Yosemite Ho!

Friday 9 September 2011

Visit the Lassen Volcanic Park for most of the day.  Fantastic place!  The most interesting was the ‘Bumpass Hell’ hike, which took me right up close to the active hydrothermal basin, and I had great views of bubbling mud and sulphuric water, as well as steam vents constantly spraying out super-heated gas.  The smell leaves much to be desired, but hey at least here I can be myself!  (Had to put that in there Kenny, before you said it!)

The volcano blew in 1915 and ever since then there has been loads of action for tourists to see and scientists to monitor.

The Sulphur Works gave me the super-closeup view of bubbling turmoil that the Bumpass Hell hike couldn’t.  It was fenced off right near the tarmac road so I could literally stand a couple of yards from it, whereas the Bumpass Hell tour stayed on boardwalks and set trails which prevented tourists from falling in.  Apparently people stray off-path every year and get badly burned.  Bumpass himself - a mountain guide who showed tourists through there back in the day - broke through the thin crust on day and ended up losing his leg to the severe burns from the water below.

Luckily there are National and State parks and forests all the way down between me and Yosemite.  I’ve had little trouble finding some old forest road to drive down at dusk and set up camp for the night.  I’m far enough away from the main road that it is relatively peaceful, and the scenery is unparalleled.  There are shotgun shells and 9mm casings everywhere though, so hopefully I can avoid all the gun crazy F250 drivers around!

Saturday 10 September 2011

Camp in a really cool spot in the National Forest.  Lots of rain overnight, so I'm glad to be in the van!  Its great that I can camp for free all through these National forests, although I can't camp within the parks.  Despite the camping-friendly weather, I haven't seen that many folks out and about.  Still no bears in sight, but I have seen plenty of woodpeckers, eagles and other birds.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Drive to Merced and treat myself to a night in Motel 6 - shower and real bed!  Dodgy part of town.  Two police cars were in the parking lot when I arrived, evicting a family who hadn't paid their bill.  On the drive today I saw more American flags than usual hung up in the towns and homes, as well as many signs ("Never Forget") and even some folks camped out at street corners with signs and army fatigues.

Monday 12 September 2011

Pick up Remi in the afternoon from the bus station in Merced, and begin the drive to Yosemite.  Its great to see an Aussie friend after so long on the road.  I've met many great people on the trip, but nothing compares to meeting up with a longtime friend from home.  We drive as far as we can in the daylight, then camp overnight in the forest before we get to the park.  We aren't so far from the Valley, but trying to get a place to stay late at night in there is just too much hassle and probably impossible this time of year.  Better to camp at leisure outside the park within the National Forest, then arrive in the Valley refreshed and ready to scope out the situation.

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Drive in to the park itself and get out first look at the ‘Big Stone’. 

Such an impressive monolith!  Intimidating, seemingly insurmountable.  Big respect to the early pioneers who dreamed the impossible, and to those who upped the ante by improving on style.

It rained in the evening that we arrived, so luckily we had the van to stay in.  We had to line up in the afternoon to get a spot in the Pines campground, and we were told that tomorrow morning we have to line up early at camp 4 to try and get a spot there.  Every morning we stayed, for 2 weeks, there was a huge line of people trying to get a spot in the Camp.

The early morning line to get into Camp 4

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Line up early at the camp 4 booth to try to get a spot.  We get a spot right near the YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue) camp, which is well set up with canvas tents and countless tarps.
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Remi leads a free route called ‘La Cosita’, and I follow on jumar.  I lead (aid) ‘La Escuela’, a C1 pitch that is quite awkward to aid.  The route goes free at 5.11, which is crazy hard here in the Valley.  We run out of time so we can’t aid the second pitch.

Thursday 15 September 2011

I aid ‘Church Bowl Tree’ C1 and find the gear and position pretty straight-forward, but I’m still very slow.  Remi is a little quicker on his run, but we both must get faster at the easy aid if we hope to get up something big.  The route goes free at 5.10b, but is very polished.  The pin scars from decades of aiding are the only thing that make the route possible as a free climb, so really it’s like climbing a chipped route.  There are many routes here in the Valley like that, but they are considered ‘classics’.  Maybe its because I can’t finger lock because of my injury, but I’m not psyched on climbing such routes.

Remi leads ‘Bishops Terrace’ 5.8 in one pitch (sometimes done in 2).  We are finding 5.8 / 5.9 a bit stiff here.  Hard to reconcile the grading here with Aussie grades, so we give up on converting.  5.9 is hard, and we go from there!

Friday 16 September 2011

Remi and I do ‘Nutcracker’ 5.8, which is a pretty classic route.  I lead the first 2 pitches and Remi leads the next 3, so we can practice ‘block leading’ and manage the ropes and changeovers.  It takes us 5 hours climbing time, so not including approach and descent, so we are still too slow even free climbing.

In the afternoon we went to the Le Conte boulder across the road from the Curry Village Housekeeping camp to practice steep bolt ladder aiding.  The angle is about 45 degrees and there is a line of bolts for about 6 metres for people to practice this.  The bolts are far enough apart to make it tricky to reach them, but we refine our technique quite well to get up.  Passing gear on jumar also goes well, although we are still slow.

Remi finding the steep bolt ladder less than enjoyable

 Sunday 18 September 2011

‘Rixon’s Pinnacle Direct South Face’ C2.  I think this is about as hard an aid I want to do!  Tricky gear placements, some rusty hangerless bolts, and shitty belays made up of many old bolts and pitons and webs of old tat.  Remi has to aid off 3 bad bolts in a row before the first anchor, and I have to loop a rock horn and stand high on it to reach the anchors of the second pitch.  We run some new cord through the best 2 of the 5 anchor bolts to back the whole thing up, and rap off hoping the whole thing doesn’t disintegrate.  No-one seems to do this route, as its very dirty and there is no recent signs of passage.

