Will Stanhope has been climbing for most of his life. Growing up on the North Shore and being a part of The Edge Youth Team, Will developed his technical climbing skills on the granite of Squamish, BC. With ascents of The Prophet (5.13d R, VI, El Capitan) and Cobra Crack (5.14-), Will established himself as a contender in the world of hard trad climbing, learning from the greats, such as Leo Holding and Sonnie Trotter.
This fall, Will pushed his potential even farther with the first free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Wall on Snowpatch Spire in the Bugaboos. Spending approximately 150 days on the route over four years, Will had to dig deeper than ever before, shedding himself of everything he knew.
Will will be sharing his experiences this Friday night at the 2015 VIMFF Fall Series and we thought it would be great to check in with him after reflecting on his experiences. Here is what he had to say.
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Will Stanhope on the crux pitch of the Tom Egan Memorial Route. Photo courtesy of Will Stanhope ©
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Will. How are things going?
Pretty good Tim, thanks for asking. Just shaking off the road-lag from a long stint behind the wheel on the I-5.
Where are you coming from and what were you up to?
I was in Yosemite for a couple weeks with my friend Jesse Huey. We had some big plans to find a free variant to Half Dome after the huge rockfall this summer, but decided not to go up there until after the winter. When we got to the valley, rumours of it still being unstable and loose freaked us out. To climb well in Yosemite, you need to be fully amped, and we weren’t feeling the total gung-ho spirit. So we mostly cragged.
Will in his element, Yosemite. Photo courtesy of Sonnie Trotter ©
It’s been a couple months since you sent you finished off The Tom Egan Memorial Wall. Having a little time to reflect, how does it feel to look back at the project and reflect on the process?
I still feel a bit dazed by it all. I’m trying to finish off a couple articles about the experience and I’m struggling, to be honest. A big chunk of my life went into doing that route and I’m finding it difficult to summarize.
Obviously, an ascent like this comes with a lot of joy, but were there any ups and downs while working the route for such a long time?
Hugely! We’d get really frustrated up there, frequently unable to match old highpoints. Sometimes you feel like you’re squandering your time up there, blowing off other important things in life. But, once in a while, we’d have a breakthrough and we’d feel like kings.
With a lot of climbers, ego often gets in the way after falling go and after go. How do you handle the ego side of things and does it ever creep in there during the process?
For me, to send that crux pitch, I had let go of everything: the past, the future, ego, everything. Ego is one of those things that tries to measure, to count, to control… If I ever wanted to have a hope in hell of doing that very insecure pitch I had to let go of everything and be fully present in the moment. Try full throttle without a care in the world. Very tough to do.
Will on the wall. Photo courtesy of Will Stanhope and by Ines Papert ©
Do you keep track of goes when working such a difficult line?
Not really. I think we spent 150 days on that wall over the course of 4 summers, but that number is admittedly at stab in the dark.
What was the dynamic like with you and Matt (Segal) throughout the process. A lot of laughs or a few serious times as well?
We had a lot of fun. He’s one of my best friends and a blast to hang out with. But spending that amount of time with anybody can be tough, especially on a serious project. We had to know when to give each other space.
You tackled this project as a team but unfortunately Matt didn’t end up sending with you. Does that take away from the send a little for you?
Yeah, it made it feel kind of bittersweet but that was a gamble we were willing to accept from the get-go. The tables could’ve easily been reversed.
Will you back with Matt to help him finish up?
I sure hope so.
Matt and Will in front of Snowpatch Spire. Photo Courtesy of Will Stanhope ©
Any moment in the process stick out the most?
Rapping in a full-blown electrical storm was quite exciting, at the end. It was dark, but everything would light up like it was daylight for a half-second when the lightning struck. Rain was coming down in sheets and at one point we were getting clubbed by giant chunks of hail so savagely that we couldn’t move at all. We just tucked our heads and took the beating. It kinda felt like the mountain gods were angry at us for sneaking into the dragons’ den and stealing the gold. Ha!
I want to switch gears a little to soloing. You have soloed a number of pretty insecure climbs, including Sentry Box and High Plains Drifter. Ever any hairy moments soloing?
I had a spooky moment when I was 16 or so soloing this route called Horrors of Ivan at Murrin. I had this impression at the time that all the legendary soloists like Croft and Bachar just bulldozed through their fear when soloing. I committed to this slippery side pull up high and barely wobbled my way through. I know now to respect my fear. If I’m not into something, I’ll down climb, even if I’ve done something successfully a hundred times before. You really need to treat every climb as a new experience, and avoid the “Oh, I’ve done this before, therefore I’ll just do it again”-type mental chatter. I think that’s a major mental trap that’s killed lots of people in adventure sports.
