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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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When I did Half Dome with Daryl I asked him what he did when he wasn't climbing. "Drinkin', f*ckin', and fightin". I laughed, he was serious. He never mentioned the tree topping. A few times he would yell out these outrageous expletives that I couldn't repeat here. As for strength, I would be rigging a haul on 9 mil and he would just start hand over handing and then go, "here hold this while I light a smoke". After I almost let go, I got the lightweight bit. Coming from him, it didn't bother me at all. He was right.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Trees and shrubs are to be found everywhere at Squamish, except on rock that is vertical or steeper, or that was only recently exposed. Pictures of the Chief from early in the 20th century show much less foliage on the cliffs than at present. There are two theories for this. One is that winters from the 17th - 19th century were fairly severe, which in Squamish means a lot of freeze/thaw, lots of snow, and lots of falling ice. Which isn't good for trees - the damage to the Pardoe Hut, which was a bit more exposed, graphically showed this. In the 1970s, the winter accumulation of snow and ice at the base of the wall was often ten metres or more, and it didn't disappear until April. The other theory is that in the mid-19th century there was a giant fire during a dry, windy summer, which raged north from what is now Murrin Park, burning everything in the way.
Probably both theories have some merit. Either way, in a general sense the trees at Squamish are winning, and especially at the base of cliffs sometimes need active management. Alders can grow several metres/year. Removing trees and shrubs on routes is generally unnecessary, and tends to destabilize tree ledges - usually it's loose gravel and rocks underneath, ready to go. As Erik apparently found.
There have been some minor modern fires at Squamish, including one on the Apron in 1973, and in the Little Smoke Bluffs in the 1980s. The Chief itself and Murrin Park were never logged, but most of the surrounding areas have been, and they were often burnt over after, that being the prevailing silvicultural technique then. There have been two fire-hazard closures at Squamish, first in July 1985, then September 2003. Climbers were partially exempted from the latter, on basis of providing an active patrol program to ensure everyone was behaving. (One boulderer, insistent that he had a 'right' to smoke regardless, was physically escorted out.)
The last significant earthquake was in the late 1940s, and the last really big one in 1700. Vancouver and Squamish are somewhat east of the main plate boundaries, but we're overdue for something, and it will rearrange our little world. As a granitic pluton, there are lots of exfoliation flakes, and they get detached by freeze-thaw action, root action from trees, and sometimes earthquakes. As can be told by the giant boulders below all the larger cliffs.
Some believe that a climb at Squamish isn't a climb unless at some point you must depend on use of vegetation for progress, or least a belay. And the vegetation does often provide helpful holds and anchors. A little knowledge of tree species can be very helpful - cedars are usually far better rooted and stronger than firs and pines, let alone alder, salal, and huckleberry bushes.
One fellow spent a lot of time, money and energy over the last few years cleaning a route called Crap Crags. More or less a gully and low angle corner, facing northwest and wet most of the year. A classic adventure in dry conditions, involving all sorts of antics with trees. Anyway, he did a lot of work digging, trundling, and sawing, more or less on the same line. It's part of the routine here, but the difficulty with Crap Crags is that the falcon closure area is right in the middle of the route. You can never climb it between April and July, leaving at most two months of decent weather to do it. The fellow also gave his variation/'new' route another name, although it may not catch on.
More on thin cracks, cleaning, slabs, and the Little Smoke Bluffs to follow.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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MH, is that Doug McCarty the Dougal McCarty from Montana (and of Dirty Sox fame) ?
Just wondering
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Now where were we? Ah, yes, BITGOD – back in the good old days. After some digressions, and quite unnecessary natural history and editorials, back to talking about climbing in Squamish as of about 1975. Although it will be necessary to drag Tami back in bounds to do so. As mentioned, all stories and photos copyright © Me (that is, MH), 2008. Except those taken or told by others, of course.
By then we had something like a critical mass, of perhaps a dozen regular climbers, most of whom had a year or two experience or more, and a reasonable amount of gear. There were another dozen or more who were around, but less active, plus many who came and went. Some people had by then made the long trip to the Valley, in a few cases hitchhiking, which provided a lot of experience. We’d also done many of the established free climbs, and knew there must be more to do. We’d read about all sorts of things happening in the Valley – it was the summer of what was advertised as the first 5.12, Hot Line.
