A film by David López “Campe” about 3 climbers (Dani Andrada, Patxi Usobiaga and Edu Marín). Training, climbing and more…

Part 2 of the series can be found below.

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A few closures posted on the BC parks website regarding The Stawamus Chief.

May 20 – May 22, 2015

Rock scaling work is being done from May 20 through May 22 in the vicinity of the rock fall that occurred in the Angel’s Crest area. The public is asked to observe all trail closures and to stay away from the area until further notice.

Here is a geotechnical analysis and report, commissioned by the Squamish Emergency Operations Centre after the rock slide April 19th, 2015.

As of April 19, 2015

The trail to Angel’s Crest is closed until further notice due to rock fall.

As of April 16, 2015

A pair of Common Ravens has built a nest on a rock ledge within the Sunshine Chimney Centre climbing route, on Campground Wall behind the campground cooking shelter at Stawamus Chief. To protect ravens and climbers, BC Parks is closing the Sunshine Chimney Centre as well as the Swedish Touch climbing routes until further notice. Please click here to view the closure notice.

As of April 2, 2015

Peregrine Falcon nesting season has begun and BC Parks is monitoring falcon activity to determine if and where falcons are nesting. Climbing route closures around the nest site will be posted on this website and at trailheads once the nest location is identified. If you encounter a falcon please respect them and keep your distance. Please report falcon sightings to BC Parks Joanna.Hirner@gov.bc.ca or 604-924-2228.

Please be aware, camping is allowed on designated sites only and all equipment, tents, etc., must be on the designated site.

For all closures and details, please visit the BC parks website.

Thomasina Pidgeon has long been a part of the community of Squamish. Not only has she learned a lot in her ten years plus of climbing here, she has also shown a real care for the community surrounding Squamish. Last week, as I was taking in the morning news, I stumbled upon a well written article regarding the LNG proposal in Squamish. As I flipped down to the author, I was pleasantly surprised to find her name at the bottom.

Thomasina Pidgeon. Photo courtesy of Mike Chapman ©

The following is an excerpt taken from a letter submitted to The Squamish Chief by Thomasina Pidgeon.

The Woodfibre-LNG project requires three main things to succeed: the continued consumption of fossil fuels, fracking to extract the fuel, and for the majority of citizens to support the project. While the continued consumption of fossil fuels is weaving us towards a global path of destruction, the majority of scientific research, including that of the David Suzuki Foundation, states that fracking is unsafe, can lead to earthquakes and the release of toxic gases into local environments.

The majority of Squamish residents and surrounding communities have spoken clearly against this project through countless letters, petitions and polls. In fact, from Barack Obama to Professor Wade Davis, communities globally are urging governments to steer away from fossil fuels and move towards sustainability.

Let’s consider the last three major industries in Squamish. The Britannia Mine lasted 70 years and caused a two-kilometre stretch of serious pollution to coastal waters resulting in a $75.9 million cleanup bill, according to sources. The Woodfibre mill lasted under a century and left a mess that has to be cleaned up regardless of the proposed LNG plant’s future. The Nexen plant survived 27 years and left a $40 million clean-up of its leftover toxicity, which continues to contribute to persistent groundwater mercury plume, according to a government report. These projects created short-term jobs with unsustainable endeavours that left a huge environment disaster for the next generation to clean up. The Woodfibre-LNG project will be no different.

For the full article, please visit The Squamish Chief.

Luke Zimmerman on Primal Urge. Photo Courtesy of Jamie Finlayson ©

We are pleased to announce that local climber and SCM contributor Luke Zimmerman sent ‘The Terminator’ this morning. Luke had been trying this project on and off since January but really committed himself to it over the last month. Chatting with Luke, he said that this was a personal best for him regardless of the grade. Luke fell off the last move of the traverse last week and still struggled at the end today, improvising his beta at the very end. What a fight!

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This is a video of Dean Potter walking the highline without safety in the North Gully of the Stawamus Chief in Squamish, BC during the filming of the National Geographic film “The Man Who Can Fly”.

Today wraps up the 2015 National Difficulty and Speed Competition in Central Saanich, BC.

On the men’s side of the competition, both Sean McColl and Elan Jones McRae went head to head, both falling on the same move with Sean sticking the hold with more control.

On the women’s side, Delany Miller fell on the last hold of the final route, clearly showing her dominance in her category. Because both Delany Miller and Melina Constanza are foreign nationals, the 2015 National title belongs to Alberta’s Becca Frangos, who’s performance was top notch throughout the weekend.

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Deadpoint Magazine reported this morning that Ethan Pringle sent Jumbo Love (5.15b) yesterday.

Yesterday, May 17th, Ethan Pringle claimed the 2nd ascent of Jumbo Love (5.15b) at Clark Mountain, California. His friends Walker Emerson and Tom Moulin (shooting for The RV Project) filmed the ascent from a fixed line. Walker reported shortly after, “It was a dramatic ascent and I was really excited to be a part of it. He had it wired and was shaking out thru the cruxes…and yeah, he did top that shit out.”

For full article, please click here.

Ethan on Jumbo Love. Photo: @damoncorso instagram ©

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Yesterday, Dean Potter and Graham Hunt were found dead, after a wingsuit accident that occurred on Saturday in Yosemite Valley. As news broke out early on social media, details of the accident were unclear. Today, a number of news agencies are reporting details of the accident.

Here is an excerpt from an article by National Geographic that seems to best describe the accident.

An observer shooting photos of Hunt and Potter’s flight reported hearing two disconcerting, loud sounds in succession that suggested impact—but also could have been parachute deployment.

When the jumpers didn’t return from their outing on Saturday night, Jen Rapp, Potter’s partner in life, and Rebecca Haynie, Graham’s partner since January, approached Gauthier with the news that the jumpers had missed their scheduled arrival. Gauthier helped arrange a team from Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR), and a hasty, ultimately unsuccessful search on foot was performed.

A helicopter was placed on standby for the following morning.

A California State helicopter arrived Sunday morning and the pilots, using the photos taken by the observer on the previous night, were able to quickly locate two subjects that matched Potter and Hunt’s descriptions. By noon, two rangers were short-hauled onto the site, they confirmed Potter and Hunt’s deaths, and performed the recovery. No parachutes had been deployed. For the full article, please click here

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