Skaha Adventures!!

I would have to say that this Skaha trip was one of the best vacations I have been on in awhile. It had the perfect mix of all the elements that I love! The combination of cute animal sightings, climbing days, wine touring and some relaxing by a campfire all made this trip very enjoyable.... that is, until we had to leave! Noooooooooooo!!

Climbing in Skaha reminds me of a huge playground, so much to do and so little time to do it all! Which means you get to come back again and again and it will be different each time. We have not even walked to all the different crags yet because there are so many, ridiculously awesome!!!

I loved the number of different little critters we saw this trip, the desert is so full of life! From the baby duckies swimming around the moat of our campsite, the frog in the garbage can that scared me half to death, the marmot at the winery, the many fascinating bird species, and the deer feasting away on the side of the road at dusk. All of these made me smile to watch, but, the highlight for me was the evening at out campsite when I noticed that the ground was moving. Worms were everywhere! These were no small tiny worms, they were big, fat and about ten inches long each! With them coming up from all sides of our campsite we were surrounded by these creatures looking for dry land to camp out on. It was really amazing to see this because there were so many and they moved so quickly once they got going. If you ever get to experience staying in a flooding campsite I hope you get to see this because it is really memorable to see!

Back to climbing...

One of the highlights for myself was climbing lead on the Daycare crag, I just get such a thrill while climbing this way. Knowing that I am safe, but if I fall...eek!!! What a thrill! I also have the support of Wade telling me that I am doing great and looking fantastic so it helps push me along.

Having Wade do the majority of the lead climbing really eases my mind because some days it is very terrifying! On top rope I can do all sorts of fancy moves I would not be confident enough to try while leading. Watching Wade lead climb makes me a little bit envious of his courage and no fear of falling! One day I will get there!!

Overall the trip was awesome with my overall favorite climb being the 10.a on our second day!

What a fabulous time at the bluffs :)

The Inadvertant 11.b

Another half-decent weekend, another chance to help my youngest daughter, Daisy, discover how awesome climbing on real rock can be.  She had so much fun her first time out, it's all she was talking about.  Now for round two!

It's not the most beautiful day ever, a little rainy in some places, but I'm nonetheless confident that the essentially rain-free forecast in Squamish will be accurate.  Famous last words, those, but onwards we roll.  The destination is Murrin Park, a crag called the Sugarloaf holds a large collection of super-easy climbs.  I have never seen a 5.4 before, but there's three of them here, along with a delightful leavening of 5.7-5.9's.  It's all trad up here, which means that it will be top-rope o'clock, but that's the name of the game when you're climbing with a ten year old.

It was a late start, leaving Po Compton at 10, so it was about 11:30 by the time we arrived at the parking lot.  It was a very short trip up to the crag, thankfully, but upon arriving we found all three of the bolt pairs in the area that I intended to use already full up.  Not excessively surprising, and totally ok.  These are not the only routes in the area!

I hike up to the top of a very high rated 5.8 and I learn something new about the Squamish Select guidebook:  a solid red circle at the anchor indicates a 'gear anchor' and a red and white circle is used to indicate bolts.  Oh.  I guess third time's the charm.  Another 5.8, just a little farther over.  It shares an anchor with Block and Tackle, a very intimidating 5.11b.  Daisy should be able to handle the 5.8 with some effort, then Heather and I can take a turn too.  I set up anchor and rappel down, only to discover that the perspective of the photo in the book is pretty misleading.

If I let my daughter climb the 5.8, which is certainly within her abilities, I will be setting her up for a catastrophically dangerous swing-fall in the event that she fails to send it.  I look at it, and compare thoughts with Heather.  We agree that I would be completely irresponsible to allow her to try the 5.8.  She's good enough to get to a very, very dangerous point.  Well.  Strike two on the day.  Now I need to go get my gear back and find someplace else to climb.

Bah.  I think I should let her try Block and Tackle for a bit.  She doesn't know it's massively hard, she just loves to climb.  Who knows, if she gets something going, she will be so proud.  She ties in and starts trying.  And trying.  And trying again.  After about 20 minutes she's getting frustrated, so I lower her back to earth.  Upon informing her that she was working an 11.b I got an earful.  11.B!!!  What were you thinking!!!  Right, sorry.  But you did well, dear!

