Long running film (34 minutes) on the bouldering in Indian Creek. Indian Creek has become a big bouldering destination of the last few years and the worry is that making it public will have devastating effects on the environment. Beautiful shots and nice feel to the flick!
For those looking for screen shots of the disclaimers, here they are below. The question is: Does Squamish need guidelines to manage the increase in number of climbers the forest sees everyday? Food for thought!
We are very pleased to announce that Adolfo Guitierrez sent Freewill (5.13c) yesterday on the Big Show at Chek Canyon. Getting a strong belay from Tony Chan was the ticket, as Adolfo put everything together for his first of the grade. Adolfo ended up sending on his third go of the day, after all the pressure to send faded away. Congratulations!
Adolfo on Freewill (513c) at Chek. Photo courtesy of Andrea Smith ©
Hans Christian Montenegro continues to go to work at Porteau Cove. Yesterday, Hans linked the low start of Cruelty and Splendor (v9) into Golden Pinch Low (v10 or v11), creating a new line, The Golden Flower (v11). When asked about the grade, Hans thought it must be at least v11. Keep up the great work!
Hans moving through The Golden Flower (v11). Photo courtesy of Hans Christian Montenegro ©
We are very pleased to announce that Victoria Island-based climber Dan Beland completed Supermanboy (5.14c) yesterday in Chek Canyon. Dan was very close on the rig last week, falling at the very last move twice and finally put it down last night. Considering it was suppose to be his summer project, Dan will be moving on to bigger and better as the summer progresses.
Supermanboy (5.14c) starts on Pulse (5.14a) into Revival (5.14b) and finishes up Patience (5.13d). Talking to Dan this morning, he reported that everything went perfect on the send and he felt in control the whole way through.
Dan on Supermanboy (5.14c). Photo courtesy of James Lucas. Please do not use without permission ©
Dan has sent a number of 5.14’s over the past few years, including ADATO (5.14b) at Horne Lake, Omaha Beach (5.14a) in The Red, and Pulse (5.14a) on The Big Show in Check Canyon. This was Dan’s first of the grade. Much more to come from this talented climber as he establishes himself as one of Canada’s strongest.
Special thanks to James Lucas for the photo!
Here are the highlights of last weeks IFSC Bouldering World Cup in India. Unfortunately, no Canadians in the finals but worth a watch!
We are pleased to announce that Hans Christian Montenegro is making use of all the training he did this winter. Hans recently sent The Hypothetical Low (v12), first discovered by Israel Cruces and put up by Tim Doyle, located at Porteau Cove.
Screenshot of Hans on The Hypothetical Low (v12). Screen courtesy of H. Montenegro
In other news, Stu Smith made a rare ascent of ‘Super Panini’ (5.13c) earlier in the week and then made a quick ascent of Back Door Santa (5.13c) in Murrin Park. Stu has been gaining momentum over the year and this is surely not the last time we will hear from him.
Finally, Vancouver-based climber, Hamish Thomson completed Primal Urge (v10) yesterday on his third go. This was Hamish’s first double digit boulder problem (in which there will be many more to come!). Congratulations!
A bit of development news this weekend. Stu Smith put up a route in Check Canyon called ‘Time Pressure’ (5.12b). According to Stu, the route is only ten minutes from the road and there is potential for about ten more lines here. He also noted that it is some of the cleanest rock he has seen. For now, here is a video of the route so you can get the idea of the wall
A number of Canadian athletes will be competing in this weekends 2016 IFSC Bouldering World Cup stop in Mumbia, India. Starters for this weekend include Eric and Elise Sethna, Allison Vest, Sean McColl, Alannah Yip, Will Johnson and Elan Jonas-McCrae, not to mention Maria Celkova!
Photo courtesy of Kimanda Jarzebiak ©
Here is the live feed for this event. Be sure to cheer on you Canadian competitors!
Semi-finals | Saturday 10pm Pacific
Finals | Sunday 6pm Pacific
This is an excellent video featuring Alex Puccio as she bounces back stronger than ever from her knee surgery last year. We were most impressed with this clip. Worth a watch!
The outline of Howser Spires loomed in the back of my mind for two years. It was a vivid memory and constant driving force propelling me back to the Bugaboos. All climbers have skeletons in the closet, “perfect routes that got away.” The Becky-Chouinard on South Howser Spire is one of those perfect routes. In Chris Atkinson’s and Marc Piche’s guidebook, The Bugaboos, it is described as, “the Bugaboo classic and one of the most esteemed alpine routes in North America.” I needed to know myself.
Alpenglow over Howser Spires after successful mission. Photo courtesy of Brent Nixon ©
It was June 2015 last year. Sean and I just came off a very early, and successful mission, on the North East Buttress of Mt. Slesse. The snow pack was almost nonexistent in May, which was very unusual for the mountains. Neither of us had even put skis on more than twice over the preceding winter. We met at the coffee shop to discuss climbing plans. Coincidentally, both of us were driven to climb the same route and it was time to talk Bugs.
We are very pleased to have an update by Tom Wright on the development that has taken place on the Prow Wall over the past few weeks.
The Prow Wall is one of the most impressive chunks of granite on The Chief. It lies lookers left of the South Gully, across from The Buttress and to the right of the Echelon Wall. Most of the development has occurred on the right hand side of the wall, in the steep corner systems. Classic hard routes such as Teddy Bears Picnic (5.13a) and Gravity Bong (5.13a) shouldn’t be ignored by those who are capable.
Tom climbing ‘On the Prowl’ (5.12c) on his Prow Wall link up. Photo by Jia Condon ©
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