Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Climbing dropout
Trad climber
Vancouver, BC
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - May 9, 2009 - 03:46pm PT
|
Smith Rocks was good winter destination for us Squamish climbers in the early 80's. Drier but colder than Squamish
Here is Hamish getting ready to put up the rope, Dean Hart kicking back and venerable Smith rocks local Chris Jones, lurking in the background, making sure we get the full on "High" Definition Smith Rocks tour. Chris was a great host !
Dean leading something, I think it's Zebra to Zion
Dean doing a desperate clip, same climb. Hamish demonstrating the hip belay technique is possible while lying down. This probably would have been a ground fall with that belay !
Hamish putting up some rope on Z to Z
Hamish trying something on the Monkey. It's too cold and too hard for us, but Hamish was stoked because he just got his drivers license, so it was much easier for us to get him across the border this time. A permission note from his parents had not been cutting it in the past with the US border guards ....
EB's and Swami belts .... same climb as previous photo
Awesome scenery at Smith, no people what so ever. Had the place all to ourselves.
|
|
sagot
Trad climber
Vancouver
|
|
Hey Bruce
Here is an old photo of the traverse on Cruel Shoes. Taken by Bob Millward in 1982...I think. Scott
Here is one of our trip up the "Fomein Rimnys" (Roman Chimneys)
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
Jean was one of the very few women climbers in Squamish. In fact besides Tami, and Candice, Simon Tooleys girlfriend, who else of that gender was climbing in the 80's ?
Maybe there weren't thousands of women climbing at Sq in the 80s, but there were certainly more than the three you mention. I ought to know -- I was married to one of them.
Here's a shot of Corina, actually from the 70s, but it should serve to show that there were more women climbing than you may remember. In fact, in 1981, which is only the very beginning of the 80s, Corina made her second trip to Baffin Island.
And there were plenty of others. Not thousands, and not on the covers of the magazines, but out there pulling down.
|
|
spectreman
Trad climber
CO
|
|
Here's a classic Squamish crack. Keep this thread going! It's great to hear about the history of such an amazing area.
|
|
bmacd
Social climber
British Columbia
|
|
Scott hello old friend !!
Ghost, yup your right ... as per Tamis recent rant on Becky Diamond there were more female climbers around Squamish than I recalled. Thanks for the reminder !
|
|
bmacd
Social climber
British Columbia
|
|
Sagot aka Scott Young on Wrist Twister A4 Squamish Chief
Photos of first interventionists Dean hart and Randy Aktinson, on Vision Quest 5.12a, The North Walls Squamish Chief.
Supertopian "Chief" bringing up Hamish on a free version of U-Wall
Us nailing U-wall feature now known as the Shadow. My partners are California wildman Kevin Duck and South African expatriate Ross Nichol
John Simpson and myself atempting a new line left of University wall. We left fixed ropes to this high point while we contemplated the next pitch which required a long bolt ladder to link the rest of the route. Someone chopped our fixed lines so that made our decision for us. Adam Diamond, many years later phoned to ask me about the route and completed it for us in 2000. It is now named Bald Egos and apparently is the longest route on the chief. It did not receive a second ascent till 2008. Nice work Adam !!
Enough spray from me for today, hopefully someone else has some cool Squamish shots
|
|
Chief
climber
|
|
Thanks for starting this great thread.
Sorry I never took any pictures.
I'm pretty sure that's Hamish with me on U Wall.
We bailed near the top of the fifth as a crucial pin had been pulled.
I'm not sure I agree that Hamish should be described as second best Squamish climber. He was one of the greats, period.
10D for Apron Strings? It sure can feel like it if you blow off the virtual no hands at the crux. Check out the huge ledge under the bush in one of the pictures.
Keep it coming, looking forward to more.
Perry
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
Great to see the pictures of Randy and Dean on the North Wall. Here's a story that may be of interest on that subject...
At that time (mid-80s), I was editor of the Canadian Alpine Journal, and I ran fairly long piece about what they were doing up there. Seemed to be a real step forward. I remember walking (crawling? groveling?) out across the ledge to the base of their climbs being completely blown away. A wild place, and some long and difficult climbs.
So I published the story, and got some fairly serious sh#t from people who felt that the real action at Squamish that year had been at Petrifying Wall. Why, they asked, had I glorified a bunch of stupid trad climbs way up there in the ozone, and ignored the super hard sport climbs two minutes from the road at Pet Wall? The 80-foot routes there were at least two letter grades harder than the six-pitch stuff on the North Wall, so why hadn't I featured them instead? Couldn't I see that these sport climbs were the wave of the future at Squamish?
Anyway, for the 99% of Supertopians who don't know anything about Squamish, the sport climbing never really caught on (although there are sport areas a bit further north), but those North Wall routes have stood the test of time.
Someone (Perry?) ought to talk about The Northern Lights, and maybe some of the new stuff that has been done since.
D
|
|
MH2
climber
|
|
Just a bump to encourage more from the Squamish base in the 80s.
Comparison shots of the 3rd pitch traverse on Cruel Shoes, 1984 versus 2009:
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
|
|
What happened to the poor bush?
Does the Sierra Club know it got yanked?
|
|
sagot
Trad climber
Vancouver
|
|
I guess the bush got trimmed!
Top of the split pillar Aug. 1980
|
|
Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
The tree may well have been trimmed, or have simply fallen out. There's some debate about why trees on the rock at Squamish seem to be doing fairly well. My belief is ice fall in winter has been the major limiting factor in vegetation growth, at least until recently. Squamish is very wet in winter, and its mean temperature near freezing. The cliff tops are somewhat colder. This means great accumulations of snow and ice plastered on and above cliffs, which come crashing down during warm periods, obliterating everything in their way. Including shrubs.
Until the 1980s, winters at Squamish were often cold and wet, but there have been few such lately. In springtime in the 1970s, there were often 10 m or more of snow and ice at the base of the Grand Wall, usually with rocks and trees mixed in. The Eryl Pardoe Hut, built on the Dance Platform in 1971, was severely damaged by ice fall within a few years.
Note that the El Cap Tree is the only significant tree on the the southeast or southwest face of El Cap, or at or near its base. Again, pummelled by ice fall, with that one tree protected by overhangs.
Some vandals have proposed removing the lovely cedar at the base of the Split Pillar, although it seems doubtful it has much to do with the stability (or not) of the pillar. The thing is a giant semi-detached flake, sitting on a small pedestal that's quite some distance from the little tree. Eventually the whole thing will come down, most likely due to earthquake or frost heaving.
|
|
klk
Trad climber
cali
|
|
Hey Scott!
Nice to see you posting. When things calm down, I still have a few slides to scan.
|
|
bmacd
Social climber
British Columbia
|
|
|
|
Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
|
|
This is a different view of the money pitch of the Split Pillar Right. Looking up from the base of the long corner.
|
|
guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
|
|
This is fantastic-keep it coming!
|
|
Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
Yeah, what Guido said. I have nothing to say but keep it coming.
|
|
bmacd
Social climber
British Columbia
|
|
Aahhh thanks for the positive response guys. I will have to rent that slide scanner again. Here are a few more ...
|
|
Timmc
climber
BC
|
|
Please keep scanning Bruce.
Gold.
TM
|
|
bmacd
Social climber
British Columbia
|
|
Timmc, as per your request !
Reposed from another thread, Timmc on "Perrys Lieback" Grandwall Squamish
Hamish hello to you out there if you are reading this !
More shots of another great Victoria/Squamish climber and old friend Mike Beaubien. Hey Mike are you out there ?
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!