Another very helpful thing was Gordie Smaill’s new guidebook, mentioned above.
It had about 140 routes, as compared to the 40 or so in Glenn’s, and even had radical stuff like pictures. Many liked the style in which it was written, plus it had some nice drawings, I believe by Gordie’s brother. Here’s one, for Ghost:
We had also climbed most everything there was on the Apron, often repeatedly. Slab climbing is very good for learning about climbing, as it forces you to focus on footwork and mental control. Strength isn’t much help. The Apron is the fan-shaped area in the lower left of this photo:
There were then perhaps a dozen free routes on the Apron that anyone ever climbed – Slab Alley, Pineapple Peel, Banana Peel, Sparrow, Sickle, White Lightning, Diedre, Snake, Vector, Saint Vitus’ Dance, and Vector. Most of the aid routes had bits of free climbing, but the only other entirely free routes that got much traffic (apart from Murrin Park and such) were Apron Strings, Mercy Me, The Phew!, Missled, the first pitch of Exasperator (all at the base of the Grand Wall), the first pitch of Mushroom, and the Sunshine Chimneys area. None considered harder than 5.9 then. Tantalus Crack on Yosemite Pinnacle and Crescent Crack at the Malamute were not for mortals.
Here’s one more photo of the early Apron climbs, Slab Alley. It was the first route on the Apron, in 1961, climbed by Jim Baldwin and Tony Cousins. Sadly, Tony died a few weeks ago. (John A.)
It shows Apron climbing reasonably well. There are glacially polished sections, but it generally involves a bit more use of crystals and little dishes, rather than pure friction.
The Apron had quite a lot more lichen and moss on it then, and the shrubberies were in better shape. 30 years of climbing, new routes, cleaning, and simply ropes brushing over every bit of rock, do a lot of cleaning. Then, routefinding could be a real challenge, especially pre-guidebook, and given that Leeper bolt hangars (on the few bolts) looked a lot like a bit of lichen. Sometimes you just had to set out, knowing there was a route, and roughly where it went. None of the routes mentioned were harder than 5.9, and at the time we thought White Lightning was 5.9 also. There was one harder route, Grim Reaper, which Gordie and Neil had done in Robbins shoes in 1969. It was actually thought to be 5.10, had not had a second ascent, and was known to have only one or two bolts/pitch. Neil described it as “marbles in oil”. An obvious thing to try.
One route was a rather visionary climb at the base of the Grand Wall, called the Phew! Jim S. and Jeannine C. had done it – a mostly bolted three pitch climb that linked up little corners and dikes and things, on fairly steep rock, with some aid. We didn’t have many climbs like that – Jim may have scoped it out when they were filming the Vertical Desert in 1973, about the Grand Wall. (Steve M.)
ps I’m not sure who Doug McCarty (sp?) is – someone else mentioned him.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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There’s little doubt that the leaders of our community were Eric and Daryl. They were more committed, Daryl to aid and walls, Eric to free climbing, and put more time and effort into it. By spring 1975 both had been to the Valley, and done things like the Nose and Triple Direct, as well as many free climbs in the 5.10 range. Eric and I did what was probably his first first ascent at Squamish in 1974, when we freed Papoose One, on the Papoose. I actually led the crux. Last time I ever did that with Eric.
In 1975, Dave Loeks and Bill Putnam from Colorado visited, and a bit of a competition started. Eric and Daryl beat them to the first free ascent of the Pillar, and probably Perspective, but Dave and Bill got Brunser Overhang first, and also bagged Angel’s Crest. The spring trip to Yosemite and the visitors seemed to stimulate Eric, as he did a bunch of 5.10 cracks, including Caboose, Rainy Day Dream Away, and A Pitch in Time, and started working on things like Sentry Box. That summer, Daryl and Eric also did Up From the Skies, on the scary expanding flakes to the right of Grand Wall, and Daryl and Dave N. did Drifter’s Escape. Dave was working in a mill, fiendishly strong, and liked wide cracks. In late summer he led Hypertension (Les Fleurs de Mal) by Nightmare Rock, after many tries, and much fiddling to try and get a reasonable tube chock at the crux roof. Australian Nic Taylor made a lightning visit late in the summer, and with compatriot Peter Peart freed the left side of the Pillar – probably then the hardest free climb in Canada, still considered 5.12a. For years few believed it - we didn't really even have any 5.11s then.