Shitty anchor on Rixon's Pinnacle

Quality runner!

I lead ‘Doggie Deviations’ 5.9 in the afternoon.  Nice finger crack, but typical Yosemite pin scars to make it possible.  I wonder how much of ‘The Nose’ and ‘Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome’ are only possible to free climb now that decades of aiding has created holds?  We top-rope ‘Doggie Diversons’ and struggle with the 5.7 squeeze chimney at the start.  The 5.9 second pitch is good climbing but would be a scary lead.

Monday 19 September 2011

Internet and planning for when the guys arrive.  Change reservation from Curry Village to the Housekeeping Camp, because there are many factors that make it a better option.  In Curry Village if you want to cook you have to go out to the carpark!  Plus if we go to Housekeeping we can park the cars right in front of the tent cabin. 

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Climb ‘Central Pillar of Frenzy’ on the Middle Cathedral Rock with Remi and this young stoner Mike.  5.9 and easier climbing for 5 pitches, then a long set of raps off. 

Mike's dad John cooked us dinner to say thanks for letting Mike come along

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Penelope’s Problem’ 5.7 at Swan Slab.  Remi leads a 5.9 pin scarred finger crack called ‘Grant’s Problem’, and we top-rope a 5.10a face climb in the dark.  I'm already over pin-scar climbing (welcome to Yosemite!), so the face route was fun.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Glacier Point Apron - ‘Harry Daley’ 5.8 (more pin scars on the first pitch, but after that is becomes fun to climb.  ‘The Grack’ 5.6 is a fun jaunt up 3 pitches of slab with a crack cutting all the way up it.  We attempt ‘The Cow Centre’ 5.7 but can’t see the anchors so traverse at about 5.6R in to The Grack and finish that in the dark.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Sunnyside Bench - ‘Jamcrack’ 5.9.  Remi leads both pitches and I follow, then I lead both in one long pitch.  Very hot in the sun - almost 90 degrees every day.  Makes it hard to enjoy climbing on the north side of the Valley in the middle of the day.  I think this is not normal temperatures for this time of year.  Hopefully it will cool down so we can climb some longer routes on the El Capitan side of the Valley.  I would hate to be on the Nose in these conditions.  The route gets full sun almost all day.

Lead ‘Lemmon’ 5.9, which is the easiest 5.9 we’ve done so far.

Wandering down towards Yosemite through the National Forests

Sunday 4 September 2011

Do the 2.5 mile walk around Smith Rock and look at the Monkey Face feature.  What an amazing tower!  “No feature at Smith Rock is as stunning or as iconic as the 350-foot Monkey face” the guidebook reads.  How true!  The first view when approaching it from the east is the imposing and famous East Face (duh), which holds the aptly named “East Face of Monkey Face”, the 5.13d trad route which Sonnie Trotter only just recently freed.  Also plainly and imposingly visible is the historic 5.14b sport route “Just Do It” - purportedly one of America’s finest 5.14s even though it has a sordid history of chipping and gluing.

East Face of Monkey Face

The West Face looks like nothing other than a monkey’s face in profile.

 The wall at the base is littered with bolts, and there is a striking long bolt ladder containing more bolts than I’ve ever seen in such a closely spaced row, mere feet from a stellar 13a arete with somewhat less visible bolting.  The bolt ladder route has been given maximum stars in the guide, obviously a nod towards the adventurous spirit of the (probably very) early ascentionist, but for mine I think it is an eyesore.  Most tourists wouldn’t spot the bolts on “Just Do It” so easily, but few could miss the dead-straight line of iron mongery high on the West Face.

Bolt ladder on 'West Face of Monkey Face' 5.12a A0

Monday 5 September 2011

Start the drive down towards Yosemite.  Lava Butte and Lava River Cave in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument were both worthwhile stopovers.  The cave especially was an experience.  It is the longest lava tube in Oregon, and is nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced.  Its like a train tunnel, so perfectly sculpted along most of its length.  In some places it narrows right down so you have to stoop to walk through, but most of its mile length is like a subway tunnel.  You can see that the initial lava flow cut a clean pipe through the earth, but la later, lesser flow cut a smaller groove at the base of the tube.  A cross section of the tube now would look more like a key hole.  The daytime temperatures here this time of year stay high in the 90s, but down in the cave it drops to a chilly 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  My ears were aching by the end, and luckily I took down my warmer jacket.  I just couldn’t imagine the cold down there before I went in - 50 degrees (or almost 40 degrees Celsius) in drop!

Lava Butte

Mouth of the Lava Cave

Cold!

Cave gets smaller towards the end

I slept off a forest service road within the national park, which turned out to be a fantastic spot.  I cooked a nice spaghetti bolognaise and read my latest copy of Gripped before setting down in the van to an early night.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Crater Lake.  What pristine attraction!  Just the size of the hole for starters, then its filled with gemstone-quality water!  Its 33 miles around and the water is almost 2000 feet deep.  There is an old volcano in the lake called Wizard Island, and the cone crater at the top is still plainly identifiable.

Stitched Panorama of the lake

Wizard Is.  Still snow around the waterline!

I drove down into California in the late afternoon, and camped off a National forest service road.  Unfortunately the spot I picked is, while private and far enough away from the highway, infested with mosquitoes!  Must be too close to the river.  I can hear it through the forest.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Dinner at a small pub near Bridgeville or maple Grove - lamb shanks and beer.  Such a huge serving; had a forgotten I was in America?  Such tender meat, and simple mashed spuds, bread, salad and roast broccoli on the side.  Perfect!