Did you ever get the chance to talk to Croft or Bachar about their early experiences as soloists?
I’ve chatted to Peter a bit about what he’s climbed here in Squamish. Jason Kruk and I met Bachar on our first trip to Yosemite when we were 18 and 17. He was showing a friend the base of El Cap, saying things like, “this is the f*cking base of the Nose, this is the f*cking base of the Salathe…” We were so green, so intimidated, and so jacked to meet him. Really cool guy, approachable and full of pearls of wisdom.
When being filmed, it must change the dynamic a little. How do you handle the camera when soloing?
It does change the dynamic. A huge majority of the soloing I do I’m totally on my own. Having a camera there is almost like cheating because the camera man can always toss you a line if you get gripped.
Soloing seems like a solitary experience. Why catch these moments on camera?
It goes like this: a friend who’s interested in doing some filming will ask what I’ve been up to recently, and if I’ve been doing a bit of soloing, I won’t shy away from doing a bit of soloing for the camera. I’ve been filmed doing roped climbs, bouldering, and soloing too. Soloing just gets more attention than everything else.
You will be speaking at VIMFF in a week. How do you feel up there on stage sharing your experiences?
Speaking at those events can be really fun. I need to tap into the wavelength of what it was like up there on these climbs. If I can do that, and make it relatable to the audience, then it’s a total blast.
What will you be sharing that night?
I don’t know for sure yet. I think something to do with the continuum of inspiration that runs through climbing: so many people like Peter Croft, Greg Foweraker, Daryl Hatten, Hamish Fraser, Perry Beckham, Brooke Sandahl, Leo Houlding and others have inspired me so much over the years. People that weren’t afraid to pick audacious projects and put the peddle to the floor. So I’ll talk a bit about Squamish, a bit about Yosemite and then get into the Bugaboos project.
Also, that Bugaboos Tom Egan Memorial Route can definitely be improved upon. I stopped at these old aid belays that couldn’t remotely be called “stances.” One day that whole 4 pitch headwall is going to get linked in a monster 80 meter-plus pitch, ledge to ledge. The continuum continues, as always. I’m just happy to be part of the process.
With a project dominating your plans for so long, you now have a clean slate to work with. Will you jump into another heavy project or just roam free for a little while?
I think that’s basically the deepest I’ll ever go in one project. There’s more to life than augering in one place for that long. But I wouldn’t change the experience for anything. I’ve got some big free link-ups planned for next year, if I can find the right partner.
As you grow as a climber, you must get more people recognizing you at the crag. Do you ever feel the pressure of being a modern professional climber or have you been able to avoid it for the most part?
In terms of being recognized- yeah, it happens more and more. Sponsorship has allowed me to pursue climbing to a degree that would’ve been tough with a real 9-5 job, so I’m very thankful. But if it was all over tomorrow, and I no longer got any help to climb, I’d chalk it up as a good run, and life would go on. I’d still get out and have adventures with my friends. I don’t feel much pressure. My sponsors have been great to me over the years, and supported me even when I was out of commission with a broken foot for a few months.
You are back home in North Vancouver and Squamish for the next few weeks? What do you love most about coming home?
I’m always psyched to come home, even in the dead of rainy winter. Great to see my girlfriend, family, family dog Elsa, and my friends. I love seeing the Chief in all the seasons, and tossing sticks for Elsa in Capilano Canyon. The winter is when I stockpile motivation.
Where to after this?
Perhaps a Patagonia trip this winter. I’d also like to swing the tools a bit in the Canadian Rockies and climb some big, classic, frozen waterfalls. At some point I’d like to go to Pakistan and attempt some bigger, high altitude, rock objectives, so I’d like to wield all the swords so to speak and become a more well-rounded climber.
Thanks for chatting with us Will, looking forward to you talk and listening to the experience.
Thanks Tim. Cheers.
Will Stanhope will be sharing his experience Friday, November 13th, 2015 at Centenial Theatre in North Vancouver, along with Nia Caprez on her ascent of Orbayu plus an encore presentation of Redemption: The James Pearson Story.
Tickets can be purchased at the VIMFF website.
Will is sponsored by Arc’teryx and Five Ten