The idea of walking up and around was not something exciting to me, so I strap on my climbing shoes and tie in.  I have only climbed a few 11.b's in the gym, which is generally considered to be soft on grade, so I don't have a whole lot of confidence, although the climb looks attainable.  On top rope, what can I really worry about anyways.  The book says it's a lot of arms and pulls, so it should dovetail nicely with my climbing style.

The tricky start promised by the guidebook is just that, very specific placement of feet to support decent handholds to prevent burning my arms out on the massive flake at the bottom of the climb.  Slowly working my way up, the crack opens up too much for a good finger lock, so it's elbows deep!  If I fail though here I'm going to be facing a significant swing, and I try to keep that in mind as I work my way up.  Moving up the flake is awkward, my left foot outside on the face, my right behind me on the opposite wall when it's not on the ridge of the crack.  Weird positioning!  Arriving at the roof I find a decent hold and assess my situation.

There's not a lot to stand on, but this wonderful, sticky, granite should offer enough to move up and out.  Since I rappelled down I do have some unfair knowledge of just what I'm facing, and I know that the character of the climb is about to change from big and bold to smooth and dainty.  I reach up and over, left hand, right hand, and start shuffling my body left.   After a few 'steps' I find enough below to push my leg up and over, on to the ramp.  Wow!!  I cannot believe that I just made it here!  This is so exhilarating!

The last 4M comes fairly easily, it's such a low angle that hands are really only for assurance, but that's a good thing, because my heart is racing!  High above Petgill Lake, with a little bit of the highway in view, I'm on top of the world, figuratively speaking.  That was a major ascent, tainted only slightly by the fact that I had to do it on top rope.

One of the anchors over on the easier part of the crag has freed, so I wrap up the gear and head that way, setting up so Daisy can get some climbing in.  Powersmart (5.9) and Magnet (5.4) are the options presented by this location.  Magnet is supposed to be a very high quality climb, it achieved a 4 star rating from the book, and the little one is eager to get climbing.

As she starts moving up the clouds start to make their presence felt.  The rain starts falling, and Daisy gets concerned.  I'm not sure if she's made of sugar, or just apprehensive about climbing wet rock, but the child is hesitant for the first time ever.  She's doing an awesome job working her way up the cracks, becoming more confidant as she travels upwards.

She handled it nicely, in what is starting to become a decent downpour.  The biggest problem that she faced last time was trying to descend, and this time she did much better.  Instead of trending sideways to keep her belayer in sight, she was able to turn her back to me and walk down pretty much backwards.  An excellent improvement.

Heather elects to hit Powersmart.  Quel surprise, she opts out of the 5.4!  There's really not much to say about this climb, she ran up it as the rain poured down, and I followed and started wrapping up the rope and gear while they cleaned up at the bottom.  Rained out, it's time to head for a much deserved milkshake!

The 5.10 Day

All tuned up to Skaha rock, we're ready to tackle some harder (and shadier) climbs today.  A group of 5.9+ climbs on Redtail South catch my eye as we looked through the guidebook over breakfast.  'The Dogmatism Group' boasts a 5.9, two 5.10a's, and a 5.10b on a towering, 22M vertical cliff.

There's a couple who are neighbours to us at OK falls just beginning the 5.9 when we get up there, so I decide to start off on one of the 10a's, Basic Black. 

Wade at anchor on 'Basic Black'

The start is fast and easy, it takes no time for me to work my way out from behind the tree that I started beside and get way up.  At that point the holds started to get rather skinny, and after a couple of big steps up with my right foot my knee was screaming at me every time that I moved. 

I struggled upwards, fighting with my right leg's unwillingness to work with me as I picked my way up the route.  Upon arriving at the healthy overhang at the top we had worked our way down to some of the smoothest rock I have seen here at Skaha, and I wasn't entirely sure what to do to pass the roof.

Heather, relaxing in an awesome 'chair'

I felt around, however, and discovered a hole behind a block that I could park a truck in!  A great gripping point for my left hand, I was able to lever myself up with that and reach up and over the roof to a solid hold above.  Secure there, I sent my left up to join in and smeared my way over the roof, only to find myself at the anchor. 

