We are pleased to announce that Josh Muller left it all on the table today for the final session of the season at Acephale and pulled off the first ascent of Kinder Surprise (5.14d).

For those who love a little background, Kinder Surprise was bolted by Joe Kinder when he visited the Bow Valley in 2012. Working Bunda De Fora at the time, Joe never had the chance to finish what he started. In 2013, Josh Muller, having not much left at the upper wall in Acephale, began trying the route despite it being wet most of the time. With only a few tries in 2013 and 2014, Josh knew that this year’s weather pattern may be his only chance of sending.

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Earlier this week we interviewed the owner of Climb Base5, Dan Poggi, on his plans for the new bouldering space in the gym. Here is the final plans from the team at Climb Base5.

Proposed wall at Climb Base5. Photo courtesy of Climb Base5 ©

As of recent, we have wrapped up our first ever customer survey. The information we gained from the survey came from YOU, our valued members. We learned a lot about you and what you like and want in a climbing gym. The #1 feedback we learned from the final analysis was the need for more BOULDERING!!! We considered your feedback and purchased a new addition. This addition will better service the growing number of boulderers. It will also complete our gym already known for towering top-rope walls, expansive lead-climbing terrain, and auto-belayers.

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Came across this incredible story from Spenser and Vikki today about their adventures in New Mexico. Definitely worth a read!

I nearly died the other day.

We’re in New Mexico, and it’s a few days into our fall season here. A cornucopia of nascent bouldering attracted us here, while anticipation caused our plans to grow in scope until they eventually snowballed into what we’re calling The Conscious Climber Project. Much, much more on that in the next post.

It was at one of these nascent boulderfields, called Posos, that we intended to spend the weekend getting a tour from William. William is an energetic and wide-ranging explorer of boulders, having more or less discovered most of the modern, high-end boulders in northern New Mexico.

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According to Chris Small of Squamish Climbing Access Society, the logging of block SW144 in the Olesen Creek drainage until 2016 due to lumber market conditions. This means that the safety restrictions in the North Walls will no longer apply for the fall season nor will access to the Longhouse be closed.

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Sit back and enjoy this 25 min film from Louder Than 11 documenting Jorg Verhoeven’s recent free ascent of The Nose. Some absolutely stunning footage of the famous route!

Climb Base5, a climbing facility in Coquitlam, BC, is currently in the process of upgrading the bouldering space at their facility. The upgrade will include an expansion of their current bouldering area and the design will take into consideration competition use. For those who don’t know the gym’s history, Climb Base5 was formerly known as Cliffhanger Coquitlam and since branching off from the Cliffhanger name brand they have made a ton of improvements to their facility, including a commitment to great setting and prioritizing the needs of climbers through adult teams and consultation with their members. Climb Base5 has always featured fantastic lead climbing and now they are making the move on their bouldering area. We thought it best to check in the Dan Poggi, the owner of Climb Base5, to see what is going on.

Here is what he had to say.

The current bouldering wall @ Climb Base5 during the 2014 November Sessions. Photo courtesy of Climb Base5 ©

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Uncut footage of Niky Ceria on Ninja Skills in Ticino.

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We are pleased to announce that Eric Hughes sent Division Bell (5.13d) last week. Eric started working the rig in early summer and put things together just before the rains. It is also worthy to note that Eric has put up a a number of great additions to Chek Canyon over the past two years, including The Lemon Smuggler (5.13a) and Full House (5.12b) on the Toxic Lichen Wall and the fantastic addition to Forgotten Wall Moments of Magnetism (5.12c/d) to the right of Just Can’t Do it. Congratulations Eric!

Eric Hughes on Division Bell. Photo courtesy of Jamie Finlayson ©

Evan Hau, a prolific climber in the Bow Valley released a topo of The Apocalypse Cave today on his blog.

The Apocalypse Cave

The Apocalypse Cave is located in the Middle Grotto of Grotto Mountain, the same canyon as The Playground and Silent Auction multi-pitch. It is host to a number of routes ranging from 5.11c to 5.14a. The longest route is 25 meters and the crag requires a 60 metre rope.

Evan Hau checking out the moves on a new 5.14a @ The Apocalypse Cave. Photo courtesy of Josh Muller ©

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This coming Saturday, the Tour De Frank Bouldering Festival will take place at Frank Slide near the municipality of Corwsnest. With a ton of great energy and a very enthusiastic community surrounding the bouldering area, this event is surely not to be missed. Before you pack up the car and pick up all you friends, we thought it might be best to check in with Trent Hoover about the festival. Trent was once a major developer in the BC climbing scene and over the past few years has put his roots down in Lethbridge, AB. Here is what Trent had to say about this weekends event.

Hi Trent, thanks for chatting with us. So, what is the deal with Tour De Frank?

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