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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 29, 2012 - 10:14am PT
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Bruce k- weren't you in on the ffa of the upper pitches of shining city? What's it like up there?
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Hoser
climber
vancouver
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Apr 29, 2012 - 10:52am PT
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So is it dry(ish) there today or is it a write off ?
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MH2
climber
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Apr 29, 2012 - 11:32am PT
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Shining City needs a picture. 90-99 % of "Squamish climbers" probably don't know it exists. If something like the picture in the older guide, of Sig Isaac on pitch 3, had made it into a newer guide, then it would be a must-do. Or is there such a guide with such a picture?
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 29, 2012 - 01:14pm PT
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Those pitches up @ the bastion look pretty good from the road. I have not had the pleasure of climbing there. When i used to live in Whistler i would, ahem...boulder at the base of the bastion by myself quite often. Some great training grounds in the woods down there & immaculate rock. Definitely a bit of a rain shadow out there too. I've been to suicide a few times as well, some great rock over there too. A few friends spent a lot of time scrubbing & rescrubbing climbs over there, they even made a mini guide. Anyone i have ever tried to convince to check out the bastion has been able to convince me it's a pile, not sure why there is a such a stigma surrounding the place. Many areas would love to have a cliff of that stature around. Gonna have to come up with a new strategy for tricking ppl into going climbing out there. No shortage of good climbing up 99 North.
Last winter i was a little too ambitious & tried to go bouldering out there in March & realized that the snow takes a little longer to go away out there than here @ sea level. I also found this........
just missed out on a snack i guess....or being one!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 29, 2012 - 09:39pm PT
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Ryand. No need to convince anyone bud! Im still off for the rest of the week and its supposed to piss in squish so lets go check it out. It might be a little above my pay grade but i know how to climb a rope if necessary. Sounds like it could use a few pics.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 30, 2012 - 12:44am PT
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Anyone i have ever tried to convince to check out the bastion has been able to convince me it's a pile
and
And I'm sure ghost could say similar about washington
No sh#t.
Just back from a day at the Railyard. It was raining on the west side, so we drove over the pass into warm sun and dry rock. And had the place to ourselves.
Not that that is unusual, because we've had it to ourselves since we found it five years ago. But usual or not, it's bizarre. This is a crag in an incredible setting, featuring perfect rock, with climbs from 5.8 to 5.12. The approach is ten minutes, it's no more than an hour and a half from Seattle, and you can climb most of the routes with a rack of draws.
We haven't been keeping the place a secret. In fact we went public with it two years ago. So why did everyone either stay at home and whine about the rain, or drive two-and-a-half hours to climb choss at Vantage?
F*#ked if I know. But same same with the Green River Bastion. Same same with Zeke's Wall. There are six-party line-ups on routes at Squamish and Index, but Zeke's and the Bastion are empty. Likewise the Railyard. And likewise dozens of other terrific climbing areas.
And, if you want to take it to extremes, the two best multi-pitch rock climbing areas I've found in forty years of climbing are the Needles (the California one, not the South Dakota one) and Cochise Stronghold. But since they are not J-Tree, Squamish, Red Rocks, or Yosemite, they are empty. You can go to them and climb the best rock routes in North America, in settings that are mind-meltingly beautiful, and rarely see another person.
Same for crags like the Bastion and Zeke's. These are amazing crags. But, no guidebook = no climbers.
Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe we shouldn't complain. But it's weird to put in the effort to clean a route that you know is as good as anything at Squamish or Index, tell everybody about it, and... Nada
Anyway, just so you know I'm not blowing smoke, here's a shot of our friend Tom (who posts here as Mooser) topping out on one of the climbs at the Railyard. And it's not even one of the really good ones.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Apr 30, 2012 - 02:05am PT
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BigMike,maybe later this week, never climbed there so could be fun! Just stay left. my car's got a busted shock mount so staying close to Squamish for the next few.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 05:21am PT
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Sounds good ryan! Its pretty wet out this way anyway. Just passed the grb on my way home from the desert.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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Apr 30, 2012 - 10:07am PT
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As usual, Casper the Friendly is right again. I've climbed at the Needles and Cochise and they are outstanding. To show how great the routes are, you're even required to make your own belays, as in, with gear! Hurray for real climbing.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 05:31pm PT
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Just caught up after the roadtrip.
Nice pics everyone!! I can't believe no one posted this after Relic posted that pic of Boogie 'til You Puke. I know most of you have seen it, and some may not find it as humerous as I do but come on... To quote Cedar Wright "Sh#t Happens Man!" :)
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Andrew Burr video.
