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MH2
climber
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I think this is Greg Shannan, facing camera, a few years ago.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Yes that's Greg. A really really fine guy. Is that Neil Bennett with his back to the camera?
And here's a really really fine climb: Anybody care to name it?
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Nice thread guys. My buddy Richard was in town last week; he was at Daryl's memorial with Yerian and I. Once again he told me the story of how he and Daryl and Dave got beat up at the base of the Chief by a bunch of local high school kids. Great story. I pleaded with him to post up on the Taco, since a bunch of you would love that story. A different kind of epic.
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MH2
climber
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Ghost, if that isn't Blazing Saddles it is doing a good imitation of it. I was hoping it would be that climb on the wall the other side of the creek on the backside trail.
edit: nice color and brave photographer - That route sheds rock.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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if that isn't Blazing Saddles it is doing a good imitation of it
Yes, Blazing Saddles -- with Mari just below the part where you go from thinking "This is pretty easy for the grade" to thinking "What a total f*#king sandbag!"
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 4, 2009 - 08:38pm PT
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The expense was killing him, eh!
BigGrin===> Funny story %%$$?
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Climbing dropout
Trad climber
Vancouver, BC
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I used to climb grand wall regularly, with Hamish Fraser in the 80's and early 90's.
The biggest piece on the rack for the route was a single 1.5 friend, 1 or 2 RP's and one or two perlon slung stoppers.
The 1.5 got placed 10 feet up apron strings, then the only other piece he would use was a #4 RP to protect the crux of apron strings. When the rope length was payed out I would start climbing we would 4th class to the base of the split pillar from the ground placing 2 pieces, and clipping the bolts on merci me.
I think we had figured out that he would have already clipped the first bolt on mercy me, as I was doing the crux on apron strings, so we were safe ! ha ha ha ... we did this routine so often it really was a low risk 4th class.
Belaying started at the split pillar, Hamish would lead the pillar placing the 1.5 friend 10 feet up the pillar and then run it out to clip the manky bolts that used to protect the OW section. I think there was a stopper placement he used after that.
The 1.5 friend then protected the sword, with a stopper and RP or two, and wasn't used again till the last pitch, that we simu-climbed to the base of from the bolt ladder top, which would be the only piece used there. Of course he clipped every bolt on the route.
As I recall it was usually a spontaneous, late, and sunny afternoon decision to do the route. I think it was a 2 hour trip to bellygood ledge, maybe Hamish knows how long it usually took us
Hamish had amazing, strength, endurance, good judgment and complete confidence in his abilities while knowing his limits at the same time. I was lucky to have climbed the amount of stone with him that I did. Which was a lot !
Croft always said what held Hamish back as a climber was his work ethic, which was very high, just like his climbing standards, and morals.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Not that hard to imagine Split Pillar as 5.9. Thin hands boulder sectino off the belay, then bomber hands.
There was no real OW section, because of the chockstones. Then easy chimney. Nice pitch.
The left side looked KILLER! Does it still get done? It was filled with mud, the one time I ventured left to check it out.
I enticed a couple friends from SoCal up to visit Squamish in the late 1980s. Early Pet Wall days. S sprained his ankle the first day of the trip, so their goals got dialed back a bit. But I do remember hanging with The Chieftains for part of an afternoon at Murrin Park.
Friendly crew-- S was chronic, and having a hard time. The Cs were remarkably generous and friendly. I did have some questions about hygiene, but hey, when in Rome.
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Climbing dropout
Trad climber
Vancouver, BC
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you're right it was a fist size ... it's been well over a decade since I was up there. My problem was I have small hands. It was slightly beyond a fist jam for me, well it was a layback section really. The left side never saw many ascents in a year. Nowadays I haven't a clue, probably sees very few ascents still. My memories are impaired by the amount of dope smoking that went on in those days up there ...
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Climbing dropout
Trad climber
Vancouver, BC
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I should have said climbing ethics, morals was the wrong word for the context of the statement
whatever .... we had boatloads of fun
I never did the left side, Dean Hart broke off nice foothold on the traverse into the left side, I remember seeing that happen from the ground.
Speaking of too much weed, Tami, wanna hear the story about how Indica Point in the North Walls of the Chief got it's name ?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 5, 2009 - 03:25pm PT
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Smoke signals if I ever saw them! LOL Speaking of which, how did the Little Smoke Bluffs get that name?
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Speaking of which, how did the Little Smoke Bluffs get that name?
The guys who first started climbing there were into Carlos Castenada, who referred to reefer as the little smoke. Much of their activity in the bluffs involved...
anyway, they came to call them the little smoke bluffs, and the name stuck.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 5, 2009 - 05:26pm PT
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El Humito! Es bien obvio, claro!
Thanks for the Little Smoke History.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Common refrain at the time:
"What ya wanna do?"
"I dunno. I'm probably too stoned to climb."
"Yeah, me too. Let's go do something in the Bluffs then."
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 5, 2009 - 06:07pm PT
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But Squamish already has an Apron!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Another explanation for the name Little Smoke Bluffs related to the mill at Woodfibre, about 6 km southwest of Squamish. BITGOD, the mill's output of sulphuric clouds was prodigious. During stable weather in midsummer, the stuff would accumulate overnight and in the morning. The closer to the mill, the greater the concentration - there may have been other mills right in Squamish to add to it. So it tended to be fairly cloudy and smelly on midsummer mornings, especially near ground level. Usually an adiabatic (inflow) wind would develop later in the morning, and by afternoon have cleared away much of the smoke.
So the name also (allegedly) related to its relative freedom from the stench from Woodfibre.
Here's a photo of Woodfibre from a late afternoon in spring of 1983. By then a lot of the atmospheric (but not oceanic) pollutants had been reduced, but it was still a lot.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 6, 2009 - 10:59pm PT
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I think I'd prefer the other sort of smoke....
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I pretty much passed on the "voluntary" smoke, and could easily have done without that from Woodfibre too.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 1, 2009 - 11:04pm PT
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Little Smoke Bump!
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MH2
climber
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Robin Barley in recent action:
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