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hamie
Social climber
Thekoots
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May 23, 2012 - 02:55pm PT
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BM. I was over in Spain, hiking part of the Camino Frances, from Leon to Santiago de Campostella. It was way harder, colder and wetter than I expected. However all of my past sins are now forgiven, and I can start again!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - May 23, 2012 - 04:12pm PT
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Hamie- Cool! I saw a movie about that awhile ago. It sounds like quite a challenging trek!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 23, 2012 - 04:15pm PT
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The various medieval pilgrims' ways are having quite a revival in Europe, not just with North Americans. One goes through the area my family comes from in Norway, en route from Oslo to Saint Olav's cathedral in Trondheim, and is increasingly popular. Pretty cool, actually. Those with the time and energy can do stuff like the PCT, those with less energy or time, or needing more comforts can do things like the pilgrims' ways.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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May 23, 2012 - 05:44pm PT
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those with less energy or time, or needing more comforts can do things like the pilgrims' ways.
The pilgrims' ways? Whooo hoo! Anybody here familiar with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales? Major-league debauchery under the name of religious pilgramage.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 23, 2012 - 06:59pm PT
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One of the finer points of mountain biking is how well it works by yourself. Climbing was like that for me too as often I'd just go alone. My favorite outing was the squamish buttress as it was quick, had a great summit, and a pretty challenging final pitch. A quick hike down a perfect trail and you were back at the car in pretty good time.
I loved this little escape and it fit in nicely with my work. My career choice was heavy, as in moving lots of weight around, and being weighted down with tons of crap. Heavy steel spurs, heavy harness, steel biners, thick ropes, various chainsaws hanging off my waist, all in all pretty cumbersome. And then there was our chipper which could chip a 12 x 12; that thing was particularly annoying and obnoxious.
Needless to say, after seven or eight hours of this portable industrial nation I was usually ready for a little peace and quiet. Hauling up the slabs and the buttress with shoes and a chalkbag could erase a day of tree removal better than anything. Of course I had it wired so it wasn't a very big time commitment but it gave me the opportunity to easily escape the working world and focus on the basics.
One winter/spring day I beetled down the highway from working in Whistler and couldn't wait to be standing on the south summit. It had been raining recently but not that day; typical Squamish weather. As usual I was the only truck in the apron parking lot and as I was transforming from chainsaw guy to climber dude I kept looking up at the slabs trying to pick a dry route.
Lately I'd been going up diedre and banana peel and I was missing the snake route, mostly due to the wintery wet streak high up in the corner. On this occassion it actually looked dry up there from the safety of the parking lot. I'd battled it out with that wet streak more than a few times and had gotten pretty good at stemming around the damp stuff. Squamish style.
Off I go with my shoes, chalkbag, and little casio watch which I'd latch around my chalkbag sling as I was consumed with timing my efforts. The timer always went from the truck to the summit and it was great fun trying to beat my times and see what the body could crank off.
Everything is going great up there until I approach that often wet corner. The reason it looked so dry was because the whole thing was soaked. I felt so unstoppable I forged ahead without giving much thought about the little hand traverse after the tree. As I'm delicately stemming my way up the wet rock the weather starts to pick it up a few notches; the clouds are really cranking around and there are some crazy gusts.
Eventually I make it to that little tree, knowing I've completely committed myself as there isn't any hope in hell of downclimbing that wet corner. Very bad boy, breaking Croft's golden rule of downclimbing. Not sure what I was thinking.
Making my way around that little tree and looking out at the hand traverse my heart just sunk. Kerplunk. The entire feature was soaking wet. The whole ledge with all the slopey holds, the entire slab underneath it, where the feet would have to go, everything was drenched. I'm hanging out at that mini tree and the wind is howling and there's, of course, no one around for miles. I'm looking out there at puddles, literally, on the best looking area of the ledge and the stress is building by the minute.
I start prodding out there, hanging off my bent arms with my feet just sort of hanging there, perched against the rock, but not taking much weight at all as it felt like they'd just slide right out of there at any second. Suddenly the gust of all gusts comes up and it's blowing so hard I can hear my t-shirt flapping in the wind. My chalkbag gets flipped upside down and empties all over the entire region. It was so windy the chalk just went everywhere and then some. What a mess. Out and back I ventured, a little bit further each time. Full blown epic.
I remember being deep in conversation with myself and promissing not to keep going up the buttress if and when I finally got free of Snake. It just wasn't my day at all and I was barely in there, so to speak. The top of that hand traverse ledge was now a slurpy mixture of chalk and water and it was all I could do to cling on and scurry across without putting much weight on my feet. Eventually I worked it out and got around the corner onto that nice ledge. Unbelievable relief. The next pitch was completely soaked and took a bit of effort but nothing on that traverse.
As I clambered up a bunch of easy ground toward the boomstick turn off to the buttress I started feeling really good again and promptly broke my promise.
Up I went and the final pitch was a little wet but I always had that pretty wired. No use checking the watch at the summit because I sure wasn't setting any speed records that day.