Thursday 8 September 2011

Take a shower in the sun, in a secluded spot in the Trinity National Forest.  Nudist!  Good to get the ‘road dust’ off after all this driving.  A bit of internet in Redding to plan the next few days - Lassen National Forest, Plumas National Forest, Reno Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Eldorado National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest and then on to Merced to pick up Remi.

Squamish and Smith Rock

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Climb “St Vitus’ Dance” 5.9 with Cecile.  Tim decides that my using his house for everything besides actually sleeping there without paying rent has gone on for long enough, so now I’m back to living out of the van properly.  Not sure if I’ll stay in Squamish for another week, or just head back to the States and visit Smith Rock on my way to Yosemite.  Ah the life of a climbing bum.  Overstaying welcomes and being a general free-loading pest!  Sorry Tim, I should have realised earlier and made the move myself.  Interestingly there is an article on just my type of behaviour in one of the recent American climbing mags.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Climb “Calculus Crack” 5.8, “Memorial Crack” 5.9 and “Squamish Buttress” 5.10c with Cecile.  This linkup takes the climbers from the Apron car park all the way to the First Summit.  Took us a full day, climbing from about 8am to 8pm (not including the hike down!)  Got back to the car after 9.  12 pitches total, most being easier than 5.9, but the crux came with the penultimate pitch - 5.10c finger crack in a corner for about 20m.  Sustained and slippery!  I placed gear every few feet (yes feet not yards!  So I was a little nervous...) near the end, which only added to the pump.  Losing the headspace!

Camped in the campground carpark, even though there is lots of signage saying that it is forbidden.  There are so many vans and station wagons there overnight, and when I woke up people had set up chairs outside there cars to have breakfast, so hopefully I can get away with it as well.

Friday 26 August 2011

Wake up in the climbers campground parking lot quite late after a really good night’s sleep.  The past 2 days of long routes have worn me out, even though they weren’t really big days when compared to what we’ll have to face in Yosemite.  But the rangers have caught up with me and given me a warning not to camp there.  Back to the logging roads!

Sunday 28 August 2011

Climb at Chek with Cecile and Emily.  Onsight a cool 11c and fell of the end of a 12a on the flash attempt.  Didn't get back on it again, even though it would have been a good one to play on for a bit longer.  These couple of routes make me realize that I probably need a break from trad for a bit before Yosemite.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Drive from Squamish down into the States, and camp in a rest stop in southern Washington State.  Customs was a hassle again - hate US border guards, the power-drunk suspicious bored clueless douches.  Always the same questions and incredulity that I would be doing exactly what I say I'm doing.  "You're NOT working here illegally?  How do you support yourself?  You're just spending savings?  Bullshit.  is that a charger full of coke bulging the back of your trousers?  Let's have a look shall we?"  Ok maybe not that extreme, but I'm over it.

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Drive through some pretty amazing scenery in Oregon.  The forests here are amazing; they envelop the car it seems as you wind down endless highways.  Because of a massive fire south of Seattle, I've been forced to take a longer route than the main drag.  Fine by me, this way isn't all gas stations, McDonalds and Dennys.

Arrive at Smith Rocks late in the day.  No-one else in the campground, so I wonder if there will be any climbers around tomorrow?  Its been hot, and this isn't really the peak season to climb here.  maybe they dirtbags have found cheaper spots to camp?  The rock is surrounded by farms and private property, so I'm not sure where they'd stay on the sly.

Thursday 1 September 2011

Climb at North Point wall with some kids from Bend.  One girl had never climbed before, and the other had never lead outdoors, and one of the guys hadn’t led anything harder than 5.9.  But the other guy boasted that he could climb 5.12 and was projecting 5.13, so I thought I would be able to get on some hard stuff with him.  He was more of a boulderer though, and didn’t have much endurance.  Plus he wanted me to put a toprope up on a 12a he wanted to start projecting, because he didn’t have the confidence to lead it.  I didn’t have the balls myself to clip the crux bolt and I let go from the good holds and took a fall rather than climb further or just man up and try clipping.  But the fall potential got into my head and I wussed out.  The second try went fine and I even climbed past the bolt to clip at my feet to send the thing, but I was very frustrated not to have done what was necessary to onsight such a soft 12a.  Seeing kids like this guy and how he wants to toperope first and not take falls makes me want even more to get better mentally at climbing.  Such a huge barrier to doing better, and harder, routes!  Time to clock up fall time now I'm on bolts.  But the rock looks like solidified mud with stones sticking out of it, and is that bolt hanger spinning?  Hmm.  Can I trust this kid to catch me, even though I just met him?  I miss solid reliable partners!  Time, that's what's needed, with a new partner.

Friday 2 September 2011

Ruptured a tendon on a shitty 5.11b.  Devastated.  I’ve strained tendons and pulleys pretty bad before, resulting in months of downtime before they are fully recovered, but this is the first time I’ve done such a job on my finger, with an audible ‘pop’ and instant numbness and swelling.  I’ve iced it a bit, and I’ll see how it feels before climbing again tomorrow.  Maybe my trip to Smith will be very short.  Such a shame to do a stupid thing like that, and such a waste.  So many cool routes here to try!

