at 6 am. This time, we knew where we were going and found the start of the climb after about 20 minutes of walking. And off we went - the Angel's Anniversary.
P1 - Climb the cedar tree. It bypasses two scruffy pitches and deposits you right at the start of the Angel Crack. Its also faster and a good way to pass parties low on the route. Plus the fifth is the "wood" anniversary!
P2 - Sweet! Early morning air, a clean crack and nice views. The .10a crux is at the end, with excellent rests along the traversing pitch. Save a little gas in the tank.
P3 - The supposed crux. Step down to the left, then a couple hand jams into straightforward face climbing past 2 bolts. I thought this was pretty easy for .10b.
P4 - Easy climbing up broken terrain.
P5 and 6 - Another solid .10a pitch Enticing cracks head straight up but climb right on face holds to a right facing corner with a finger crack. Easy for .10a. Instead of belaying, head straight up the face until you get to the forest. About a 185 feet.
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| From Squamish July '09 |
P7 - Move the belay a short ways up through the forest to the ramp system that heads straight up the buttress. The entrance to the second ramp is a bit tricky on thin gear but not at all strenuous. The .10a corner above is super fun!
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
Move up through the forest again and pass the cool totem.
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
P8 - Head to the right of the offwidth up a finger crack and then right again to a groove. Kind of short and not that great.
Move up through the forest again to the base of the Acrophobe Traverse. From here you can see the rest of the route, and it looks awesome!
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
P9 - So fun! Climb up easy cracks and slabs to the top of the lower tower and then walk across on a narrow fin of solid granite. From the end of the traverse, climb up more low angle cracks straight to the summit of the tower and belay from directly on top off of two bolts. Quite a perch!
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
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| From Squamish July '09 |
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| From Squamish July '09 |
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| From Squamish July '09 |
From there, rap the bsckside of the tower and scramble a short ways up to a fixed line. Climb down the fixed line and scramble behind the next tower to the start of the next pitch at the notch.
P10 - Start up fairly easy terrain on cracks to a ledge. Straightforward pitch.
P11 - Climb up a wide crack to the whaleback arete. Traverse the whale back to the next ledge and belay. Fun position and good climbing.
P12 - This is the real crux of the route. From a tree belay on a narrow ledge, step past a manky old pin to the right until you can see two crack system close together. Head up the right hand crack and over a small roof - probably the crux moves - then into a narrow slot/chimney. Plug in some gear in the back and then up again over a small roof to a good stance under the final headwall crack. Climb the awesome hand crack with amazing exposure and stellar rock to the top and a huge ledge. Woohoo!! I thought this was pretty solid for .10a. Save some juice for this pitch.
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
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| From Squamish July '09 |
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
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| From Squamish July '09 |
P13 - Step right and climb the chimney. Left side in with straightforward chimney moves leads quickly to lower angle cracks and then you're on top. The second should definitely trail the pack off the belay loop for the chimney moves - really only a couple of moves.
 |
| From Squamish July '09 |
From the top, we had a few minutes to relax and reflect on the weekend. We finally found that elusive state of mind - strung out from adrenaline and physically tired but proud of the work with a safe and easy descent back to the car. Ahhhh.
Perfect climb? Mmmmm ... I would say excellent but far from perect.
Perfect partner? Definitely!
In the end, the 5th Anniversary climb parodied lots of other experience we've had on the rock over the last five years. Plans get screwed up. We get lost. Maybe we don't get in as many pitches as we wanted. But with a little patience, we eventually find ourselves in that moment of focus and relaxation with air beneath us and the Angels above.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Squamish - The Grand Wall
The full weight of life sometimes keeps you down, boxes you in, prevents you from roaring at the top of your lungs. Work, family, life and death - real stuff that gets in the way of the play. Every now and then I look up and realize I've been swimming in crap for weeks on end, working too hard and letting the finer things in life slip past the ends of my fingers, which have cramped from too many long nights of typing legal briefs. The I'll step outside and start running, sprinting to nowhere, pegging my pulse and jarring my heart into action. "ARRRGGGHHH!!!!"
Its been over a month since I've posted on this blog. I intended to spend more time outside, but it didn't work out that way. A death in the family, two nights in the emergency room, and many many long hours of work kept me down as I hopelessly watched the summer weeks pass me by.
So this past weekend, I stepped onto the rock and sprinted - and screamed - and bashed in my knuckles till they bled. And it felt great.
Day 1: 1st pitch of the Great Game to the Godforsaken Land. 5.10+ A0, 4 pitches
Jungle Warfare, 5.10-, 4 pitches
Nate and I had the Grand Wall on our mind but wanted a warm up, so we headed to the Squaw. Good times!
Looking over at Right Wing - looks like its been cleaned up and provides a sweet .10b option to access the top of the Squaw.
Looking back down at Right Wing from the belay station where the two routes merge before the last .10d pitch.
The final .10d pitch kicked my ass. I took a small fall on the overhanging finger and hand crack, dangling from the end of the rope 300 ft off the deck. Sometimes it feels good to get in over your head.
Jungle Warfare was a sweet cruise.
Day 2: The Grand Wall, 5.11- A0, 9-10 pitches
Ah yeah, that's the shizzle.
Ed and Bill made some fine company at the top of the Split Pillar. Bill did a great job on the pillar and I got to take a few pics from the top.
The Split Pillar is amazing!! Woot! The Sword may have been even better, but I was too whooped to take any real shots of it. Here's Nate at the top as I look back from the bolt ladder. Airy.