The Apron did allow scope for wandering around, not possible on cracks and walls. It was lower-angle, and you could explore, especially on a top rope, without too much anguish. "I'll just try that bulge over there, instead of following the route - it looks like there are some holds." So suddenly, over the next few years, we did a bunch of new things on the Apron, some up to mid-5.11. Always on lead, never inspected or cleaned. Eric and Gordie did a climb on the upper Apron in 1975, called Eric’s Route, and that autumn Carl A. and I explored what became the start of Bloodlust Direct, on a very wet day. The next spring Carl, Scott F., and maybe others finished its two pitches, both now 5.11, the first slabs of that grade at Squamish. Here is an early ascent, in 1976. (Dave L.)
There are five protection bolts in about 90 metres of climbing.
This is the third (crux) pitch of White Lightning. (Dave L.)
It was the testpiece for human beings on the Apron, pre-1976. I did it in September 1975, with Joe T., another of our veterans. It was thought 5.9 (now 5.10b, perhaps), and the first pitch, although only a true 5.9, has only one bolt. There are three bolts on each of the second and third pitches – as always, slab climbing mostly happens upstairs.
Dave L. was an energetic teenager who appeared in early 1976, and did some amazing stuff. Another photo of him, following the second pitch of White Lightning in June 1976. He may be channeling TM Herbert. In the background, Scott F. and Perry B. do battle with Bloodlust.
Eric naturally lusted after the second ascent of the dreaded Grim Reaper, and tried it several times in 1975, usually with Carl A., who was preternaturally good at slabs. The third pitch is the first of two hard ones – you climb a moderate crack, place protection, downclimb quite a way, then climb way out and left. The hardest part (now 5.10b or c, but then also more lichened) is right before the belay, perhaps 20 metres straight left of the protection. Eric came off several times there, as he reached for the shrub, and ended up penduluming at high speed all the way across to and past Unfinished Symphony. The peanut gallery was highly entertained, and cheered him on with supportive remarks such as “Eric, you’re going to die!”. We had some growing to do.
Yup, I have more slides scanned, and nope, you don’t get to see them until tomorrow at earliest. Life calls.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jaybro & Freddie, you guys reading and digging this thread?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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I didn't get to Squamish until 1980 or '81 so I won't be posting any pix but I do remember the blue down jacket.
Sleeping on psyche ledge. Drinkin with the Chieftains. Grovelling in the rain.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Thank you, everyone! Keeps those cards and letters coming!
Let me rephrase that. Please send A card or letter, or at least a post.
Yes, Jim S. has been a fixture at Squamish since the early 1960s, as has been Fred B. Jim does like his coffee and a cigarette, and tells very good stories, some of which may be true. He provided some continuity during the 1970s - he was around, and sometimes provided information or inspiration, although I don't remember him climbing much.
The winter ascent of the Northeast Buttress of Slesse was in 1985 or 1986. Given the times, Kit and partner named one of the pitches the "Dead Lycra Faggots" pitch.
Next, maybe some pictures from crack climbing, new slab routes, in 1976 - 78. Perhaps not until Wednesday. It looks like the thread may not get to 1978 and beyond until after the FaceLift, which will leave Tami on tenterhooks, wondering which stories and pictures of her I may have. Nyuk, nyuk!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Given the times, Kit and partner named one of the pitches the "Dead Lycra Faggots" pitch.