Saturday 3 September 2011

Rise early to climb a 3 pitch mixed route with Bob.  High solo on thin huecos to 3 bolts of face climbing, past a sport anchor and into a finger crack / dihedral to a ledge with a bolted anchor.  I felt nervous even though the climbing was dead easy.  If I had of fallen from there it would have been far but not deadly.  Probably a broken ankle, perhaps worse.  I won't be doing that again!  Not worth the risk, hawever easy the route is or low the risk.  Second pitch Bob led, which I was thankful for because it was very run out although easy enough.  3rd and final pitch was the best; a great thin flake to a ledge, then traverse left and up a wide groove to the top.  Fantastic position, and summiting does add something pure to the climbing, no matter how much of a sport climber I am.  Finger is still stiff and sore, so I iced it some more after the route.

Whistler and Squamish July / August 2011

Thursday 14 July 2011

Arrive in Squamish late morning after 2 days driving from Calgary.  Traffic was terrible past Vancouver from so many roadworks.  I met up with Rachelle in the Chief campground.  She is a Canadian that Logan, Rob and I met while climbing in Yangshuo China a couple of years ago.  It's raining here, and has been for a couple of days, so looks like no climbing today.  Apparently there are a couple of places where you can climb in the rain, so Rachelle said she would message me if she went out.  Meanwhile, I checked out the Visitors' Centre, one of the gear stores, and one of the food markets.  I bought the Squamish Select guidebook instead of the more highly recommended (on websites and forums) Climbers Guide to Squamish, and it seems to be a good option.  It's the most up to date and comprehensive guide available, without detailing every single pitch in the area.  Plus it's quite a small and light book, not like the older but more detailed Climbers Guide.

Rachelle is staying in her van, but isn't paying the $9 a night campground fees.  She guerilla camps down some quiet loggers road and drives into the campground to meet up with partners.  Good idea - I'll do the same!

This is the overview map of the Chief and the main tourist trails to the various summits.

 I took a hike through the Grand Wall boulderfield while it was raining, to get a bearing on everything and to see some of the famous areas and boulders.  On the Grand Wall Trail I spotted this rock carving.  Pretty neat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boulders in the forest; so lush and peaceful!

I wanted to go see the Cacodemon boulder, specifically "Dreamcatcher" 5.14d on the back of it.  This is the first route of this grade I've seen live, not just on a climbing movie.  The slab looks impossible, the rail slopey and insecure, and the final pin scar moves too thin to even hang on!  Amazing line, and an amazing send by Sharma.  there was a Japanese guy on it when I went to check it out, but it looked like he was just dogging it to feel the rock rather than trying any moves.

Dreamcatcher, 5.14d (9a or 35)

 I also hiked up the the backside crags behind the Chief to find "Cobra Crack" (5.14+ steep traditionally protected (no bolts) finger crack.  An awesome line; long, steep and thin!  Possibly the hardest crack free climbed in the world.  I think its seen 7 ascents to date, the latest being by Alex Honnold who was trying it while I was there.

Cobra Crack, starting in the flair and continuing up the thin steep finger crack on the face for 40m!

Its supposed to rain for the rest of the week, so I have decided to drive up to Whistler and snowboard before the Summer season ends up there.  They've had loads of snow over the winter, and it has been slow to melt over the spring, so the Summer season is extended up on the glacier.  Its weird to take the chairlift up the mountain from summer temperatures over green forest and wildlife, until altitude is gained and the snowline is finally reached.

A black bear where once was piste!

 The glacier is actually very busy this time of year, mainly with professional ski jumpers and downhill time trialists training in the off-season, and lots of snowboarding kids riding the parks.  The glacier is pretty small and the lines are very very long, so the time down is far shorter than the time waiting!

A view of the massive airbags the trick jumpers use as safety fall zones

Crankworx was also on in Whistler while I was there, so I spent a couple of days checking that out.  The downhill mountain bikers were riding the skilifts to the top of the bike trails at the same time the summer skiiers were riding up the the glacier!  Wild.  The show was pretty good, with lots of things going on between the downhill Championships.  There were quite a few Aussies riding, as well as other competitors from around the world.  I didn't see any of the good riders eat dirt on the way down, even though they looked like they were riding out of their skins to clock fast times.  The track was wet from all the rain, which made the turns, rough sections and jumps all look quite sketchy.

I arrived back in Squamish to still wet weather, so I decided to try the sport areas where you can climb during rain.  Cheakamus Canyon has loads of areas with a good range of grades and angles to try, and is probably the most popular area during raining periods.  I arrived and walked up the the first wall with a big group of climbers and asked if i could join them.  One woman counted the number of climbers in her group (7; an odd number) before agreeing.  Thanks for the concession!  Now we could climb in pairs and no-one would have to wait.  They turned out to be a friendly lot, and even though I didn't try anything harder than 11a I had a good time.  One of the guys even invited me out to dinner with a small group of them, and let me use his shower!

Tim; the guide and Squamish local with the shower and the generous heart!

I ended up climbing with Tim and a couple of his friends - Cecile and Emily - constantly over my time in Squamish.  The day after I met them, we went to the Smoke Bluffs to get back into the trad leading mindset.  the Bluffs are mostly single pitch trad lines, perfect for group cragging and doing lots and lots of pitches.

Thursday 21 July 2011
I went hiking with Tim, Emily, Cecile and Tim's 10 year old son Zac on a rainy day.  About 10km round trip with 650m of vertical gain, following a river up past a spectacular waterfall and up into a thick forest.

These views never get old, even though they are commonplace here

Climb at Smoke Bluffs a lot over the next few days, as well as a trip or two to Chek.  The best sport wall so far I have seen here is the Circus.  I tried a 12d here that seems like it could go clean for me, but I haven't climbed hard since France so I'm not really at the same level I was months ago.  I got to the top, but the crux took me a few goes to wire.  Still not sure I've found the best beta for it, but its a great little route so I don't mind entering the redpoint process on it.  Its called "Heifer Down".  I did onsight a nice 11c, albeit a little soft, so I haven't lost all gains!