Not the sharpest tool in the shed.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 23, 2012 - 11:37pm PT
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Ya., well cranking off angel's crest and the buttress in good time was pretty fun but it all came to a halt when I dropped a three ton tree on my tib-fib. Crushed them like two pretzls, had to cut the tree off my leg and it wasn't a pretty sight.
I promised earlier not to tell any tree stories though.
Oh the pain...15 years almost to the day.
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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May 24, 2012 - 12:00am PT
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Let's hear it for the tree stories (as long as they are Squamish trees....)
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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May 24, 2012 - 12:05am PT
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Holy crap Hamish. Hell of a snake story. That would not have been a pretty slip and slide off the traverse. Man o' man.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 11:52am PT
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Whoah Hamish, thanks for sharing man. Yep, tips are sweating = good stuff. Well written too. Paragraphs, commas, the works!
Not much else to say about that one except good job on keeping it together despite tossing a few of your own rules out the window! Sometimes when you are fully committed, adapting to the situation is much more important than following the rules! Staying alive i think they would call it.
I will probably be able to withstand a few more 2 wheeler comments now that the climbing story fix has been satiated. Gracias.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 12:05pm PT
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Well it sounded like you wanted a story that contained a battle. That was a battle.
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MH2
climber
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May 24, 2012 - 02:47pm PT
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When it comes to writing I think Hamish should definitely listen to Tami.
But.
Hamish isn't getting paid by the word, I'm guessing.
And.
Many climbers probably get why he went on up the Buttress. If you make a plan with a partner, you usually go with it, but on your own there can be a push/pull going on inside, and sometimes you have to be patient with yourself and wait for the decision. You might arrive at the climb and not feel motivated, but after half an hour of doing nothing maybe the green light goes on.
I think Hamish is giving us the plain truth. He just felt good again.
Great story.
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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May 24, 2012 - 05:04pm PT
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Don't listen to all these nitpicky editor wannabees! You're doing just fine, more than fine Hamish. Freaking epic! I was trying to imagine how I would have felt in your place at the tree, staring at the bleak, wet, frothing hand traverse. I know how bad I want my feet to smear nice and solid there when it's dry. I can't even imagine doing it all gooey smoo covered. Glad you didn't have a mental breakdown. I would have gone bonkers.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 05:22pm PT
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Hence the mtn. biking being a good old guy sport because if you start to short circuit, you just pull over.
There's no magical reason why I kept going other than having too much fun and wanting to tag the summit. I'd been doing the buttress till I was blue in the face in those days and I'd climbed that last pitch in the snow, rain, full on wind, you name it. I knew perfectly well how wet that final pitch would be and I had some tricks to avoid the worst of it. There was no way it was going to measure up to that slimey traverse on Snake. My main mistake that day was merely picking the wrong way up the slabs.
Character building though.
Truth is I'd had my share of mini epics on that last pitch, but not on that particular day, and no matter how cold or wet that last pitch ever got, it wasn't to be compared with that snake epic.
Once I pulled up onto the south summit in a total snowstorm. I'd seen it coming from the parking lot and just pinned it all the way up there. It started when I was at the base of the tough pitch and I remember thinking at least it was much better than rain. By the time I scrambled up to the summit, I clambered my way right into a little group of Japenese looking down at me. I never saw them till I was right at them. We all felt a little awkward, that's for sure.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 24, 2012 - 05:50pm PT
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I've twice run into wet and slimy conditions on the last two pitches of Snake, in the groove leading up to the overhang, the traverse, and the last pitch. Not solo, luckily. Once we were able to retreat, once we continued, but had to use aid and a lot of trickery. Hamish's story brought back unfond memories.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 05:51pm PT
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I'm fresh off 2 laps of that trail in Britannia; 5 star
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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May 24, 2012 - 06:26pm PT
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Did you guys boulder much at all when you weren't roped up? I guess the notorious squamish rocky landings and moss covered rocks hiding all the delicious holds must have deterred you guys. Pads make things so much more fun and civil now. I think you guys should lay down the bike and go fall off some pebbles once in a while maybe.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 07:08pm PT
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The holds are all too small and I couldn't even imagine falling onto anything short of 10 queen size simmons stacked on each other.
Thanks for the writing tips, lord knows I need 'em. I thought I'd described the ordeal pretty well but I guess I need to spend more time on it. I'll blame it on my son as he was moaning about how well boiled his eggs were this morning and of course the fact that it was all my fault. 8 yr. olds.... gotta love them.
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MH2
climber
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May 24, 2012 - 07:39pm PT
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I'd climbed that last pitch in the snow, rain, full on wind, you name it.
That's when you know a climb.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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May 24, 2012 - 09:18pm PT
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Hey Relic, careful. I asked these guys about bouldering awhile back & killed the thread for a few days. Only "real" climbers post on here! We need to pretend we are too! If u like Squamish boulders though here's a quick edit I made from the other day.
Pretty amateur but it was a fun day
http://vimeo.com/m/42637582
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 24, 2012 - 09:27pm PT
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Aren't boulders those odd grey blobs that mountain bikers jump off?
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