His partner was Jim Nelson (who owns/runs Pro Mountain Sports in Seattle). I suspect the pitch name came from Kit.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Upthread, Don reported on an ascent of the Grand Wall in December 1971. The Environment Canada website says that the mean temperature in Vancouver that month was 0.7 C, with 80 cm of snow. It would have been colder, and snowier, in Squamish. (No weather station there then.) You guys must have snuck in on the few rainy days between snowstorms that month. Nuts!
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climateData/dailydata_e.html
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Bump again. Gawd, Anders and Tami, I'm loving your posts. I also like that pic of "Foodeater" (that's funny), and his smile, somewhere between a cherubic smile and a sh#t-eating grin. The pics of the Seattlites are a nice addition. Goad some of comrades to post up. Keep up the good work.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sep 10, 2008 - 03:25am PT
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A summary of the Squamish cast of characters, as of 1976.
Those who'd been climbing for 3, 4 or even 5 years: Eric W., Daryl H., Steve M., Len S., John A., Dave N., Dave V., me.
Those who'd been climbing for perhaps two years: Carl A., Scott F., Dick M., John Bryan (who sadly died in a helicopter crash in 1977), Simon T.
Started 1976 or so: Dave L., Perry B., Peder O. All very keen.
There were a few others who were less active, but around, or who'd just started climbing, and whose names escape me. And of course our precedessors - the hard core (Hugh B., Steve S., Gordie S., Neil B., Paul P., Greg S., etc), Jim S., Frank B., Robin B., Joe T., Bill M., and others. Some still active, all sometimes around. Robin B., an ex-Brit, was quite active. And visitors, mostly from Seattle.
In 1976, nine of us went to the Valley for the autumn. Daryl, John A., my brother and I went in John's van. Eric came down on his own, later. John B. also. Scott, Dave L., and Perry took the bus. The first time they got to the border, the amused immigration people asked for a permission letter from Dave's mother. He was then 15. Of course they had to go back to get one. When they got back to the border, there was yet more amusement amongst the guards. Not something they saw every day.
They staggered into Camp 4 a few afternoons later, as I think they'd ended up on the milk run. As Scott said, "It went better when we got to Portland, and a guy got us some beer, which we sat in the back drinking".
In other developments, Steve S. and Hugh B. popped up in summer 1975, and finished the Breakfast Run line on Tantalus Wall. I saw Steve lead Tantalus Crack in about ten minutes, and was very impressed.
More tomorrow or Thursday - climbing on the Apron, cracks, new routes, and walls from 1976 on.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Sep 10, 2008 - 05:07pm PT
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Slow indeedy he moves.
Anders,
Shame on you...
You been postin' up a cuple years now and it took you this long to pony up with this stuff??
And DBL shame for not buyin' the young Tami her beers.
Carry on!!!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Sep 10, 2008 - 05:37pm PT
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And DBL shame for not buyin' the young Tami her beers
Indeed. But don't worry, the poor little lass had plenty of other folks willing to supply her with beers and such.
You been postin' up a cuple years now and it took you this long to pony up with this stuff??
I've got a few crates of slides and prints from the 70s and 80s at Sqaumish stashed in the basement somewhere, and will try to scan some of them for this thread... If this thread lives for a little longer, that is. I'm going to be on the road for the next couple of weeks (Miami first, which sucks dead rats, but then a week in the Needles, which I hope won't suck at all), but when I get back I'll see what I can find.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sep 10, 2008 - 09:14pm PT
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Thanks - I'll try to get more stuff up later. No promises. I'm sure the thread will vanish during the FaceLift, then reappear as more is added. I really do hope others add their stories and photos - it would add a lot. I've got the whole thing saved as a word document, in case it's needed elsewhen.
I'd been thinking about a thread like this for a while, but was very sidetracked by family and work responsibilities over the last year. It takes a lot of time. There are some Canadians who participate in SuperTopo, but I wasn't sure if there'd be much interest, or if this was the right place. The Canadian climbing websites I know of don't have these sort of reports, although perhaps there should be a link from them. I may even get criticized for not putting this on a 'Canadian' site, or for doing it at all. A balancing act.
I've mostly abbreviated last names to initials, in case anyone's sensitive about their name/picture appearing. And they can be removed, if need be.
