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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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And here's a picture from the first ascent of the route for people who like piccolo trumpets, in 1978.
I cleaned all three routes in the area one weekend that spring. On rappel, of course - mea culpa. A few weeks later, John and I returned and did Penny Lane - I believe that in the photo I'd just finished whacking in a piton at the 'crux'. Pre-friends days. Then a few weeks later Randy and I did Partners in Crime, which is rather harder. I never did get up Crime of the Century, even with the two fixed pins I put in at key locations. But it wasn't a lot of work, and seemed a useful thing to have.
My mother was a keen fan of mystery novels, hence the names of the two crime routes. She'd lent me her car for the weekend.
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 5, 2008 - 08:49pm PT
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thanks for the kind words everyone!
point well-taken, Matt.
Shaft, I was told that the weather is a bit wetter this time of year than July and August (not sure whether the afternoon thing is typical or not...there were always clouds hanging low, but they only broke at night). Hope you get plenty of dry time and enjoy the place as much as I did.
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 5, 2008 - 08:55pm PT
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Mighty Hiker -- I think we posted at the same time, so I missed the fabulous pic (and background) of the FA. I loved the route: tricky bouldery start, followed by jamming, jamming, and jamming -- perfect! But, from your perspective, only one in many -- I enjoyed your legacy, thanks!
Edit: oh yeah, and Jeremy pointed out the neighborhood street now named after your cliff/climb.
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originalpmac
Trad climber
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that whitish granite has me jonesing...
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Thank you - but what's his name, that guy from Liverpool, first came up with the name. Somehow route and name went together well.
Squamish rock is by nature fairly white - underneath the lichens, moss and discolouration, that is. Lots of quartz and such in the mix. Many routes are now much cleaner than they were, due to climbing and rope action.
Sometime soon I must visit Penny Lane for my annual ascent and inspection. Like many jewels of life, I prefer to ration them out. Once or twice a year is usually enough. I've never understood the "run some laps" mentality when it comes to climbing. A little toproping is fine, but if I want to do laps I go to the pool.
I am perennially pestered by poltroons pleading to place bolts at the top of Penny Lane, and greatly enjoy debating with them. Their essential argument is that many other routes in the Little Smoke Bluffs at Squamish have bolt anchors at the top, and so should PL. (If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would YOU jump off a cliff?) Essentially, people who see bolts as the answer to all problems. There may be a few too many "convenience" bolts at Squamish (e.g. the Ultimate Everything) already, often placed with commercial climbing in mind. A steep and slippery slope. Edit: and, at the top of PL, there are good natural anchors - crack, trees.
The would-be bolters' understanding of physics and geometry seems marginal, for climbers. PL diagonals a lot - plum pendulum possibilities. The crux is about 3 m off the ground - if the route was being toproped, 6 - 7% rope stretch on a 60+ m rope, plus possible pendulum, is a sure crater. (Even on a belay from above, with directionals and half the stretch, it's close.) You can't climb the route safely without being able to place anchors at the top, if nothing else using the trees. It's not a rappel route, and it wouldn't make sense if it was one. And lastly, there's no clear trail to the top, it's a bit loose there, and slopes off into space. Not a place for toprope seeking novices - not that there seems any shortage of people wanting to lead it.
I have occasionally played a prank at PL, when there are people waiting to climb it. I eventually introduce myself, and explain the long-established Squamish custom that those who make the first ascent of a route are allowed to go to the front of the line. (Based on a long-established Yosemite custom, of course.) Surprising how many fall for it, so to speak.
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 5, 2008 - 09:52pm PT
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That's great...Jeremy said that from his pals' house in the neighborhood you can frequently hear people yelling from the top of Penny Lane, "Where are the bolts!"
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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BA...
If you don't know what that means....
I ain't tellin'!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Someone placed belay/rappel/toprope bolts in Penny Lane, about 20 years ago. The station was placed just BELOW the top of the route, so it could be toproped with one rope. Standard ropes then were 50 m, and it's nearly 30 m to the spot where people usually build a belay, so this was deemed "convenient".
Still the same problems with a diagonal route, rope stretch, and a low crux. Adding to that neophytes attempting to locate and use the anchors from above.
So I removed the bolts, quite publicly. No need to be shy about removing bolts - if it's that important, tell people why.
Bolts aren't always the answer, and can make climbs less safe.
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rhyang
Ice climber
SJC
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Beautiful Squamish granite .. been too long for me. Thanks for the stoke !
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james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Squamish rules! Great Climbing, Camping and chainsaws.
Token Exasperator shot!
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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quick penny lane story:
we climbed at the bluffs one hot and windy day, so windy in fact that after leading the pitch i stood there on a slightly sloping stance (not a platform but what feels like 3rd class terrain) and as i prepared to build an anchor, i was literally almost blown off of the rock by a gust of wind! like many climbs you don't need any gear to finish it up, so i'd have taken a 40 footer or so onto a relaxing belayer. let's just say i lost a week or two of of the end of my life with the scare that gave me.