Thursday 28 July 2011

Climb at Smoke Bluffs - 'The Smoke Bluff Connection' ("Mosquito" 5.8, "Phlegmish Dance" 5.8, "Jabberwocky" 5.10b, "Wonderland" 5.9) with Cecile.  Great 4 pitch line with all pitches 5 star.  I had done "Wonderland" a few days before with Tim's new girlfriend Emily, but the other 3 routes were new to me.

Cecile; my (married) climbing semi-regular partner

Climb 'Snake' 5.9 on the Apron with Cecile the next day.  We had planned to climb 'Calculus Crack' 5.8, but we missed the start and got on the wrong route by mistake.  But Snake is a great route in its own right, with some very cool climbing up the slabs and corners of the Apron.  There are a couple of pitches about halfway up with some dicy moves well above gear, but all in all the climbing is pretty easy and well protected.  Tried out the new 'Tradmaster' shoes, which were great on the slab but hurt especially on the heel.  If they stretch as much as other La Sportiva shoes I own, then I'm sure they'll be fine.

I'm spending a lot of time at Tim's house, sleeping in the van outside but coming in for meals, internet, showers, laundry, TV, and so on.  One night I came in after a day's climbing to find a bunch of his friends there palying a drinking game.  rain called for tomorrow, so no need to get an early night!  The game was "13"; each player counts off in turn around the table from 1 to 13. Any person who counts out of turn or missed their number has to drink.  Sounds easy, but after a few...  So when 13 comes around, that person has to make up a rule for the following rounds, and attributes a number to it.  For example, one rule that came up was the when the counting came to 9, the direction reversed.  Simple, but who-ever said 8 had to remember that they had to say 10 after the next person said 9.  This first simple rule caught out the only girl at the table every time for a couple of rounds, so it promised to be a long night.  Other rules included saying a silly word (eg "Bria"; the name of the house dog), standing up, turning around in the chair so the player couldn't see the ground for a round, drinking someone else's drink, fist pumping the player to your left, and so on; all in place of a certain number.  So by the end we had 12 different actions and words to remember, and the goal was to get right through the final round to 13 without messing up.  By the time the 7 of us achieved that, we were all well on the way to a long sleep in and a hurt head.

Had a BBQ with some locals down at Brohm Lake.  These crazy Squamites swim there in the calendar summer, so long as its sunny.  Even if the temperature is still in the teens and the water is sub-10!  Needless to say I didn't take off my jacket and jump in.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Climb 'The Ultimate Everything' with Alissa, by incorporating most of the 'Ultimate Everything Linkup' (minus the first 2 pitches of 'Bottom Line'; and we did 'Over the Rainbow' on the Apron instead of the more popular 'Dedrie').  17 pitches in total, which made for quite a long day.  We took one pack to share, some food, and about 1L of water each.  Carrying a heavy pack as the follower is not fun, but at least you don't have to lead with a pack.  1L wasn't enough water for such a long day, but we made it through ok.  The worst part is the long hike down from the summit, then having to walk the whole base of the Chief from the campground where to tourist trail starts, all the way back the Apron carpark where we started!

The view from the Apron of the logging operation

Looking up at the Grand Wall.  The massive right-facing corner is the Split Pillar

Alissa on Memorial Ledge; the popular bridging route linking the Apron with the Ultimate Everything above

A view higher up the route, still looking out over the Howe Sound

Summit!

Thursday 4 August 2011

Climb on the Grand Wall base with Kazu.  Turns out he is the very same Japanese climber I saw on Dreamcatcher way back when!  Two pitch 'Slot Machine' 5.8, 'A Pitch in Time' 5.10b hand and fist crack (twice), 'Rainy Day Dream Away' 5.10d finger crack, and 'Exasperator' 5.10c finger crack normally done in one long 50m pitch instead of 2 pitches.  hardest technical day I've had so far on gear here in Squamish, and really what I shoud be doing most days if I hope to be in good training for Yosemite next month.  "Exasperator" was a very tough long route, and made me sick and tired of finger cracks with shit feet.  Too bad that is the bread and butter of Squamish climbing!  There is a very stout 11c of the same nature in the Smoke Bluffs, called "Crime fo the Century", that is a test piece here.  I've tried it a couple of times, and done it clean on toprope, but its just not the style I want to climb any more.  Maybe I really am just a latte sport climber after all.

Friday 5 August 2011

Climb at Smoke Bluffs with Cecile and Kazu.  Onsight 'Supervalue' 5.10c, which was scary and stiff for 10c I thought.  It didn't help that the first 2 bolts of the upper section were very rusty; I placed some very dodgy trad gear to try and back up the bolts!  The next 2 bolts were in better shape, and I found the crux not too bad.  This is probably because I could switch to Sport Climbing Mode and just do the technical climbing without having to stress about gear!  Changing cracks on the upper slab I found much more strenuous, as the gear was kind of hard to place well and the climbing was very insecure.  We also did 'Centre Street' 5.10c, which was yet another finger crack with shit feet, as well as a nice 5.9 crack that eased the mental fatigue.  But I also onsighted (thank God I didn't fall!) a sparsely bolted 5.9 arete.  Arete climbing can be very insecure and balancy, and there was only 3 bolts on the whole route.

