Squamish Photos and Stories

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Tricouni

Mountain climber

Vancouver

Aug 10, 2012 - 02:20am PT

... Looks nice and clean to me.

Bang on, Hamie!

Is it barely possible that some climbers are getting so specialized, so addicted to clean, sterile (in the sense of little growing) granite that they can't find any joy in anything else? Lots of good rock has some vegetation; lots of good rock isn't granite.

For me, the attraction of Squamish has always been about the the adventure and the fun, regardless of the degree of difficulty.

hamie

Social climber

Thekoots

Aug 10, 2012 - 02:45am PT

Big Mike
I enjoyed your YPLS photos, and had to laugh out loud at the one captioned "Whip", that was funny as heck. Lucky he had clipped BK's POS bolt! With your complete photo sequence it is easy to see why you guys are having so much trouble. I hesitate to say it, but you are trying the pitch in TOTALLY THE WRONG WAY. Since all three of us, including Mave, did the pitch without any aid, hangs, falls or tension, it cannot be as hard as you are making it. I would still give it a solid 5.8 While I may be persuaded to give you the full beta at some later date, for now I will just say that you have to know and use squeeze chimney technique, which is nothing like normal chimneying.

Having said all that, I do have one qualifier. Without meaning to be rude, it may not be physically possible for someone with your build to climb this pitch in the 'correct' [easiest] manner. However your partners should have no such problems.

Now it's "true confessions" time. We did have a secret weapon. That was Mave, who was my gf at the time, and one of the strongest female climbers in the country. She was expecting to bag a new route, and so the pressure was on. On me. No new route equalled no ---. Taking your gf along raises your game by at least two letters.

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Aug 10, 2012 - 02:54am PT

We have now been thoroughly schooled by Hamie and Tricouni. We are not worthy.

When Eric and I tried YPLS in 1974, there wasn't a lot of vegetation, except for a tree at the base of the "aid" pitch, where we stopped. I wonder if the big 1946 earthquake on Vancouver Island shook things up, and maybe widened or even created cracks? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Vancouver_Island_earthquake

hamie

Social climber

Thekoots

Aug 10, 2012 - 02:57am PT

Tony Ellis, shown in Glenn's pic above, had a great phrase to describe short routes, which we call sport routes today.
"The nowhere to nowhere department"
I wonder how he would have described bouldering?

MH2

climber

Aug 10, 2012 - 10:12am PT

the FA, which did not involve any POS bolts, or aiding on fixed slings

Probably no cams, big bros, chrome-moly, perlon, sticky rubber, or lycra, either. Some photos! Thanks for them and for the stories.

Oplopanax

Mountain climber

The Deep Woods

Aug 10, 2012 - 11:35am PT

From working in the forest industry I can tell you how much vegetation grows in 50 years.

I mean there are roads you could drive up in the 80s that are nothing but jungle today.

Yet we still get surprised when the same thing happens on cliffs.

RyanD

climber

Squamish

Aug 10, 2012 - 11:50am PT

Hey Hamie, thanks for the history lesson & cool photos, it looks pretty clean for sure but it also looks a little different. So u guys just crawled right inside from the very start of the chimney about 6 feet under the bolt eh? I thought about that for a split second but didn't want to tear my Lycra or get it dirty on the heap of munge that sits in the base of the chimney. As well this would have put me way out of range to clip the bolt and do some bouldering.

After some serious thought about this over the past 2 minutes I have come to the conclusion that all the bolt squabbles on this route are totally pointless. Since the bolt is positioned away from the original route & impossible to clip if u climbed it the way of the FA, i think it effectively makes what today's climbers would call a "variation". I propose the name YPBS or "Yosemite pinnacle Bruce side" for this variation & would also like to propose a grade of 5.8b as it seems a touch harder than the original 5.8 way.

Ghost

climber

A long way from where I started

Aug 10, 2012 - 01:43pm PT

My only experience with YPLS was jumaring past it 30+ years ago en route to the upper half of Tantalus Wall, and I don't remember whether it was bushy or bare, but the fact that it was bare in the 1960s doesn't mean it wasn't bushy in 2010.

There is a pair of pictures in one of KM's Squamish guidebooks showing the same view of the Chief about 40 years apart, and the later image shows vastly more trees and bush.

RyanD

climber

Squamish

Aug 10, 2012 - 03:44pm PT

I'm not going to lie, I enjoy "Brazilian" granite. A landing strip here & there is ok, but seeking out a full grown carpet is definitely passé IMO.

+1 on cutting edge K2 Lou, although its not as fun since the hold broke :-(

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Aug 10, 2012 - 04:13pm PT

I wouldn't, except from natural causes.

(An axe hardly counts as 'natural' causes. Nice try.)

Big Mike

Trad climber

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2012 - 03:29am PT

Here's a little reminder of the good old days Ryan!

The Cutting Edge V4

As to the arets question this one happens to be a favorite,

Triage Aret 5.10a
Nina Hagen Photo

Me getting it done. This thing is no joke. It used to have even less bolts on it apparently. Thanks to KM for making it spicy instead of x.

Big Mike

Trad climber

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2012 - 04:32am PT

With your complete photo sequence it is easy to see why you guys are having so much trouble. I hesitate to say it, but you are trying the pitch in TOTALLY THE WRONG WAY.

Hamie! I was hoping you would weigh in on this issue. I was beginning to think that was the case!

Having said all that, I do have one qualifier. Without meaning to be rude, it may not be physically possible for someone with your build to climb this pitch in the 'correct' [easiest] manner. However your partners should have no such problems.

