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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 15, 2014 - 06:59pm PT
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Friday was rest day. I was supposed to have acu but my doc fell ill to food poisoning and i was forced to fend for myself. The day was spent stretching at home and at the pool to get my hurting body somewhat ready for a few pitches the following day.
Saturday Heather and I showed up at Pink Cliff after a rather leisurely start on my part, to find Ryan D enjoying himself.
I warmed up on a Pat in the Back 10a, a slab Nina and Kyle had put up and did ok apart from a couple hangs.
Then Heather put up a 5.9 redpoint Vertically Challenged which was ironic being she climbed it better than I and is significantly shorter. lol
Kyle went to go try Wankulator 10d but just couldn't put his trust in the opening rp.
So he put up Figernipper 10d instead, much to Nina's dismay.
Heather and I were looking for some shade for Khyber and a few more easy routes so we went down to Fern Gully 5.4 and she onsighted it laughing all the way. I climbed it in my approach shoes.
on the way down i Caught Nina on Rampage 5.9
Kyle soloed it to retrieve the anchor
Heather wanted to bail because it was her first day, and Nina had to go to work anyways so I was happy to peace out since my quad and calf were still bugging me from thursday's thrashing.
I wanted to save some juice for my Sunday wall adventure with Nick as well!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Apr 15, 2014 - 10:52pm PT
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Nice Mike! Glad you are coming along through the difficulties.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 15, 2014 - 11:36pm PT
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Lots of good stuff here. Great shots Mike, I like the one of Nina on Rampage. Such a great backdrop.
I just did my first buttface of the year yesterday too. So nice to be up there!
Rowdy tale Jim B! Sounds like u boys had horseshoes firmly in place. Yikes!
Speaking of camping maybe there won't be a need for organized cleanup on the stawamus in the future.
It’s one of Squamish’s worst-kept secrets, John Harvey says.
For more than 40 years, climbers have pitched their tents on the 10-acre piece of Crown land off Centennial Way. Now, the founder of the Mamquam River Access Society wants to legitimize the illegal camping with the creation of a not-for-profit campground.
“Fifteen years down the road, we would have a revenue stream,” Harvey said, noting that money can in turn be poured into outdoor recreational resources.
The long-term vision for the former Hasting’s Landscape Supply property is to secure a 25-year provincial lease on the lot. The area also needs to be rezoned by the District of Squamish from its industrial use to green corridor to pave way for the campground. Once the paperwork is in place, Harvey estimates it will cost $50,000 to remove wood waste currently on the property and an additional $50,000 to install 45 individual, private campsites.
“The support I have seen for this project is huge,” Harvey said.
The Squamish Access Society, Squamish Paddling Club, Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association and Squamish Windsports Society all back the idea. The facility will address the community’s need for more camping, access society vice-president Charlie Harrison said. Stawamus Chief Provincial Park campground is regularly fully booked and the district-run campsite beside the Brennan Park Recreation Centre is uninviting, Harrison said. As a result, adventurers end up illegally camping in the Squamish Estuary and along the Stawamus and Mamquam rivers.
“We are definitely in support of any new camping,” he said.
Down the road, the community needs to look at filling the gap for cheap camping. Harvey estimates the Mamquam River lots will run at $8 per night, which quickly eats into one’s wallet when staying at a site for the climbing season, Harrison said, noting climbing hot spot Bishop, Calif., offers $2 campsites in an effort to discourage illegal setups.
http://www.squamishchief.com/news/local-news/rec-groups-back-proposed-campground-1.962656
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 15, 2014 - 11:50pm PT
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the district-run campsite beside the Brennan Park Recreation Centre is uninviting
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 15, 2014 - 11:53pm PT
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Both of us were completely exhausted by the size and complexity of the climb but it was Sunday night and being duty bound robots to our jobs, we started driving back to Vancouver.
There is no shortage of Vancouver climbers who said to Mr. Serl: "It's pitch dark and we're gonna die if we keep going. Let's just bivi and finish the descent in the morning."
You got the "I've got to be at work in the morning" line. What I got was "Bivi? Here? Why would I spend the night shivering on the ground here when I've got a comfortable bed at home?"
Oh yeah. Out with the Serl again.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Apr 15, 2014 - 11:57pm PT
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cry me a river
I'm sorry, you will need a permit for that discharge!
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 15, 2014 - 11:58pm PT
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Lol
What else did you guys climb, I mean drink this weekend in Squamish? Ghost? Bruce?
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Apr 16, 2014 - 12:00am PT
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Bruce did nothing but rant about the freak show in Nevada all weekend...
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 16, 2014 - 12:45am PT
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What else did you guys climb, I mean drink this weekend in Squamish? Ghost? Bruce?
Bruce, so we're told, didn't climb, but rather ranted about something in Nevada. I don't know anything about that, but I can confirm that while we actually did climb, it was what we didn't climb that was much more interesting.
You have to understand that we're not sport climbers. I've probably climbed three sport routes in my life (unless you count gym routes, in which case it's three thousand). Mari started out sport climbing, but once she discovered cracks, she promised god that if he never told anyone she was a sport climber, she'd never clip bolts again.
But last year, on a down day, she decided we should check out Area 44. It's pretty, but like I said, I don't get sport climbing, and she did one pitch and said "This place sucks dead rats." Okay, fine. There's plenty of other climbs in the Squamish area, so not going back to Area 44 is no big deal.