Saturday 6 August 2011

Climb 'Grand Wall' with Kazu.  Start with 'Apron Strings', into 'Mercy Me', then traverse into 'Grand Wall'.  Alex Honnold was free soloing it the same time we climbed it, and there were 4 other teams on it ahead of us (including a team hauling a massive haul bag and portaledge - obviously training for Yosemite).  Kazu started off from the ground, so he was in line to do the first pitch of 'Mercy Me' - 40m of 5.7 with only 3 bolts!  Glad I didn't lead that, even though the climbing was easy and not insecure.  I led the next pitch which was almost as run out, but at least it was a long way off the ledge so I had nothing to hit had I fallen.  I linked the next, traversing pitch into the 2nd pitch of 'Mercy Me', which was wet, bolted sparingly, and long enough to use most of my 55m rope.  This got me to the base of the 'Split Pillar' pitch of 'Grand Wall', which is supposed to be the best pitch of the route.  Kazu lad it, as we swung pitches the whole way up, and I found the 10c climbing physically hard with the laybacking for 40m.  Of course I realised after that I could and should have jambed the hand and fist size sections of the crack, but on toperope I just charged unthinking to the belay.  Next came 'The Sword' (crux) pitch which was my lead.  Kazu had convinced me to leave my set of nuts behind because we were already taking his double set of cams, and he never climbs with nuts.  Stupid of me to listen to him; you can always use and most likely need nuts somewhere in 12 pitches of climbing!  One of the teams ahead of us said that the "sword' pitch required lots of small nuts because of the nature of the crack; incipient with many small pods too small and generally too flared for cams.  There was a fixed nut about a third of the way up the pitch, so I was very happy to clip that.  My next piece was a green cam in a flared pod, and I could tell it was no good.  It was the last piece I placed before the crux so I should have tried harder to place a good piece there or nearby, but it was a very pumpy section so I just clipped the cam and went.  I fell off the crux moves, blew the cam of the way down, and ended up back level with the belay hanging from the fixed nut.  Probably about a 10m fall.  I looked across at Katzu and let him know it was the nut that held me.  That's the last time I leave nuts behind!  I finished the pitch no problems, and the rest of the route went ok except for being held up by the parties in front of us.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Climb at Area 44 with Cecile, Carla and Will.  Met the developers of the crag and discussed the grade of the latest route to be freed, which Will and I tried.  The first ascentionist thought it was 5.11d or thereabouts, and although I went off route near the top I thought the crux was somewhere around mid-11.  I thought the bolting was ok except for the top, where a really balancy move that could be better protected (slab below to land on in a fall).  Maybe I misjudged the danger of the potentional fall, so I kept the bolting criticism to myself.  I just said the line was fun and that they did a great job developing the area.  I'm sure they appreciate thanks for all teh hard work they put in.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Climb at Chek with Cecile.  Try a really hard 12c but bailed off it because it is just too hard to even figure out the moves.  Am I getting weaker?  I have to be careful not to burn out.  I'm doing lots of trad climbing so I feel the need to balance thus with sport climbing, but then I feel like I haven't been doing enough hard climbing to even maintain my best level, plus I'm not taking any falls so my leading head is probably not staying in the right frame either.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Climb at Chek with Cecile, Tim and Emily.  Onsighted a 12a and flashed an 11c, as well as some easier routes.  Maybe my onsight level is still there or thereabouts?  Had a harder time on a 12c extension to a cool 10b route - couldn't even do the moves at the crux!  I thought I should be able to at least do a 12c, even if it is very bouldery, but I guess I have to accept that if I don't train to climb 12c I can't just climb a 12c sport route after weeks of only climbing long 5.9 trad.

Friday 12 August 2011

Climb at Lower Malamute with Alissa.  Tried a 5.11a finger crack that felt really stiff for the grade; I couldn't do it clean and ended up falling a few time on it.  A bit over the hard finger cracks to be honest.  Not really enjoying them so much, and missing sport climbing!  Should go somewhere other than Squamish then!  Also onsighted a corner finger crack 5.10, which involved a lot of stemming to progress up and a lot of butt friction to rest!

Monday 15 August 2011

Climb at Chek with sisters Zoe and Elise.  I met Zoe in Canmore before I went to france.  Finally send "Rug Munchers" 5.11d; 3rd go in total.  Pumpy but great climbing.  Do a few other easier routes, then climb the crag classic 5.12a "The Incredible Journey" 2nd shot.  Slightly contrived near the top, because you could climb around the arete to the left onto 5.5 slab, still be in reach of the bolt line and avoid the best moves of the route, but if you stay to the intended line it climbs amazingly well.  26m long, so it feels like it will never end.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Climb "Angles Crest" 5.10c with Tim.  Long day - something like 9 hours including the walk down.  Angles Crest is a fantastic wandering journey all the way from the ground to the top of the 2nd peak.  The best part was the wild and hardly protect-able 5.5 Spine Traverse.  Climb a slab and off-width crack to the spine, then walk along its shoulder-width length to another slab and eventually to belay and rappel.  Very cool!

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Climb "Star Chek" 5.9 with Cecile.  I climbed the 3 pitches in bare feet to see how it would go.  Fun, but not so good on slab.

