We had a great time in Squamish. The rock is impeccable and the weather was unusual for Canada. It was dry the whole time we were there except for a couple of drizzles over our last week there. Here are some pictures from the trip.
George on top of The Chief for the first time. Downtown Squamish is in the background.
George and I on the incredibly crowded Rock On. We waited on a small ledge with four other people to climb to the top of this route.
Me, checking out the exposure on top of the Squamish Butress.
A buddy of ours 'cleaned' and put up a new route in Squamish called La Gota Fria. George and I knew that it would be a very hard climb but we tried it anyway. George on top of pitch 4.
We had to bail off of the route because it started to rain and we did not feel like waiting it out. George, rappelling down the slippery rock on La Gota Fria.
Rock climbers tend to have the impression that being the first to climb something is glamorous and cool. Well let me tell you, in Squamish it is not. The climate in Western Canada is conducive to vegetation, and plants will grow just about anywhere. To put up a first ascent in Squamish, you are required to spend countless hours cleaning, brushing, and cutting away plants. You are also excpected to make your route safe for others who climb it. Our friend Chris who put up La Gota Fria put 2 years of work into building this route, and he did a good job. Read more about his unique experience on his blog gumbiesoncrack@blogspot.com.
We decided to tackle our goal for the trip on our last day of climbing in Squamish. Our goal was to climb The Grand Wall, which is one of the 50 greatest climbs in North America. The climb is characterized by steep climbing that drops off into oblivion. George before the beautiful Split Pillar pitch of The Grand Wall.
The Split Pillar.
Our buddy Mike climbing the Split Pillar after the rainstorm.
Mike and the amazing exposure of The Grand Wall.
Shaking out.
Due to a rainstorm we got held up with some French Canadians on top of the Split Pillar, on The Grand Wall. This is right before The Sword pitch, which is the cru of the route. George, Aryan, and Yan having fun on the party ledge. George and I actually got stuck on a ledge once before with Aryan, which only added to the fun of being stuck hundred of feet off of the ground surrounded by unclimable wet rock.
This pitcure was taken after the crux pitch. The entire pitch had this type of exposure: sheer drop off to the ground.
Perrys's Layback on The Grand.
This is called the Bellygood Ledge, and it is the topout for The Grand Wall. It is incredibly easy to get past this section but it is a seriously small ledge, hundreds of feet of the ground.