I think the anthrax bacteria she was working with in the lab last week must have infected her brain, because on Sunday morning she said "Let's go to Area 44. Maybe a few easy clip-ups will be a good way to get back into it." Which is weird because just a couple of weeks early she'd been running it out on real climbs down at Cochise.
So we amble over the hill and down to the base of the climbs, and, Oh! Yeah! The view is awesome! The topos that are posted every five meters lead us to a 5.8 that is occupied by two guides and three clients, and much yelling of "Just put your left foot up on that hold by your knee! No, the other foot! No, that other hold! Yeah! You can do it! Now, right hand up!"
So we backtrack a few meters, check another one of the topos, and Mari decides that the 5.9 in front of our noses will do just fine. The topo says the first bolt is high. It doesn't look really high, but we figure that at Area 44, 2.5 meters probably counts as high, and off she goes.
And stalls out between the 3rd and 4th bolts. Go this way. Back down. Go that way. Back down. Try straight up again. Back down. At which point one of the guides from the show beside us walks over and says "Dunno if it matters, but that thing your on is 11c." Mari looks down and says "Oh." Then, "Are you sure? I thought this was a 5.9." "No, the 5.9 is that one."
"That one" is two bolt lines to our right. Probably about three meters.
So, she lowers from a bail biner and we move the required three meters and, yes, that first bolt is a ways up. But no worries, there's an easy chimney just to the left that looks like an easy alternative to get to where she can clip that bolt. Or it would be if only she was a lot taller. She wants to do some ridiculous intermediate move, but I am looking at the non-existent belay anchors, and the steep slope down which we'll both cartwheel, and tell her that a badly bolted sport rig on shitty rock isn't worth dying for.
So we pack up and leave, and on our way to some real climbing we wonder what the guides told the noobs about the two old people who couldn't seem to climb anything.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 16, 2014 - 01:12am PT
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Good stuff Ghost, classic sandbagging.
I don't know wtf u boys are on about though. Area 44 has probably the best, fastest drying routes in Squamish. The best view & greatest rock quality. Everyone should go there every time they go climbing, well either there or on top of the new gondola.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 16, 2014 - 01:24am PT
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It's true, the view really doesn't suck.
Sadly, the climbing does suck. But I agree, Everyone should go there every time they go climbing, .
That way, you and your partner would be the only climbers at whatever crag you decided to climb at. Just like Mari and I were the only climbers on the Papoose on Monday.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 16, 2014 - 01:37am PT
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A-Ha!
I knew you were holding out.
I don't think it matters how many ppl you tell. The papoose will never be as popular as it deserves. A lot of good work done there over the past year too.
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tooth
Trad climber
B.C.
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Apr 16, 2014 - 02:49am PT
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Big Mike I think we saw you guys at Pink Cliff on Saturday. My wife and I climbed a few routes there - we were the couple with the 3 month old baby.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Apr 16, 2014 - 12:03pm PT
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one of these days I'm gonna dig out my pic of Don hiking up McGuire clad only in a pair of stained y-fronts.
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MH2
climber
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Apr 16, 2014 - 12:37pm PT
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Very fine photos and stories. Great to see what Mike and Toby did. The recent blue skies and warmth were much appreciated.
Nominating Bruce Kay for storyteller of distinction. Nice support from Jim Brennan.
Ghost says that he and Mari were at area 44 so I guess they were. Not easy to find an 11c there. Maybe the trick is to look for a 5.9? Sounds similar to what happened to Tom and me at The Pillary.
This is the revised topo. Things were much more confusing at the time. For example, the leftmost line was shown as complete, with several bolts, but had only 1 bolt. Other lines were misdrawn.
(Frolich)
The plan to get everyone climbing there looked well on the way to success.
Nice for a picnic, though.
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thesiger
climber
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Apr 16, 2014 - 01:52pm PT
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Mike, are you sure that buttface ascent wasn't some kind of dream or paranormal event? That two-headed Toby dude is sort of transparent in the summit pic and those purple Mythos are from last century.
Anyway, leaving that aside, when are your crew heading down for my windows?
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Apr 16, 2014 - 04:18pm PT
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This thread reminded me it's nearly Interior Limestone season!
More choss than you can shake a stick at!
I heard a great story from Robert about the first ascent of "None but the brave"... RyanD you should go jump on that one! Still waiting for a second ascent!
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 16, 2014 - 05:11pm PT
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Lookit all them summits there, just ready to fall right over if u fart too loudly!
Sounds interesting Oplopanax, maybe if u told a little of the story u were told it would sound more enticing??
Since its pissing out here ill type a few words on my experience or lack thereof with interior limestone.
I used to drive thru marble canyon all the time on the way to moms when I lived in Whistler. This was also around the time I started rockclimbing so naturally I thought the place was some sort of Mecca that was only absent of climbers due to geographic location. After a few summers & a trip to potrero this fledgling thought it was time to take a closer look at Marble canyon. I figured I'd scope it out & come back with a friend to develop Potrero north. Even in my state of extreme n00bdom(still a n00b) it only took one foray up to the base of the wall to realize I was nowheres near ready for the types of adventure that the rock there looked guaranteed to provide. After that it took awhile to understand why everyone thought limestone was so cool & that Potrero was choss.
That said I'm always blown away by the creativity of the landscape there, the contrast of the walls with the beautiful blues of the lake would probably be quite stunning from a higher vantage point.
Great photo too!
Andy, good stuff on the pillary. I liked the zoomed photo of the roman chimneys a lil ways back too.
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Apr 16, 2014 - 06:28pm PT
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I presume the large pinnacle is Chimney Rock, but what are the smaller ones to the right called?
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