Day 3: Centerfold, 5.10b, 3 pitches
Magic Mushroom, 5.9
Penny Lane, 5.9
I'm slowing down, getting worn out, finally feeling relaxed and detached from life for a few minutes. My body aches. Fingers bleed. Feet are sore. Canadian kids kept me up till 2 am with techno music. My brain slowly shakes off the effects of oxycodone and beer. Now this feels like vacation.
On the way in the first day I noticed a nice new gravel ramp heading up towards the Papoose, but I thought it was closed. A quick trip to Valhalla Pure and some dumb ass confirms that yes, the Papoose is closed and isn't expected to open anytime soon. Now on the morning of day 3, we're driving out of the campground, and there is a party of 2 walking up the ramp headed towards the crag. wtf?! Ok, screw Valhalla Pure - let's try Climb On. Ah right - so now we find out they opened it earlier this spring. Glad we can get some accurate information somewhere in this town.
So anyway, up we go for the five minute approach. A party of 2 from Vancouver is starting the 2nd pitch, so we wait a few minutes and then I head up. I'm giddy from having a 3rd straight day on the rock, and I'm chit chatting and BSing my way up to the first ledge. I feel bad for the Vancouver couple for having to listen to my gibberish, but I'm having too much fun. The .10b slab moves in the low angle groove get my attention, and we're back in the vertical.
By the end of the day, my brain and body start to shut down. I can barely muster the motivation to walk into the Smoke Bluffs for a final pitch. I pass out in a camp chair at 6 pm. Then I'm up again listening to more techno music, then back asleep, then up again listening to reggae music, then asleep again. Finally, I wake up one more time and its morning, and I'm lying in a puddle of rain water inside my tent. We pack it up and start inhaling greasy bacon and coffee before hitting the road. The caffeine in my veins barely keeps me conscious as we drive south. Slowly I start to think towards next weekend - and the drive back to Squamish - and another 4 days of the same.
On Monday, I got the inevitable questions - "How was the weekend." All I can offer is a big smile - "It was good."
Here are some more photos at Nate's page.
Its been over a month since I've posted on this blog. I intended to spend more time outside, but it didn't work out that way. A death in the family, two nights in the emergency room, and many many long hours of work kept me down as I hopelessly watched the summer weeks pass me by.
So this past weekend, I stepped onto the rock and sprinted - and screamed - and bashed in my knuckles till they bled. And it felt great.
Day 1: 1st pitch of the Great Game to the Godforsaken Land. 5.10+ A0, 4 pitches
Jungle Warfare, 5.10-, 4 pitches
Nate and I had the Grand Wall on our mind but wanted a warm up, so we headed to the Squaw. Good times!
Looking over at Right Wing - looks like its been cleaned up and provides a sweet .10b option to access the top of the Squaw.
Looking back down at Right Wing from the belay station where the two routes merge before the last .10d pitch.
The final .10d pitch kicked my ass. I took a small fall on the overhanging finger and hand crack, dangling from the end of the rope 300 ft off the deck. Sometimes it feels good to get in over your head.
Jungle Warfare was a sweet cruise.
Day 2: The Grand Wall, 5.11- A0, 9-10 pitches
Ah yeah, that's the shizzle.
Ed and Bill made some fine company at the top of the Split Pillar. Bill did a great job on the pillar and I got to take a few pics from the top.
The Split Pillar is amazing!! Woot! The Sword may have been even better, but I was too whooped to take any real shots of it. Here's Nate at the top as I look back from the bolt ladder. Airy.
Day 3: Centerfold, 5.10b, 3 pitches
Magic Mushroom, 5.9
Penny Lane, 5.9
I'm slowing down, getting worn out, finally feeling relaxed and detached from life for a few minutes. My body aches. Fingers bleed. Feet are sore. Canadian kids kept me up till 2 am with techno music. My brain slowly shakes off the effects of oxycodone and beer. Now this feels like vacation.
On the way in the first day I noticed a nice new gravel ramp heading up towards the Papoose, but I thought it was closed. A quick trip to Valhalla Pure and some dumb ass confirms that yes, the Papoose is closed and isn't expected to open anytime soon. Now on the morning of day 3, we're driving out of the campground, and there is a party of 2 walking up the ramp headed towards the crag. wtf?! Ok, screw Valhalla Pure - let's try Climb On. Ah right - so now we find out they opened it earlier this spring. Glad we can get some accurate information somewhere in this town.
So anyway, up we go for the five minute approach. A party of 2 from Vancouver is starting the 2nd pitch, so we wait a few minutes and then I head up. I'm giddy from having a 3rd straight day on the rock, and I'm chit chatting and BSing my way up to the first ledge. I feel bad for the Vancouver couple for having to listen to my gibberish, but I'm having too much fun. The .10b slab moves in the low angle groove get my attention, and we're back in the vertical.
By the end of the day, my brain and body start to shut down. I can barely muster the motivation to walk into the Smoke Bluffs for a final pitch. I pass out in a camp chair at 6 pm. Then I'm up again listening to more techno music, then back asleep, then up again listening to reggae music, then asleep again. Finally, I wake up one more time and its morning, and I'm lying in a puddle of rain water inside my tent. We pack it up and start inhaling greasy bacon and coffee before hitting the road. The caffeine in my veins barely keeps me conscious as we drive south. Slowly I start to think towards next weekend - and the drive back to Squamish - and another 4 days of the same.
On Monday, I got the inevitable questions - "How was the weekend." All I can offer is a big smile - "It was good."
Here are some more photos at Nate's page.
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