Squamish, B.C.

The climbing:

I come to Canada every year not only to climb, but also to visit some very good friends. My partner in fun Karina, who broke her neck last year, was back climbing again and we got together in Penticton and climbed at Skaha. This is the place where we had first met two years before, and it was great to see her again and spend some time getting caught up. Unfortunately, she could only stay one day before heading back to Vancouver, so we made the most of our time by hitting a few of the best lines, up above beautiful Skaha Lake. Day two found me alone again so after biking up to the cliffs from town with a full pack of gear and not finding a partner, I spent the day free soloing some easy climbs in the more remote regions of the area.

With my elbow still aching, and Karina's neck still tender, we decided to take it a bit easy this time. After getting the feel of the rock, we went to work trying to tick off as many moderate long routes leading to the many summits of the Chief and surrounding crags as we could. We started out with "Birds of Prey", a six-pitch classic on the squaw. This large chunk of granite overlooks the tiny suburb where Karina and her friends had rented their apartment the year before, and from the top we had a great view of the entire area.

One week later, Karina and I repeated our ascent of Rock On, and this time capped it with "Squamish Buttress", a .10c finish that makes for a 13 pitch route to the top of The Chief. A few days later my old buddy Wes and I decided to try the Grand Wall, the 11-pitch .11a straight up the 2000 foot main face of The Chief. I had done the route my first year in Squamish but because the weather had been a showery, the seeping rock below the Split Pillar stopped us in our tracks. The very next day Karina joined the team and the three of us climbed to the top of The Sword, one pitch above the Split Pillar. Due to fatigue and moving slowly as a group of three, we decided to rappell off at that point and head for the Howe Sound Brew Pub. After all, it was Tuesday night!

Recharged with the half-price pizza the night before, the next day Karina and I headed up The Chief once more. This time we took the 14-pitch "Angel's Crest" route up the knife ridge to the north of the Grand Wall. With varied climbing and amazing views of the valley below, this route lives up to its name and then some. Just after crossing a narrow arete section and preparing to ascend the final headwall, a rather scary belay from a gnarled tree added to the excitement of this amazing climb. Because of my elbow and Karina's neck injury, we didn't get to climb quite as hard as we would have liked, but the trip was still a huge success. I was able to free solo several more Smoke Bluff cracks and redpoint some of my favorites, like Exasperator on the base of The Chief. Another highlight was my brother Christian showing up to paraglide around Whistler and Pemeberton. He took a day to come to Squamish and fly off the top of The Chief. With the wind deathly calm on top and the sun setting, he chose a tiny breeze as his cue and ran off the Raven's Nest with his wing barely inflated. His forward momentum was just enough to carry him over the final granite bulge and over the 2000 foot vertical face. Karina and I watched as he drifted down and spun to a landing in the high school football field. We hiked down and headed for the pub. It was our last Tuesday night in Squamish for the year.