Wow!  That was a really fun climb, and the roof moves were off the chains!  I can't guess how Heather is going to handle that big move though...

After working her way up to the big roof, Heather was able to adapt, as always, and find a lovely series of moves to go AROUND the big overhang, reaching the anchor by a completely different route.  Clever, clever.

Top of 'Facility'

The 5.9 is free now, so we bounce over to 'Dogmatism' and I start up the rock.  I'm going to be honest, this wasn't a pretty one for me, and I really don't have much of a logical explanation for that.  It was a very nice climb, nothing too remarkable, maybe a touch hard for the grade due to the small holds, but certainly nothing to complain about.  It strung together some pretty intricate series of moves, which under better circumstances might have been quite nice.  It was certainly quite nice watching Heather ramble up, so I'll take heart in that, I guess.

The second 5.10a, 'Facility' was a very tough one.  My feet were quite sore, so much so that I switched over to my older, broken in shoes for this climb.  Facility was a pleasant effort, however, and it really smoothed out at the top, making the roof move much more challenging than on 'Basic Black' although there was still enough holds to make it a reasonable effort.  I think the lack of feet when my feet are already killing me just about did me in, though.  Heather and I both nominated 'Basic Black' as the winner for the day, as the raindrops started falling.

The 5.10b located here, 'Tradition' has one of the most intimidating starts, which, I'm sure, must be the crux of the route.  If I had a stickclip available I would totally have given it a shot, but the massive overhang and accompanying dropoff was just a bit too much at this point in my day.  Maybe if it had been the first climb, I might have felt like I could take it down, but after all that climbing I just wasn't sure.  Oh well, I guess you have to save something for next time!

Up next, Hester Creek Estate Winery for some delicious lunch!

Departing The Flood

Thanks to some quick thinking by Heather, we were able to find another campsite this morning, so we won't have to worry about drowning overnight again.  The water level beside our site rose another 5cm since the time we checked in, so it's not unreasonable to assume that this site could be under water by the time we are ready to leave.  I will admit that it will be tough to leave this interesting spot, with it's moat, and duck paddling training pond...

We decided to have a day of climbing in a new area.  After leaving wet, wet Vancouver to come to this beautiful desert environment, it seems only logical to climb on a face that gets heavy duty sun.  The selection of 'Daycare' seems like a good choice.  It's a bunch of easy, higher routes, apparently set up for top-roping, which will see serious sun exposure through the day.  An excellent choice to get back into the Skaha rock and soak up some big time sun.

Heather runs a daycare for work, so it's an effort of will to begin the hike in for the day's climbing, but she puts on her big girl pants and gets ready.  It's a nice hike in, short, with a little bit of uphill, and we're already there.  I had concerns about interpreting the guidebook, but it's starting to make a lot more sense.

Proceeding in a logical, left-to-right fashion, we set up on a 5.7 called 'Your Father Wears' to start.  Heather is taking the lead, and does a good job on this reachy climb.  I find the toughest spot to be a strange undercut about half way up that is frustrating me with it's lack of handholds.  Luckily I am able to smear my way up to gain the top.

We follow that with 'Generation Z' which I found to be quite delightful.  It had an awesome series of big underclings through the middle which I found to be quite fun.  By the time we finished up with this climb, the midday sun was roasting us alive.  We had to leave the crag to go into town to buy sunscreen, lest we end up looking like lobsters before the end of the day!

After the break we returned to Daycare, to battle 'Rattlebag' It was a very exciting climb, I found the bolts to be about as spaced out as they could be.  It was quite the adrenaline rush in several locations, but you never really were too worried, just a little excited.  Probably the best of the three 5.7's, the rock was getting impossibly hot by the time we finished up this climb.

There was a very different sort of climb just up to the right.  Graded somewhere between 5.9 and 5.10b, depending on the source of your information, this was really a horse of a different colour.  Heather and I went up to check it out because of it's shadier location.  I certainly didn't expect what I found there, but it was pretty fantastic.  Big, bold moves, and really exciting, light touches were needed to achieve the pinnacle here.  Probably the best part of warm-up day for me, I think Heather really liked it as well.

