Originally from Colombia, Hans Christian Montenegro recently moved to Squamish from Ottawa this spring to pursue his love for climbing. Before transplanting his life to a small trailer in Brackendale, Hans had never been to Squamish. He had seen the photos and read the magazines and decided that this was the place for his next adventure.

Hans is no stranger to the culture of climbing. He started climbing in 1996 and quickly became enamoured with everything climbing. He began competition climbing in Columbia and then spent 6 more years competition climbing in Montreal, where he was crowned the Overall Quebec Champion in 2013-2014. Now focused on outdoor climbing, Hans’ climbing philosophy is ever changing. We thought it would be interesting to meet up with Hans and get his take on his transition to Squamish.

Hans Christian Montenegro. Photo courtesy of Hans Montenegro ©

Hi Hans, how is the summer going?

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This summer, we are doing a Spotcheck on the Frankenjura, a massive sport climbing area in Germany. The Frankenjura boasts over 4000 routes spread across a 100 km area in the state of Bavaria.

Steeped in history, the Frankenjura was the birthplace of modern sport climbing. It is famous for its characters, like Wolfgang Guillrich and Kurt Albert, as well as its influence on modern climbing culture. From the campus board to the redpoint, sport climbing in the Frankenjura has in one way or another shaped the way we think about climbing.

The closet big city to the Frankenjura is Nuremburg, Germany which happens to be home to Cafe Kraft, a state-of-art bouldering gym that has started to define indoor bouldering culture. We thought it best to burn a rest day checking it out. Cafe Kraft features 1600 square meters (you do the math!) of climbing space including a cafe lounge, ample space, and a full training centre, including a 45 degree wall and campus board.

We thought it would be interesting to get some insight from Pino Stein, the media director at Cafe Kraft on how they got started and some of their upcoming plans. Here is what he had to say.

Hi Pino, thanks for chatting with us!

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Tonight, atop the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, BC, the Arc’teryx Climbing Academy will host Vikki Weldon and Brette Harrington as they share their most recent adventures in Morocco and Patagonia respectively. Their presentations are a part of the Sunset Speaker series followed by a live music performance by Jon and Roy.

For those who have not heard of these ladies, Vikki Weldon is a local Squamish climber that comes from a family deeply involved in climbing. With her primary focus on sport climbing Vikki has travelled the world in pursuit of new adventures while climbing at a very high level along the way. originally from Calgary, who has travelled around the globe finding new adventures while climbing at a very high level.

Vikki Weldon on Fudge Packer in the Canadian Rockies. Photo courtesy of Vikki Weldon

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With the Arc’teryx Climbing Academy taking place this weekend, we thought we would check in with Jonathan Siegrist about his trip to Squamish and future plans. Jonathan has always been a huge inspiration in the sport climbing world, from his recent ascent of Biographie (5.15a) to his sport climbing expeditions across the globe. Jonathan is truly dedicated to the climbing life and seems to really value not only the future of the sport, but also its past. Here is what he had to say about his upcoming ‘Advanced Redpointing Clinic’ on Saturday and his participation in this weekend’s event.

Jonathan Siegrist on Chikane. Photo by Bear Cam Media.

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Great film for Monday morning featuring Killian and Anna in Squamish, BC.

Jesse Warren arrived in Squamish, BC four years ago at the age of 18. He had just started his first semester at Quest University and was more than excited to be living in a climbing paradise. In his first few years, Jesse and Mike Foley, a relatively well-known climber from Boston, MA, teamed up to make the best out of their Squamish experience. As the years went by, Jesse made big gains in his climbing, including ascents of The Silent Menace (5.14c), Lost Horizons at Little Si(14a/b), THe Shelter (V13), Mandala SDS in Bishop (v13), and Meadow Lark Lemon Stand (v13).

Last month, Jesse graduated from Quest University and has gone back to his hometown of Seattle for the summer (even though I see him around all the time!). Squamish Climbing Magazine had a chance to catch up with Jesse as he reflected on his time here, being a student at Quest, climbing in Squamish, and his future plans. Here is what he had to say.

Jesse Warren on Eurasian Eyes (5.13b).Photo courtesy of Keagan Pearson ©

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Earlier this month, Logan Barber completed the first free ascent of China’s hardest crack climb, The Firewall (5.13d), located in Liming, China. The climb took Logan 22 attempts over two trips to complete.

Originally from Australia, Logan began climbing when he was 14 years old. Over the past few years, he has been travelling the globe, climbing and working remotely. Rumour has it that his next stop is Squamish so we thought it best to check in with Logan to talk about China and his upcoming trip.

Logan Barber on the 30 degree overhanging Firewall in Liming China. Photo by Garrett Bradley ©

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There has been a lot of interest in the almost ready ‘Hive North Shore’. Three years ago, the Hive team opened their first location in Vancouver and now their new flagship facility is almost ready. Located in North Vancouver on Dollarton Hwy next to the Arc’teryx headquarters, the new Hive location offers almost double the wall space as well as a full work out facility and yoga room. We thought we would check in with ‘King Worker Bee’ Andrew Coffey to see what is in store for the new location.

Andrew Coffey atop his newest project. Photo courtesy of Andrew Coffey ©

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A few of months ago, when trying to get photos of Adam Ondra, we unexpectedly found out that Christian Core was moving to Squamish. At this time, I contacted Christian immediately to see if we could do an interview with him. Christian was very generous and agreed to an interview right away.

For those who have never heard of Christian Core, he is a well accomplished climber from Italy and well-known around the world. Best known for completing the world’s first potential v16, Gioia, in his home town of Varazze, Christian has accomplished a lot in his 25 years of climbing. Christian is the only Italian climber to place first in a Bouldering World Cup (1999 and 2002) and stood on the World Cup podium 12 times during his career. He won the World Championship in 2003, placed first in the European Championship in 2002, and won the Din Rock Masters in 2006. He is one of the biggest developers in his local area of the Rifugio Barbara, in Varazze and Triora, and has made a huge impact on that community.

Christian, Stella and the girls. Photo courtesy of Christian Core ©

Christian and his family, including his wife Stella and his twin girls, are moving to Squamish at the end of this month and Christian will be working at The Hive North Shore. We were very excited to interview Christian and welcome his family into the Squamish community. Here is what he had to say.

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