Climbed at Rouges Gallery in the afternoon.  Did some easy lines then onsighted a 5.11c called “Ancient Heart” - really cool route.  There is a 12a next to it that I would like to try also, if I do end up staying through the weekend.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Climb "Rock On" 5.10a with Cecile.  6 pitches with only two pitches of 5.10 climbing.  I somehow managed to hurt my collarbone performing some weird mantle move on the top of the first 10a pitch, so I convinced Cecile to try leading the next 10a pitch.  She did very well, and even took her first gear fall.  She had climbed a ways above the belay before placing her first piece, then a fair bit further before placing the next - a micro cam.  I didn’t think it looked that good of a piece, and the next one she placed another few moves later was an over-cammed small cam.  As this was right before the crux I convinced her to back it up.  Falling from there onto these 2 small cams would probably ripped them and sent her crashing to the belay ledge, so luckily she got in a good bigger cam before she fell.  Her leg caught the micro cam on the way down and it came out easily, and the other small cam wasn’t tested in the fall so we’ll never know if it would have held or not.  To Cecile’s credit she climbed straight back up, figured out a better sequence for the crux and climbed to the anchors.  I seconded that pitch, grimacing through the discomfort and trying not to climb with my left arm above my head, and led out through the final pitch of 5.6 to the top.  We rapped to Broadway Ledge then did the 4 raps to the South Gully exit trail.

Calgary Stampede

I flew back into Canada from France early July, just in time for the Calgary Stampede.  I felt naked without a cowboy hat - I was almost the only person there out of the thousands who didn't have one!  The best part of the Stampede for me was the team camp-drafting (cutting), where 3 riders had to isolate 3 cows from a mob of 30 (all identified with numbers on their backs) and muster them into a holding yard.  They had to do it in under a minute, and they weren't allowed to get any other cows mixed up in the ones they had to pen.  In fact only one cow that was not in their number was allowed past the halfway line of the arena, and if any more got past then the team failed.  In one of the better runs I saw, one wrong cow got through, and at one point they nearly let more go by, but in the end they managed to get the 3 they needed to the yard and they got rid of the wrong numbered cow just before penning up their 3.   This team took 56 seconds, and the team that won did it in about 35 seconds I think.  They were very good, but there is an element of luck involved.  The team that won were a family team - grandfather, daughter and granddaughter.

The sheepdog trials were also interesting to watch, although there is definitely a lot of luck involved there!  It was the world championships, but most contenders were from Alberta and nearby provinces.  The bloke who won was from Saskatchewan, and a couple of BC locals came second and third.  There were some Americans and maybe an Australian in the 15 finalists.  Basically the handler had to stand in a marked circle and issue instructions from there until the sheep crossed a designated line in the arena, then they could open the gate for the sheep.  Once they did this they couldn't let go of the rope to help the dog pen the sheep.  This is to ensure the dog is the one who succeeds of fails in the penning, so no handler should have a physical advantage over another.  However these rules don't entirely take the dog handler's stock handling abilities out of the equation.  The people with good stock sense knew how to behave in close quarters with the sheep, so as not to make them react adversely, and obviously the faster fitter people could get the gate open earlier and close it faster once the sheep were penned.  There was a woman who was quite overweight and she was very slow manipulating the gate.  Added to that and she isn't a stock woman at all.  She was just in the crowd one year at the Stampede and decided she could train a dog to do that even though she didn't work sheep.  She was very good with her dog, but she didn't have the same sheep experience as the other competitors.  Technically, the person isn't permitted to handle the sheep, so if at the gate the sheep try to get past the person they are not allowed to physically block with contact.  The handler holds a long rope from the gate so they can use that a bit, and they carry a crook and can wave that at the sheep, but I don't think they are allowed to use the rope or crook to actually trip up the sheep.  Nevertheless, the guy who won was fit and fast, and was as physical as permitted with the crook and rope in blocking the sheep.  And he was fast closing the gate once the sheep were in!

So the course the dog had to guide the sheep through involved rounding some barrels, channeling through a narrow chute, and circling the handler before coming into the gate.  There was a time of 4 minutes allotted and 3 sheep to handle.  Much depended on the temperament of the sheep, because the dog wasn't permitted to bite the sheep.  One contender was very unfortunate because their 3 sheep included one really stubborn ewe who wouldn't go through the chute.  She would charge the dog and the dog wasn't allowed to assert itself over the sheep.  As soon as the dog backed off the ewe knew it had won, so it was all over for that competitor.

The chute

Also some buggys were on show:

 I was interested in seeing the actual rodeo itself, with the bucking broncos and the bull riding, but I couldn't do everything in one day so I chose the above events instead.  I could have stayed another day and paid to see the rodeo, but I decided to leave Alberta and climb instead in Squamish.

France Continued June/July

New gear!  70m 9.5mm Edelweiss bi-colour rope and a new pair of Testa Rossas.  Best sport shoes I've had!  A little cheaper in France than in the US, both the shoes and the rope.  May make me a little heavy on the flight back to Canada, but I was well under on the way over so should be ok.

I climbed at a small crag near Olivier's house, with him, Clay, Julien Catalon, Julien's brother Stephan and his girlfriend, and a friend of Olivier's called Marie.  Olivier is another close French friend of Clay's.  We left at 5.30pm after everyone finished work, so we didn't have much time to climb.  I think we did about 3 routes each, and nothing hard, although Clay did get up a heady 6a which had a tricky crux.  It made me struggle a bit as well!  Afterwards we all went back to Olivier's for a BBQ, which was a veritable feast; melon and Corsican saucisson, tomato and mozzarella salad, two different types of sausage, chicken, beers, red wine, and Muscat.  We all talked into the night, and Olivier showed us photos from a recent catamaran trip he and some of the others took.  Its evenings like these that make a trip special; with new friendly people, animated discussion, good food and good vocal chord lubrication, and a wonderful setting!