After that big effort we decided to head down from Daycare, and opted out of any further climbing, deciding instead to have a relaxing lunch at Hillside Estate winery.  What a chore!

The Return To The Desert

With the Victoria Day long weekend approaching, I am tired of this city.  I want to leave.  I don't really want to come back, either.  Seems like the perfect time to head back up to the heart of awesome, the Skaha Bluffs.

After working for as many hours as I could bear, Heather and I loaded up the car and set forth on a grand adventure of relaxation.  With the intention of camping, and no reservation at any location, we were relying on our Wednesday afternoon arrival to secure us a spot.  I had located a nice little provincial site about 20 minutes from the bluffs at Okanagan Falls which was to be our intended residence for the duration of our stay. 

Upon arriving at the campground we were happy to discover that they had one site remaining.  I really didn't expect that it would be so busy, but the park was full of RV's and grey hairs, so I guess that wasn't surprising.  Our site was awesome, as high water levels in the area had caused it to flood, creating an island with a small land connection from the campsite.  The rangers advised us about concerns about continued rising water levels, showing us just how much the water had come up that day, but we remained confidant, and set up camp.

Base camp established, it's off to the Bluffs.  It was late already, we had no food yet, and the campground closes its gates at 10PM, so this is really just a climb for the purpose of going climbing, no real time to do much of anything.  That said, we head back where we were in March, to Another Buttress on Redtail.

A bronze-rated 5.8 called 'Lichen in her Panties' will be the effort of the evening, as it is close to the parking lot and not much to worry about when you have spent the last 5 hours driving.  With a bunch of new gear out for it's first day's work, I was excited.  Heck, I was excited to be out of the damned city, frankly.

It's a beautiful, warm evening, as we trek in to the crag, quickly setting up to climb.  I had forgotten just how different the rock is up here.  So edgy, so sharp!  The start was tough for me, my new shoes aren't very broken in yet, and it was all about careful foot placement.  It was very secure, nonetheless, as there were some solid edges to hold while trying to get my feet in the groove.  A fair bit of back-and-forth, and it was up, up, and away!

The top half of this climb had some pretty, hand-to-foot moves, one after the other.  I made it to the top without a whole lot of drama, and some big, big smiles.  As I set up the station and descended I thought I felt a drop of rain...  Quite concerning, considering that the forecast called for this possibility far more often than I wanted to see.  Nonetheless, Heather began her ascent of this little beauty, dancing up with ease.  By the time she had topped out the rain was actually starting to fall in earnest, and I started to pack up surplus gear, thinking only of the tent, with its mangled fly, sitting in our fair campsite.  Sigh.

As we drove down from the bluffs to buy a few days worth of groceries the sun came shining out again, and spirits were high as we looked ahead to some much-deserved relaxation.

Cal Cheak--The Next Generation

After being robbed of two opportunities to get up the corridor last weekend due to work, I decided that it was going to be a climbing-rich weekend this week.  Unfortunately, that spiteful wench, Mother Nature, decided to try and have an opinion too.  After eight or nine days of amazing hot weather and sunshine, the weekend forecast started to look grim.  Ever the optimist, however, I decided to take the promise of 'Saturday evening showers' very literally, and make plans to climb Saturday morning.

I have two daughters, 15 and 10 years old, and have been working on bringing them into the climbing world ever since December.  My youngest is overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and jumps at any chance to climb, showing that legendary stubborness that seems to be a family trait.  The older is less passionate, as her social circle has much more interesting activites available on a regular basis, which is certainly understandable at the age.  I decided, however, that today would be a great day to get them their first experience outdoors.

At the last minute Princess Heather decided to bow out, citing the need for a spa day overcoming the need for a climb day.  Uh-oh...  Now here's a tricky situation...  I belay.  The children, not so much.  Easy answer says that I need to head somewhere that I can set up top rope situations without leading any routes myself.  There are certainly places that I can do that.  I select Cal Cheak as my destination of choice for a number of reasons.