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2008 - 09:12am PT
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Just pulled out a '98 Climbing (178) with a nice article on Squamish history by Richard Wheater. Its focus on folks like Croft, Dean Hart, Robin Barley, Tami Knight, etc is great. In addition, one of the photos reminded me of a rumor regarding the closure and possible re-opening of the crag across the highway from the Chief (is it called the Malamute?)...intrigue regarding a drunken teenager killed by a train, illegal tree cutting, and lawsuits. Anybody know the end of the story? Is it true that the crag is soon to be re-opened to climbing? I heard (and from the looks of the photo it is true) the lines on the crag are very nice.
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pc
climber
East of Seattle
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Great TR. Thanks Cowpoke. Not too many pics!
Cheers,
pc
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Hey Cowpoke
Next time you visit Squamish, go around to the north side of the Chief. Quieter (as in less highway noise), less crowded, and some incredible climbing.
Shot below is from the second pitch of Blazing Saddles.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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those cracks...
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2008 - 01:57pm PT
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thanks for the tip, Ghost! Blazing Saddles looks freakin' sweet! Squamish has such a high concentrationn of mid-range 4- to 5-star crack pitches and several crags I didn't visit (e.g., the Squaw)...can't wait to get back. Might be as soon as August -- this time WITH the woman I love.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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a suprisingly rich concentration of high-quality routes packed into those bluffs, with cute trails taking you everywhere with ease.
The Little Smoke Bluffs have an interesting history. As you say, there is a rich concentration of high-quality routes. Several hundred now, I think. Given the easy access, you'd think that area would have been developed early, but it was actually ignored in the early decades of Squamish climbing. Got its name because it was a place where the hardguys of the late 60s/early 70s would sneak off for a "little smoke". (Carlos Castenada reference). Even in the mid 70s there weren't very many routes there. And no houses, either.
Despite its location on the edge of town, it was heavily forested and had few trails. All the rock was buried under a thick layer of moss, and all the cracks were filled with tree roots and dirt. And the prevailing attitude had always been one of "Who wants to climb some scruffy litte 80-foot p.o.s. anyway?"
A common converstation bitd was:
"Ohhhhh, man, I'm way too stoned to climb."
"Yeah, me too."
"So, you wanna go into the bluffs and nail something."
"Why not? Like you said, we're too stoned to climb."
Anders may have a better grasp of the dates, but I think the real heyday for development in the bluffs was mid-70s to mid-80s. Someone would bushwhack a little further back into the forest and come stumbling out to tell a couple of friends about the new crag he'd discovered. A few weeks of secret work would get half a dozen lines more or less clean, then the cat would be let out of the bag, and the search would start for the next buried gem.
Fun times.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Back in the good old days (bitgod), when p'terodactyls still nested on the Chief, we had an idea that there might be some climbing at the Bluffs. They may still have been MAGMA then, of course. There was much less forest cover, as the area had burnt over in the early 1960s. The front side cliffs - Penny Lane, Neat & Cool etc - have always been exposed, as they border on the Hydro right of way and are regularly cleared. Those further back were much more visible in the 1970s.
As I was never much for mind-altering substances, my memory of these things may even be somewhat reliable.
There were few climbers around Squamish then, and we had lots of challenges just figuring out what was already there. The earlier group, the hard core, had pretty much gone, and we had to make it up as we went along. The original 1967 Woodsworth guide gave us lots to figure out.
People did a few climbs at the Bluffs in the early to mid 1970s, and there were probably some things that weren't recorded. I remember bushwhacking around on several occasions, usually in winter or spring, seeing the sights and doing some scruffy stuff that we didn't bother recording. Things really took off in 1977, and especially 1978. Suddenly there were enough climbers, a few good climbs established, some improvement of equipment and technique and knowledge, and overall a sort of critical mass. Over the next decade, a lot of good climbs got put up, and people gradually explored further back. There had always been a network of trails on the frontside, and it got extended to suit.
It was pretty simple. They offer a nice klettergarten - sunny, with lots of well protected, modest, short climbs. Something that Squamish simply hadn't had before.
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cowpoke
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 7, 2008 - 11:07am PT
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From Wheater's 98 article (p. 85-86):
"Throughout the mid-1980's, the low-angle sweeps on the Apron (300 feet north of the Grand Wall) often lured soloists. Croft and [Hamish] Fraser had routinely soloed moderate to stiff climbs on the smaller crags. Strenuous stuff like Hot Cherry Bendover (5.11b), Crime of the Century (5.11c), and the Horrors of Ivan (5.11c) became components in the regular solo-circuits. The Apron, however, offered multi-pitch terrain. One day as Croft and Fraser both soloed St. Vitus' Dance (a three-pitch 5.9 fist crack), Croft unknowingly stirred up a nest of wasps. Moments later, a cacophony erupted. He glanced down to see Fraser dancing amidst a swarming frenzy. Croft escaped in a fit of hysterics as Fraser scrambled on through the tumult, getting stung a dozen times. His face was so swollen one eye welded shut. Still a few hundred feet off the ground, they had to continue climbing, Fraser with one hand holding his eyelid open."
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