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MisterE
Social climber
Across Town From Easy Street
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As a life-long (until recently) northwest Washingtonian: I love Canada too!
Some of the coolest moments of my climbing life were hanging out with the Fire Marshall for Squamish, sharing a few stories and laughs and him leaving us feeling trusted as upstanding citizens even though we were from another country, albeit 100 km south...
Thanks Canada, for Squamish, your own version of sex appeal, Old Style (and reluctantly) Wildcat, and just being able to drive 50 miles north and see what other cultures are up to.
Oh, and at 18, hitting the strip-bar across the border from Western Washington State College was love at first sight.
;)
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Nov 28, 2011 - 10:42pm PT
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gotta like this one ehh.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 29, 2011 - 11:57am PT
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We gotta do something about that border: TheNotSoStraightStory
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Impaler
Social climber
Berkeley
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I love Canada!
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 2, 2012 - 04:36pm PT
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Splitter, splitter, splitter, splitter!
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FRUMY
Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Did you climb or ski or both on the N Face Joffre?
North Face? Joffre has a north face? I thought the north side just gradually subsided. If that is Joffre, it looks like the South Face, shot from Matier.
Don Serl and Corina and I missed bagging the big route on the E. Face by a couple of weeks. Got halfway up and blanked out in a gully because we somehow chose the wrong rib to start on. Scott and ?? came in a little while later and got the plum.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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David -was that the flavelle-lane you refer to? The route to the left of the big gulley?
Yes. Scott and Dave Lane.
Don and Corina and I came in and scoped the wall, agreeing that "if we just go to the top of that left-hand snow lobe, we'll be at the base of a rib that shoots right to the top." But in the morning when we trudged uphill we somehow got to the top of the right-hand snow lobe. Five or six pitches later we were forced into the gully and a couple of pitches above that we blanked out below a section of vertical kitty litter.
The gully itself was full of kitty litter and the first couple of raps were on the scary side. Interestingly, Don later told me it was the first mountain route he'd ever backed off because of difficulty. Which is kind of misleading, because up until we hit that step of crap rock it hadn't been all that difficult. More like a really cool route on which you suddenly entered the red zone.
And a couple of weeks later Scott and Dave came in, picked the right start, and waltzed up a real gem.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Excuse me, Apogee.
Impaler he may be
But keep it unto thee.
Gosh sakes.
It's Canada.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2012 - 01:12am PT
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Splitter!
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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I'd like Canada more if they stopped hassling me at the border.
Jeez, it's been fifteen years now, let it go.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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We're just doing what your department of homeland insecurity tells us to do. Really. Paranoia loves company.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Anders, you are ST's official 'Legal Canadian'.
You should do something to remedy this affront to my lifestyle.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Were it not for the vast Canadian prairies we would have marauding Polar Bears in our suburbs.
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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we've got a north slope
that leaves off where your other west facing coast heads north
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Impaler
Social climber
Berkeley
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Did you climb or ski or both on the N Face Joffre?
The picture of Joffre is taken looking at it from the south - from the summit of Matier. You can see the top of Aussie couloir pretty clearly. I was just out for a weekend of ski touring around Keith's hut last January and decided to tag the summit of Matier. Joffre isn't exactly the type of climb I'd want to do, but it's a beautiful peak and ripping down the anniversary glacier at full speed with 1/2 meter of fresh snow was one of the best skiing days I've ever had.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Mt. Matier was the scene of one of the more badass bits of climbing I've seen. Four of us went in with the plan that two (Don Serl and Manrico Scremin) would try a new route on the west buttress (or ridge or face or whatever) while I'd head up the north face with Suzanne Serl (although she might not have been Mrs. Serl at that point, can't remember).
But when we got to the point of going to our separate objectives, and started to put on crampons, we discovered that in some complicated mix-up that I never fully understood, Suzanne's crampons wouldn't fit the boots she was wearing. So, a swap was worked out, I think with Manrico taking her crampons while she took his. They didn't fit very well, but what can you do?
So off we went, traversing in above the crevasse field and then heading upward. Not all that steep, but since I thought she didn't have much ice experience I suggested we should rope up. "No, I'm fine, it doesn't seem too bad." So on we went. As the face continued to steepen I'd suggest bringing out the rope, and she'd repeat that she was happy without it.
Sure, it's not all that steep, but it was definitely two-tool territory, and over 50 degrees in the top section. And it was an absolute, guaranteed death fall. The ice was fairly hard that day, and there was no runout. Come off, and you rocket down the face until you hit the far wall of the first crevasse at about 100 miles per hour.
And then one of her slightly-too-big crampons rolled under her foot. I bloody near died of a heart attack myself, but she didn't even slow down. She'd felt it coming, was ready, and it didn't even make her blink. I got fairly insistent about the rope at that point, but she wasn't interested.
She rolled the crampon around to the side of her boot a couple more times, but was in absolute control. No problem. And definitely no rope!
We topped out in a fairly stiff wind, so trudged down the descent ridge until we found a little depression to snuggle in while we waited for Don and Manrico. It was then that she told me this was her first ice climb.
Thank god she never got serious about technical climbing, or she'd have made us all look like gumbies.
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bit'er ol' guy
climber
the past
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I like canada fine.
I don't like canadians who move to cali then blather on nonstop about how great canada is and how much they hate the USA.
what?
sorry,
can't really think of a solution to that problem.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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I'm having coffee with sue tomorrow on a work related issue -i'll pass that one on!
Give her a big hug from me. I miss her.
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