Finally got up a via ferrata after hearing all about it from Clay for years.  Turns out its a well-protected jaunt up a ladder, more or less!  Well, there is a little more to it than that, and it was fun even though it wasn't 'real climbing'.  Apparently the system was invented in WW1 for getting troops with no mountain climbing experience across the Alps, and it became a popular easy alternative to rock climbing, to access places like the Bastille in Grenoble via the cliffs. A rope traverse and a suspended bridge (like from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) compliments the steel rungs set in the cliff face, and the line tracks around the cliff from the river up to the Bastille.  Good fun to do once, but I'd rather technical rock.

DJ Nick's bucks party was held up in the mountains above the city, so a bunch of us hiked up with the surprised and clueless Nick in tow.  He'd been drinking heavily after work with a couple of mates, so the hike really took it out of him (literally).  Everyone had planned to camp up there, play guitar, have a BBQ and sink piss, but Clay and I headed down early in order to collect Steve from the train station.  He'd arranged to fly in from London for a few days' climbing.  It was great to see Steve again, but unfortunately we didn't get around to climbing anything really good when he was there.  Logan came back for a few days (his partner for an Alpine trip had bailed) so we all sport climbed together.  Late nights and later mornings, as well as an addiction to a new card game Clay acquired, meant that there was never enough daylight for a proper climbing adventure.  I'm really a latte sport climber now anyway; multi-pitch adventures may be Steve's bag but they are not really mine right now.  Steve and I did get up a 5 pitch sport route, but the man wasn't feeling the best and the day was a bit hot for slab.  After Logan and I took Steve to the train station so he could fly back to London, we cruised out to Comboire to try some hard sport routes.  I managed to onsight a soft cruxy 7b, but after that I was unable to make progress on anything harder.  The routes here are hard, and I've lost some form over the wedding trip!

France

So the time-honoured spectacle of the wedding dance!  Only I didn't know the steps, but luckily I didn't really need to.  Clay had that all sorted, including acting as tour guide for us all!  It was like watching a foreign film  with no sub-titles, and they weren't necessary because the actors knew how to portray emotion and drama and comedy, and that special familiarity strangers quickly attain when someone in the group really knows how to connect everyone.  Clay and Katya are two of those people, connecting the Australian Boladeras cast with the Mexican ensemble, and both with the French contingent.  Oh, and there were Kiwis, Swedes, Austrians, Canadians, Italians and Spaniards...  Sometimes there was hasty translation from English to French to Italian, and Mexican to French to English, and English to Scott-French and Scott-Spanish to something someone could hope to understand and interpret for everyone else!  It was a marvelous occasion the wedding, a true testament to the quality of character of the hosts and participants.

The ceremony itself was a brief affair, and a well oiled procession of processes deftly handled by the city's beaurocracy.  We were alotted half an hour to dispense with the formalities, then the whole party were quickly ushered out so the next marital union could take place in the town hall.  But no matter the wind at our backs blowing from the Hotel de Ville, Clay and Katya made sure to greet each and every attendant of the ceremony and pose for photos on the steps.

 Clay and Katya at the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) getting matrimonially amalgamated

 Mum (white top with back turned), Pish (blue shirt) and Kiwi Jeff (brown jacket)

After that most of us followed the bride and groom across the busy Jean Pain Boulevard Saturday traffic to the gardens where the 'official' photos were to be taken.  Luckily the mari et femme have a couple of friends who just so happen to be quite handy with a lens, so no expensive photographer was needed.

Later in the evening we all went up to the beautiful Chez Le Pèr'Gras, a restaurant above the Bastille with a wonderful view over the whole valley, and attended the reception.  Clay and Katya put in a great effort organising the food and drinks, DJ Nick was roped into supplying the beats, the incomparable vocal talents of Amandine silenced the crowd, Kiwi Jeff brought his guitar, and not a few of us brought each other and I'll say all the gathered guests to tears at speech time.  The two Juliens spoke wonderfully in French, Spanish and English about both Clay and Katya, and the Boladeras girls bravely said some Spanish pieces in their speeches.  Notably absent where the two fathers, who were sorely missed but respectfully and joyfully included in the celebrations through words and images.  Mum had a slide show accompany her speech, and Dad sent a letter to me with a few words he wished me to say on his behalf.  Luckily I read the letter over a few times beforehand, as I felt I needed to make some legible notes in the margins so I wouldn't stumble over his hieroglyphical handwriting at crunch time!  And then there was the emotion of watching Clay's reaction as I read his absent father's words to him.  No there was not a dry eye in the room!  But happily Clay and Katya will be over to Mexico soon enough to see Katya's Dad at home, and home to Wonganoo to see our own father before too long.


Apart from having lots of quality time with my brother and his new wife (and mother of his pending child), and with my own mother and sister, I most of all enjoyed the time I spent climbing and talking with Julien 'Pish' Pichot and Julien 'Chamoise' Catalan.  these are two of Clay's most wonderful friends, and true Frenchmen.  Pish is a great student of fine food and fine wine, and has a voracious appetite for learning (especially all the 'bad' English words).  The time we spent together at Ombleze has formed one of my most treasured memories from this trip so far.  Chamoise is the most sensitive and emotionally mature gentleman I've had the pleasure of meeting.  A conscientious host and expert guide, and the perfect whit to loosen up with a few wines!  They will both miss Clay when he moves back to Australia, and he will miss them doubly I'm sure.

Mon Frere

 Mum, me, Clay, Kelly, and cousin Shane

Ombleze

Pish washing out the spilled red wine from all his camping gear!

 The incomparable Chamoise

The remainder of the time that Kelly and Mum had in France was spent touring around the city and the mountains, as well as a little bit of climbing at the local crags.  Mum consumed all things French with an appetite long suppressed by decades of rural enchainment and the burdens of financial responsibility, and I could tell this little trip abroad will no longer be enough to sate her wanderlust.