Tami reminds me of some faces and names. Not sure how I forgot Simon T., who was quite active then and now. I do remember lanky Randy appearing then, and have a good bouldering picture of him to post later. Kon K. was around, but I don't remember him climbing much - Ghost may know more? I don't remember seeing much of Kevin Mc., although he was around, and did a few things. I think he was more focussed on alpinism then, and didn't do much at Squamish until the early 1980s. Jim C. also appeared in 1976.
Then there's the question as to when Ghost (David H.) appeared. I certainly remember him from early 1977.
I don't remember meeting Peter C. or Richard S. until early 1978, but both had much experience by then. Perhaps they drifted in in 1976, and I missed them in 1977 as I was in the mountains a lot. Same for the others mentioned.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sep 11, 2008 - 01:49am PT
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We’ll now talk a bit more about Squamish guidebooks, a subject of some interest. Today I got a note from a friend, who it turns out is a Taco-lurker. He first climbed at Squamish in 1961/62, with Jim Baldwin amongst others. He sent scans of a few pages from a handwritten guide that Jim wrote, in 1962. Jim’s guide was later typed out and circulated in mimeograph form, and I have a copy of it. This post will just be a few pages from Jim’s guide, followed by a few posts about Diedre through the ages. Then I promise there will be some climbing photos.
All stories and photos, throughout the thread, copyright © Me (that is, MH), 2008, unless someone else took a photo, in which case copyright that person. Some of the following photos are excerpts of things copyright © someone else.
First, the handwritten version of Jim’s guide – cover page.
The table of contents.
Page 1 of the typed version:
Table of contents:
The page with the description for Diedre:
Note use of the “6th Class” grades for aid climbs, the route names, and the free grades.
(I don’t have Clint’s scanning skills, so these are bigger files than I’d like, at lower resolution. Hopefully readable.)
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sep 11, 2008 - 01:55am PT
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Diedre Through the Ages I
The next guidebook was in 1964/65, a sub-chapter in “A Climber’s Guide to the Coastal Ranges of British Columbia” (Dick Culbert). Here is its description of Diedre:
Then, of course, Glenn Woodsworth’s 1967 “A Climber’s Guide to the Squamish Chief and Surrounding Areas”
Dick redid the part of his guidebook for mountains and climbs within weekend range of Vancouver, in 1974, in his “Alpine Guide to Southwest B.C.”. It had both a description and a photo for Diedre:
And then Gordie Smaill’s 1975 “Squamish Chief Guide”:
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sep 11, 2008 - 02:11am PT
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Diedre Through the Ages II
Moving right along, here’s the description and photo from 1980s “A Climber’s Guide to the Squamish Chief”. (photo by Ghost)
The photo appears as though a three year old had been doodling on it, which has some resemblance to the truth.
There were two supplements in 1984 – “Rock Climbs of the Little Smoke Bluffs” (Jim Campbell) and “Squamish the New Freeclimbs” (McLane), neither of which of course included Diedre. Then, in 1985, Jim Campbell came out with his topo guide, “Squamish Rock Climbs”. It was 8.5” x 11”, and a few years later he produced a reduced-size version. Description (brief) and topo, but no photo.
(Copy from a route ticker.)
The most recent guides for Squamish as a whole were in 2004 and 2005 – we’re fortunate to have such choice. Marc Bourdon came out with the second/third edition of “Squamish Select” in 2004:
The third full edition of Kevin McLane’s “Climbers Guide to Squamish” was in 2005:
It appears that Diedre has gotten harder as the years have passed, despite advances in technique, equipment, and knowledge.
Other Squamish guides:
“Squamish New Climbs 1992 -95” (McLane, 1995)
“A Guide to Sport Climbing in Squamish and the Sea to Sky Corridor” (Bourdon & Tasaka, 1998)
“Climbers Guide to Squamish” (McLane, 1999)
“Squamish Select” (Bourdon & Scott Tasaka, 2000)
“Squamish Bouldering” (Peter Michaud, 2000)
“Squamish Bouldering” (Bourdon & Tasaka, 2003)
“Squamish Select” (Bourdon & Tasaka, 2004)
“Squamish Big Walls” (Matt Maddaloni, ~2005)
“Climbers Guide to Squamish” (McLane, 2005)
There are also a few short publications – crag topos and such – which aren’t widely known.
