Coming Down the Pipe for the Month of April – Crack Climbing Camps

I know it’s been too long since I posted but to be honest, I didn’t have much to report. I’ve been teaching a lot, with many days spent in Kindergarten. How about we talk Crack Climbing? The topic of crack climbing got me thinking about holding some Crack Climbing Camps and Trad Leading courses early this season, April to be exact. If you’re a climber and wanted to get after it this season, learning trad skills or working on your crack climbing technique, one of these 2 day courses might be for you. The Crack Climbing Camps are two focused days of coaching on -  movement, body position, hand positions and rest positions to bulk up the climber’s bag of tricks when it comes to climbing cracks. We’ll work on slabby tips to chimney work, from tight hands to rattly fingers. April 2012 Crack Camps If this sounds like just the ticket as an early season kick to your climbing, drop me an email, a call or a comment on my blog for more information. These courses are on a first come first serve basis and are obviously weather dependent so details may change as we get closer to the dates.

I got over to Victoria in January to check out the new addition to Stelly’s “The Boulders” climbing gym in Saanich, BC. This is the highest gym in Canada and an incredible facility for lead climbing. It is, by any stretch of the imagination, the third best crag in BC. The Chief, Horne Lake and then “The Boulders” at Stelly’s Highschool. This is the facility where our Junior National Team trains as well as a new Climbing Academy Program in the highschool itself. Students get credit in grades 9-12 for climbing instruction, learning everything from technique coaching to routesetting, to outdoor skills like trad leading and multipitch. With a 65 foot high gym and professional coaching and instruction, these kids will be the future….

The Winter seemed to be poised to go big but then…miraculously we started to get a few dry days. That was all I needed to keep the home fires burning for dry days on the rock yet to come. Had some excellent days in the Bluffs climbing some of the more bizarre and magical slab routes at Penny Lane. VIMFF also helped, thanks to all who helped make that happen. Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk’s show on the finale night was awesome, an articulate explanation of their experience in Patagonia this winter. RAH!

BUT – this post has more to do with what’s coming up than what has happened already. March 1-4 I’m headed down to Joshua Tree for a long weekend of Granite Classics. I won’t lie, Figures On A Landscape is our goal and I think both Gary Kaufman and I are up to it. After that it’s home for a week and then blast off for Indian Creek for a two week Springbreak rock down. I can not wait, but I have to.

For Feb 22 2012, that’s all for now…

Jan.4th 2012 – A new year begins with responsibility.

The year ended with a summit ascent of the Chief by Myself, Mandoline and her Mum, Francine, in the snow, the slush and the rain. The year began with a late afternoon bouldering wander in the Grandwall Boulders, ending up in the dusk below the Grandwall itself, out in the Apron Talus. Pretty amazing light up there.

December in Squamish-The Magic Begins…

So it’s back to dark, wet, cold, frozen, icey, snowy, muddy, slippery, windy, misty, drizzly Squamish and this has been the common evening vista over the past two weeks. Not bad! The bluffs and blocks have been surprisingly dry despite heavy heavy frost every morning. Time for the tech of slab aretes, slopey rails, wide pinches and smears that feel like standing on the ground. One warm up burn on a fine crack like Werewolves of London in Penny Lane and then it’s straight onto the improbable and implausible Primary Perception. First put up by Andrew Boyd, our local magician, this arete is like attempting a Mensa puzzle with your body. Above is the view as Peter Winter and I walked back to the van after a huge session of 3 whole pitches. Insane! With the forecast looking pretty good for the next week there should be some excitement in the Bluffs and Boulders yet…