Climbing Rambles and Banana Peel in Squamish
Recently myself and Spring got to climb a fun multi-pitch route in Squamish. We linked two climbs together, the first called “Rambles” and the second called “Banana Peel” making for 11 pitches in total. It goes at a relaxed 5.7 but it’s pretty run-out in spots. There are also a lot of pitches which only nose into Class 5 in difficulty. This would be our first multi-pitch climb together so we wanted to focus on our climbing systems, protecting while lead climbing and moving efficiently. We also got to get some “Alpine climbing” conditions for the last few pitches when it started raining on us. You really learn to place protection only when you need to when you are climbing against the rain you see approaching on the horizon. Thankfully the rock wasn’t fully slick by the time we topped out and we escaped without any falls. We’re looking forward to many more rock climbing adventures in the future… with hopefully less rain....
Scarpa Crux Approach Shoe Review
Bottom Line: A comfortable approach shoe for getting to the base of your climb. Useful also for light climbing and bouldering to warm up. Rubber soles stick to rock really well, and the side webbing allows for increased precision when balancing on small foot holds. I love them! First Impressions and Observations: Before getting the Scarpa Crux approach shoes I had never tried them on before. I just picked my size and when they arrived they fit perfectly out of the box. Awesome! Scarpa has achieved an exceptional balance between making these comfortable but also functional. The suede molds to the shape of my foot well allowing for a relaxed feel. However, these shoes also perform well for climbing. Scarpa has reinforced the forefoot by using webbing with kevlar. This holds the shoe tight to ball of the foot allowing for better precision. The rubber toe rand is also a nice feature for getting a bit of extra protection where it counts. The Vibram Vertical rubber on the soles of these shoes is amazing. It grips to rock and gives a sense of confidence similar to rock shoes. Previously when I’d get to the crag I’d change into my rock shoes and do some warm ups on the rock. Now, I stay in these approach shoes for my warm up. Pros: Comfortable for use all day Light and simple construction Sticky rubber soles for rocky hiking, scrambling or light climbing Kevlar reinforced webbing around the ball of the foot Cons: Feet can get warm on hot days. Not very breathable. Friends may become jealous and steal them while you are climbing in your rock shoes Buy it if: You’re tired of going climbing and wearing your sneakers, which don’t work well on wet rock. It’s a pain to constantly be switching from rock shoes to your normal shoes just for some light bouldering or warm up climbing. You want a shoe that you can wear around town and use at the crag. Places to Buy: The Scarpa Men’s Crux is available at Altitude-Sports.com ...
“Déjame Vivir” Review
“Déjame Vivir” or, translated into english “Let me live” is the second installment in the “Summits of my life” series about Kilian Jornet. Kilian has been a household name in Ultrarunning in Europe for a while now but I only found out about him last year when I started seeing trailers for the first installment of his “Summits of my life” series, called “A fine line” bubbling to the top of my news feed. It instantly grabbed my attention because here was a guy, wearing basic running clothes, bouncing along precipitous ridge crests with ease without any of the modern accoutrements that mountain goers use, such as crampons, ice axes, helmets, etc. There was something mesmerizing about the purity of an individual, unencumbered, moving swiftly over technical terrain that drew me in and made me take note of this person. “Déjame Vivir” covers Kilians exploits in 2013, centering mostly on his goal to break the speed record on the Matterhorn. Were the first installment “A fine line” introduced Kilian and explained his upbringing and motivations, this second installment does an excellent job of filling out the details about what keeps him driven now and how he lives day to day. What the viewer learns is that Kilian is not a man driven by ego or competition or fame but by a childlike curiosity to simply explore. To simply be in the mountains and see what can be accomplished with the human body. We are introduced to his circle of friends, his girlfriend, the equally talented Emelie Forsberg and close friend, the 22 year old, Mathéo Jacquemoud, who has the face of a 12 year old but the Ski Mountaineering skills of a veteran. Mathéo also has a hilarious Grandmother who downplays his skyrunning as “going for a walk with friends”. Throughout the documentary we are given a brief overview of the history of Skyrunning in Europe, Kilians interest in it and the exploits of one Bruno Brunod, the athlete who originally set the speed record on the Matterhorn. Kilian admired Brunos achievements from a young age and wishes to repeat them himself. The culmination of Kilians year of racing, skyrunning and training on the Matterhorn is his attempt to beat Brunos record in the last act. The footage is simply amazing and Kilians POV video from running along the knife edge ridge towards the summit is dizzying. I don’t believe I blinked once while watching Kilian descend from the summit in an almost free fall along the fixed ropes on the route. The documentary left me wanting more and inspired me to push myself further and expect more from...
Acorns, Part 1: Coho Park and the Smoke Bluffs
“Mighty Oaks from little Acorns grow” I’ve been thinking for a while now about doing a series chronicling our first humble forays into learning to explore the wild. I’ve never really documented them in any way and I think I’ve learned some important lessons from reflecting on them. I’ll get into what I feel those lessons are in the later parts of this series. Something that I feel is unique about myself and Spring is that we have learned almost everything about the activities that we engage in, in the Outdoors, since we moved to Canada a few years ago. Before arriving in Canada I had no idea what Gore-tex was, or Vibram. If you’d uttered the words Gaiter, Crampon or Adze to me while I was living in Ireland I’d have imagined you were speaking a foreign language, don’t get me started on randkluft, krummholz and bergschrund. I’d never owned a tent, sleeping bag or even a pair of hiking boots before coming to Canada in 2010. This may seem odd to many people in Canada, at least in the West, where a connection with nature seems to be a part of the cultural tradition but in the Capital of Ireland, Dublin, where I am from, I was happy to spend all of my time in cities and suburbs, watching movies at the cinemas and meeting friends to chat in coffee shops. Cities do a great job of providing ample amounts of distraction to keep you from leaving their walls and streets behind for the untouched wilds. So what changed? Well when we moved to the town of Squamish, British Columbia, in the Spring of 2010 myself and my wife knew absolutely no one here. We also knew absolutely nothing about the town. Really, our decision to come here was based on the fact that it was north of a large city, Vancouver, and south of a resort town, Whistler. Hiking or climbing near Squamish was not even a consideration. Thinking back I remember imagining that I might just replicate my life from Ireland in Canada. I would meet friends in the city for coffee and take in a film at the cinema. In Ireland I had been meeting up with friends to play a video game called “Street Fighter IV”. I had been taking it quite seriously and actually wanted to start playing in competitions. I imagined starting a “Street Fighter IV” community in Squamish. Amongst my sparse belongings that I brought with me from Ireland was a large, arcade style, gaming joystick along with other gaming controllers and a host of other gaming equipment. I can’t...