The mountain is properly called the Stawamus Chief, or I suppose could even be the Sta-a-mish Chief. Another name was recently suggested, and I’ll try to find it. Anyway, most guide writers dexterously avoid the spelling issue by saying the guide is to Squamish, rather than the Chief.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Sep 11, 2008 - 02:41am PT
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Tami said: I leaned back against the backpack and gear strewn about and........fell asleep.
Yup. Did that same thing at around the same time -- maybe a year or two earlier, but definitely in the 70s. John Wittmayer (whom none of you have ever heard of but who was a supremely talented climber) and I decided one afternoon that we should climb the Grand Wall. Since it was clearly too late to start that day, we sat around making plans and drinking, and making plans, and smoking, and making plans. At about 10:30 we realized we'd better get moving if we wanted to hit the liquor store on our way to Squamish (it closed at 11).
So we did that, and headed north in John's wife's microbus, drinking, planning, smoking, planning, etc. When we got to Squamish we parked on Psyche ledge, and since it was hardly even past midnight, we decided to do some more planning. This involved opening the jug we had picked up at the liquor store, and also filling the pipe a couple of times. Once all the planning was done, we set the alarm for 4:30 and went to sleep.
Two hours later, when the alarm woke us, we packed up and headed up the trail. Because of all the planning we'd done, we decided to cheat a little bit and hike up a ledge system to the base of the bolt ladder, skipping the textbook start, which involved two or three pitches of actual climbing.
John had won the draw, or lost it, and was assigned the first pitch. I put him on belay (same hip belay that Tami was using in the story above) and made myself comfortable on the ledge. John clipped the first bolt off the end of the ledge, and led upward.
Now, if you've done much aid climbing, you understand that time passes differently for the leader and the belayer. For John, half an hour or so went by as he bumbled his way up a ladder that had hangers only on every third or fourth bolt. For me, no time passed at all until I woke up with the rope lying on the ground beside me and John a hundred feet above me and about five hundred feet above the ground. Needless to say, I wasn't anchored to anything (who needs to tie in on a ledge below a bolt ladder?)
"JOHN"
"Yeah?"
"We gotta talk."
"Huh?"
So we had a little chat, in which I told him I could probably jug the route as long as I could sleep through every one of his leads. It took him a while to undestand that this meant no belays, but eventually he decided that even though he was feeling fine and manly, his partner obviously wasn't up to the challenge.
Down he came to the ledge. Down we scrambled to the top of the trail. Down the trail we started to hike, with John explaining at every step how deeply disappointed he was at my lightness. But then, coming up the trail who do we meet but Keith Nannery, on his way to solo the Grand.
John asked Keith if he would like a partner. Me reminding him that maybe last night had taken a toll on him as well as on me was to no avail. He was burning to get up the thing, and although Keith was kind of keen on the solo, he eventually relented and said he wouldn't mind some company.
Up went John and Keith to do their manly thing, while down went I, to sleep for hours and hours in the van. And because I was asleep, I missed seeing John take a factor-two fall off the Sword pitch (seems he was too wrecked to do it free, and too wasted to remember to place any gear). I didn't see it, being asleep and whatnot, but I heard all about it later. John, with his last vestiges of intelligence, realized as he started to peel off the wall that unless he did something extremely manly, he would deck on the ledge about twenty feet below. So, he pushed and twisted himself outward in what was described by a witness as a perfect swan dive, and cleared the ledge.
Of course, when the rope came tight he was rocketed head first into the wall below and lost consciousness. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet (really unusual thing to do back then), and he survived without damage. Keith wasn't so lucky. He was belaying on a Figure 8 off the anchor, and his hand got sucked into the device and burned to the bone as the rope ran over it.
Fine old times.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 11, 2008 - 02:43am PT
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I'm still laughing at Gordies first ascent description of "Bloodlust".
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