I think I realized that last time when I made an honest effort to squeeze my not so petite frame into that void from the bottom and had little to no luck getting in there. Did you guys go right of the chockstone?? Funny about your secret weapon... Motivation is always important ;)

After some serious thought about this over the past 2 minutes I have come to the conclusion that all the bolt squabbles on this route are totally pointless. Since the bolt is positioned away from the original route & impossible to clip if u climbed it the way of the FA, i think it effectively makes what today's climbers would call a "variation". I propose the name YPBS or "Yosemite pinnacle Bruce side" for this variation & would also like to propose a grade of 5.8b as it seems a touch harder than the original 5.8 way.

Truth is, Ryan is completly right. It is a variation. You said it yourself sir, we are doing it

TOTALLY THE WRONG WAY

, and there is no hope in hell you could clip that bolt to protect the original YPLS route. So the point is moot, and we are doing rediculous things to avoid said squeeze that we do not understand. Bruce might as well complete his handy work and bolt the rest of the aret so we can just lieback that sucker and complete his variation. Call it, BKLB Bruce Kay's Lieback ;)

Is it so wrong to see pictures of your beloved pinnacle all cleaned up and being enjoyed albeit differently than you guys did?

I found this before shot that Jeremy Frimer took, on Squamish climbing.
Jermey Frimer Photo

Looking a bit scruffy there... Isn't this better?

As to the question of clean rock, a bit on greenery or moss will not spoil things for me but some things are getting a bit excessive...
Me on the FA of Sandra's Dirty Rope

I think it's much more appealing this way
Rick on the first really clean ascent.

More dirty this way for sure
Kieran Brownie Photo

Kieran Brownie Photo

More fun this way

RyanD

climber

Squamish

Aug 11, 2012 - 11:26am PT

I think that's a little far fetched Bruce, it would be much safer & a softer landing if the zip lines landed down @ nexen. Then a shuttle bus could bring ppl back to their cars.

Enough of this nonsense though, i'm going to go try & do blackwater before someone spills their water bottle @ the base & it gets all seepy for another 3 weeks. Anyone got any early stories on that thing?? Pretty sure it wasn't a gear climb first a la no name rd or the pheasant. Was it??

Nice photo's Mike, that before shot is interesting.

Jim B stops by with an excellent troll. Well done sir.

Big Mike

Trad climber

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2012 - 12:24pm PT

Bruce, of course I knew you were kidding, as was I. This place is good for laughs and I'll take mine where I can get them :)

I don't think Squamish climbing, liberal and progressive as it is, is quite ready for such a marriage of lycra clad sport and old school wide crack brawling on the pretext of variation / squeeze job.

I dunno sounds kinda like Dean and Randy's mo from bitd. ;) Obviously there are lots of other liebacks out there, but just thinking here what's the difference? If you are in the chimney you can't clip any bolts so does it really change the character of the route?

Jim B? I saw that lure a mile away ;) He's dropped it a few times now :)

hamie

Social climber

Thekoots

Aug 12, 2012 - 12:42am PT

A little something for everyone tonight.

Glenn: A fun pic of Tony imitating a black bear. Thanks.

MH: No wish to 'school' anyone, esp you! Would that even be possible? ha ha

Ryan: Yes. Good thinking. But be careful. You never know what you might catch in there--or what might catch you!

BK: If that is an apology, then I accept it as such. When someone makes derogatory remarks that reflect on my friends or myself it usually elicits a quick response. ["Fook you. Strong message to follow!"]

Yes, I did say that imo the bolt should stay, and I have not changed my opinion. It is definitely resulting in more ascents, which is great. And of course you deserve a lot of credit for cleaning the route last year. Thank you for that. However the sling which is used for aid has to go. People should sling the chockstone on lead, and clean it when following. Aid is lame!

Ghost: The climb is definitely more bushy than it used to be. I wonder if the drainage above has changed, causing problems. If the climb is wetter, then it would be more vegetated than before. Once again, thanks to BK for his good work on the cleaning.

BM: You posted "There is no hope in hell you could clip that bolt to protect the original line." Looking at your photos I think it would actually be quite straightforward to clip it from the chimney, it's only a couple of feet away,oops half a meter or so away----but then you have seen it up close, and I haven't. It looks close enough to me..... [esp with your reach,ha ha.]
Photographer of SuperTopo. Very cool. Keep'em coming. Love the whippers!

In conclusion, keep the bolt, but yank the mank. Will the saga continue?

Relic

Social climber

Vancouver, BC

Aug 12, 2012 - 01:58am PT

Since the bolt is positioned away from the original route & impossible to clip if u climbed it the way of the FA, i think it effectively makes what today's climbers would call a "variation". I propose the name YPBS or "Yosemite pinnacle Bruce side" for this variation & would also like to propose a grade of 5.8b as it seems a touch harder than the original 5.8 way.

Huh? You can totally squeeze chimney it here even after clipping the Bruce bolt. You just stick your left shoulder and other body parts that fit in until you get totally get immersed inside. You are proposing the wackness. :P

RyanD

climber

Squamish

Aug 12, 2012 - 11:10am PT

Ha! Relic, I guess anything is possible when ur on top rope! Or when you're yelling from the boulders:-) Maybe I'll see u in there this afternoon!

What did u guys blow up on blackcomb Bruce??

Big Mike

Trad climber

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 12, 2012 - 04:34pm PT

Well i guess you could clip that bolt, depending on which way you were facing and how long you arms are.

Relic your point is moot because hamie et all entered the squeeze chimney at the bottom..

Point is, you can do anything really, but you can never claim to do it the fa way unless you grind your meat through the squeeze and dont clip the bolt.

No one can ever take that away from you guys and the rest of us can simply marvel at the boldness of that feat. The chance to do it at close range just makes it hit home that much harder!