1.  Super easy access to stations on Huckleberry Lane
2.  Super friendly climbing on Huckleberry Lane
3.  Genereally very quiet location, shouldn't be rushed
4.  Reasonablely short approach march

With that settled, we load up the car and hence forth.  Upon arriving at the crag I quickly run up shelf road to set up top rope on A Walk on the Wild Side, a basic 5.5.  I rappel down to the ladies and take stock of their preparations.  The little one informs me that she's checked all the harnesses and everything is good to go.  Can I climb first, please?  Ok.  Sounds good.  She ties in and starts RUNNING up the rock, rapidly outpacing my belay and forcing me to shout at her to slow down!  Once she's under control, I ask her sister to come over if she might like to learn a bit of belaying.  She is interested, so I show her the correct technique to use a Gri-Gri.  I totally have an ulterior motive here, because if she learns how to belay, I will be able to climb the routes when I want to move the rope to the next anchor.

Climb #1 in the books, we discover that letting go and lowering off are still the hardest part of climbing for a ten year old.  It takes some serious coaxing to get her to remember proper technique for walking down, but we get there.  Now sister has just informed me that she slept for about an hour last night, and hasn't eaten a bite yet today.  Good.  She is bowing out of climbing for the day, as she doesn't feel quite up for it.  But she's excited to belay her little sister while she climbs.

Ok, here we go.  Again the little monkey shoots up the route, trying to keep better movement with her feet despite the easy climb.  Big sister has excellent technique on the Gri Gri, and I feel totally comfortable with her belaying.  She lowers her sister off with control and skill, and it's gut check time for me.  Do I walk up and around again, or do I trust the belay of a 15 year old?  Not much of a choice, really.  It's only a 5.5, but it's still climbing!  Up I go, being careful not to hurry, and soon find myself at the anchor again.

Next up a big 5.6, A Little Bit of Squamish.  Same result for the little one, although she takes a bit of pause at the steeper face.  She's quite the climber, really.  Up and over, using great underholds on the fractured flakes, she quickly and confidently moves to the top while her sister belays.  A small spot of bother about half way up helps her learn that the shoes on her feet are totally excited to be helpful for her, and that's probably a very good thing. 

The clouds are starting to look menacing, and time is ticking by, so I set up to tackle 'The Hard Way Home' which is a fun little 5.7 for the final climb of the day. 

Again, she shoots up the start like a jackrabbit, outrunning her sister's belay, but quickly finds herself stumped.  There's a tricky hole in the middle of this climb, and all of a sudden you're facing a spot where your body is forced into a very awkward position.  Finally, something that slows her down.  She struggles mightily, trying everything she can think of, before she's finally able to commit to a move that will bump her up to better holds.  What an achievement!

I zip up to reclaim my gear one last time, quite enjoying my new belayer.  I was tempted to take a little slip, just to see how she would react, but decided against it.  Cleaning the station, I reflected on just how fun this might become.  I rappelled off like I was thrown from the cliff, and had just finished coiling up the rope when I noticed that I had no quickdraws on my harness...  Looked up and--DAMN.  What nice decorations left behind on the wall.

What an idiot I am.  I had to walk around and set up AGAIN on the same climb so I could retrieve my gear.  Ah, Wade.  Sometimes it's so easy to get lost in the moment.  All packed up, and happy to share my passion with the next generation, we enjoyed a nice, relaxing car ride home.

I guess I spoke too soon...

Wish I hadn't, though...

Indeed, mere hours after roasting dear April for the horrible weather inflicted upon us, a sunny Sunday morning begged for me to climb. 

The three amigos loaded up the car and set forth, spirits buoyed by the bright sunshine and warm temperature.  Despite overnight rain, I was convinced that we would be able to climb at Cheakamous, and it would make a world of difference for my general dislike of April.

The drive was pleasant, and I was encouraged by the generally dry conditions of the cliffs at roadside, studiously ignoring the puddles evident on some parts of the highway.  When we arrived at Cheackamous we discovered a fairly respectable contingent of cars in the parking lot, with lots of people climbing along the Forgotten Wall.  The decision had been made on the drive, though, that it would be a blast to try another very highly rated multipitch 5.9 called 'Master of my Domain' which is located up on the Crest.