Ghost- Thanks for the Sunblessed photos. It looks like that area is quite popular these days due to it's aspect. I bet if you were to go back in the summer it wouldn't be quite so busy, although I think the upgraded trail from the Squaw has contributed as well. The railyard looks fun, is it sport, mixed or what? Got any links to some topos for all these "obscure" places? :)
Mh2- Thanks for the pic of Too Much Pressure. That is definetly on my Cirque Of The Uncrackables list. The other ones Punk Rock look like fun too!
Relic- We should definetly climb together more. My navigational skills are excellent but my training regimen is not as stringent as yours. We just gotta get you leading some hard cracks again! :)
I think the Chief webcam is a response to the fact that they have not got the south facing one fixed yet and people use the road in the shot as an indication to whether it's dry or not. So they pointed it at the parking lot, Or maybe the mount slipped. Either way, definetly a bit of "Mental Speculation" on my part :)
BruceK-
yes and it is really good. 2 excellent squamish style cracks pitches then it goes a little wandering and a bit more like mountaineering but still top quality. I still can't believe that 99% of squamish climbers havn't done it.
Thanks for the beta! I think the last part of your quote is probabaly why most people don't go up there. Alot of people tend to be rock snobs these days. I know I am guilty as charged. This thread has inspired me, (and moreso Luke who then inspires me.) that adventure climbing is fun and rock is definetly not the end of the climbing world.
I met Py's buddy Allen from Vernon this weekend, and he was extolling the virtues of Cougar Canyon and some of the other local areas.. Sounds pretty good!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 05:47pm PT
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screen capture from Andrew Burr's Video
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 08:11pm PT
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Found this one when I was watching the last link... Never seen anyone on Zombie Roof before.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Rainy Rest Day Productions
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 08:25pm PT
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Me and Kyle saw this thing before it was cleaned and wondered what it would go at.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Rainy Rest Day Productions
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Apr 30, 2012 - 10:29pm PT
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Only now saw the bit about Freeway a ways back. Sheesh, I'm always behind on this thread.
I just want to say that 1979 was possibly the best year of my life. It was also, sadly, the last year I saw George Manson. That particular trip where George Manson, Tom Gibson, Rob Rohn and I drove up from San Diego to Vancouver to meet up with Perry and Peter(O?) seems just magical to me. From hanging out in Vancouver listening to punk music, to doing some of the Squamish classics and then managing to make a little mark with some first ascents, the trip has special significance for me.
I think George Manson would have made a big mark in the climbing world if he didn't die so young. In fact, if George had lived, I have no doubt that he would have talked me into doing alpine exploits, and my own life's trajectory might have been quite different.
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climberyogi
Boulder climber
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Apr 30, 2012 - 10:44pm PT
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Probably the sickest footage of climbing in squamish i've seen is in Western Gold - http://vimeo.com/39651458
its all bouldering though - not big wall! your pics are pretty awesome! i'm heading out there this summer, hoping to learn how to place gear & get up on the chief!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Apr 30, 2012 - 11:22pm PT
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Yeah, Tami. i think Mike was on that trip as well. And I very much remember meeting and hanging out with you and Peter. Good times...
Peder is Ander's brother? No kidding?
You like the red haired, silent type, eh?
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Where is "My Little Pony"?
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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My Little Pony is ironically at Chek, the sport climbing area just north of the big orange bridge.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - May 1, 2012 - 04:30am PT
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eeyonkee- That freesolo of Pipeline sounded amazing! Were you called to it the moment you saw it?
I took out a lotta gear from sketchy stances what was put there by somebuddy taller then I ...............so I can feel Jim's pain.
Hahahaha.. You can bet that i've done this to more than a few people.. I try not to but sometimes you just can't help it.. I figure it makes my seconds better.
My Little Pony is ironically at Chek, the sport climbing area just north of the big orange bridge.
It's in Chek Gorge. Just down the road from back-clippers paradise. On the left hand side on the walk in to star chek.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Rob was probably my best partner back in the late 1970s. Taciturn and totally solid he was. We never did any big walls but we did do lots of long free routes in Yosemite together. He would generally come out west with Mike Tschipper and join up with our San Diego crew. I liked Mike a lot.
I may be mis-remembering (me?) about Perry actually suggesting in any way that I solo Pipeline. I'm sure he showed it to me (from a distance), and the Pipeloads name was definitely his idea. I don't believe I had even thought about Pipeline until that day he showed me.
I've got a new goal now - Freeway (if they ever let me back in to Canada).
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