We trekked up the road and discovered the trail up to the crag without much difficulty, and before you knew it we had arrived at our destination.  First impressions:  'Looks wet'  'Looks quite wet' 'Looks awesome'

My dear friend, Mert, is possibly facing some work permit issues, so there is a slight possibility that this could be his last expedition in the Sea to Sky corridor for some time.  He elected to lead pitch 1, 20M of 5.7.  It didn't take long for the water to become an issue.  The wonderful spot that Mert was intending to place his foot had a small lake on it.  Ewww....  Just not nice.  It took some work, but he was able to find his way above and beyond.  After that, it seemed to be smooth trucking, and soon we were all at the midpoint anchor. 

Now, we had an issue.  A rather tall issue, I must admit.  I'm pretty much 6-0 tall, and the start of the second, (5.9) pitch, was quite intimidating.  There was a solid overhang, which was much higher than anybody, to try to find a way out from under to get near to the first bolt.  It was my turn to take lead, and I was pretty determined to find a way to get it happening.

The wind was really picking up, and I was starting to feel some chill in my fingers.  Nothing muh for it but to do it, I guess.  So here I go.  Hold me close, Mert, I'm going for it.  If I come off, there's a mighty long fall past the belay down the first pitch.  How exciting...  This could really hurt, but the holds look decent up there.

The moves were awesome, not going to lie.  Exhilarating.  Energizing.  Probably breathtaking.  Painful.  Just that easy, I had a monster hold for my right, and the first bolt was right there.  Hallelujah, I'm less likely to die.  There was a gorgeous little outcropping just to the left of the bolt that was a critical component to continuing on towards the second bolt, and it did the trick as I bumped up towards the crack.

The first part of the crack was a little bit low angle, so there wasn't much insane challenge.  As I ascended further, however, the wind started to become the biggest obstacle to continued advance.  The climbing was gorgeous, lots of decent holds, and a good, tight crack when there wasn't, but the screeching wind felt that it would pull me from my perch and toss me back down the mountain.  My belayer couldn't see me, I couldn't hear him, and I was all on my own, fighting against the elements and the rock.

My worn out old shoes, on their last legs, were called upon to do a lot of big steps as I worked my way up the crack, frequently leaning in tight to the wall to try and minimize the surface area offered up to the wind.

There were no huge, dramatic moves to gain the summit, just a sustained series of reaches and steps up the face and over the top.  The wind was epic as I neared the top.  I feared that I would soon be doing an amazing impression of a kite, as I waited for the stronger gusts to subside before making any moves.  The top was a relief, as I had expended my stock of quickdraws without seeing the anchor chains, and thought I had heard something about the halfway point on the rope being shouted up at me from below.

What a view, though.  30M above the belay ledge, 50M above the crag base, It was totally worth going to war with the screaming wind to reach the summit of the second pitch.  Now to belay somebody up after me.  There was a nice spot up at the top to have a picnic or something, but not much in the way of a decent belay position.  I was in such an awkward spot up there while I waited, straining to hear somebody below yell up that they were ready to follow. 

After some time, I heard the call and took in the slack.  After a few seconds the rope went taut again, then seemed to slacken off, then back to taut.  I couldn't see a climber, due to that sketchy overhang start, so I kept tension on.  The only thing I could hear was the roar of the wind through the trees, as I tried desperately to get an update on what was happening below.

Shivering in the vicious wind, with by back spasming in pain from the horrible body position, I finally heard a request for slack, which I provided.  But how much slack do I give?  Where was my climber?  I slowly released rope until it stopped going and waited to hear more news.  This process repeated several times, and I surmised that Heather was trying to find a way to get a start up over the monster overhang. 

Some time later I was taking up rope and it kept coming. Soon I saw the top of Mert's head coming up the rock, slowly working his way up the route.  Mert doesn't have much experience climbing cracks, and has said repeatedly that he doesn't love them, but he was doing an excellent job of chasing me.  Not nearly soon enough he reached the top.  I was about ready to unhook my line and just let go to get myself out of the wind.

The rappel down was very quick, and upon reaching the ledge we packed up faster than I ever could have imagined.  A great climb under marginal conditions, just to prove that climbing in April could happen.  What a bad idea, but what a fun day.