It was slightly overcast, an early day in April, a spring chill in the air – just perfect for a long route.  My girlfriend Lydia Zamorano was up for climbing the Chief (as usual), but we didn’t have time for Angels Crest or The Ultimate Everything, so we opted to climb the Squamish Buttress.  We figured we could do it fast enough by now.  With bullet packs and chalk bags, we soloed up Banana Peel into Boomstick Crack, 5.7, then worked our way through the forest.  By the time we got to the first 5.9 moves it had started sprinkling a little, and the wind had picked up dramatically – blowing the chalk from our bags and whipping it across the South Gully.  We pulled on our hats.  When we got to the 5.10c, we were both so cold and unmotivated rappelling down seemed like a better option.  Away we went.

One month before this, I was up on the Prow Wall working on one of my projects, and I kept looking back across at the Squamish Buttress thinking how cool it would be to trend left to the obvious ledge system and scramble to the top, “it would make for an awesome escape route”.  Not too many days after this realization, I ran into my smiling friend Jamie Selda a mellow and motivated guide living here in Squamish. He told me he saw the same line, and thought the only way to connect the two would be to link the dyke feature into the ledges.  He stoked the fire. It was the missing link.

As Lydia and I worked our way down that day, we ended up nearly face to face with the diagonally leaning dyke, and being on the North Face of the South Gully we were quickly sheltered from the biting cold.  But there were no holds.  Only a bleak seam 20 feet to the left.  So with a surprising amount of skepticism, I uncoiled the rope and began a journey up the seam.  Cleaning mud from the crack for hands and feet, I could barely get any gear, my feet skated on the wet moss, and I began to wonder if this was a terrible idea.  I was suddenly high above my last small piece, in running shoes nonetheless, and practically lunging for the ledge.  I stuck it, mantled it and built a belay.  Lydia came up with a smile on her face which indicated to me ‘it was safe to continue‘.   So I flipped over the rope and took off on a ledge that was smothered in bushes and branches and carpets of moss.  It was the most fun I had had all day – not knowing which way to go – the idea that we might get stuck somewhere in the gully and have to rappel was sort of exciting, but even more than that, the idea that we might actually get to the top somehow – uncontrollably, a war whoop leapt from my lungs.  I scampered up a curving offwidth pitch with my back to the wall, smearing my feet up the grimy ramp and laybacking the edge (which is much easier than getting stuck inside) I found another belay and brought up my sweet lady.  Again, she was all smiles and rosy cheeks, our noses were running, our ears were red, but we were having an adventure in our own back yard.

And that, is how the hardest week of my life all began.  Smirk!

A look down onto the North Face (click to enlarge) – a keen eye can see two climbers topping out the Regular Route, and also see the half moon scoop I’ve been referring to, (to the left).

THE AMBITIOUS FOREIGNER

Upon getting home from my trip to the Rocky Mountains last week, I had a mischievous middle finger, so I was fixed on the idea of going back and trying to “tidy it up a tad”.  The same day we arrived home, my good friend Ben Moon landed in Squamish (from Portland, Oregon) for a week with nothing to do.  Imagine that?  A man without a plan?  I see it now as something rather serendipitous, if it were not for Ben, his open mindedness, his enthusiasm and his strong rowers back, this climb would most certainly still be a sitting pile of mud, a Guatemalan transplant, so to speak.

I took him up the climb and it was just as filthy as I remembered, but immediately he saw what I saw and pulled back a patch of soil to reveal what I had hoped, a beaming hunk of perfect white granite.  His eyes lit up and he knew right away this was worth the trouble.  Ben is my hero, I still don’t know why he chose to get involved exactly, he had no alternative motive, it’s not like he was going to guide it or anything, he just did it because it looked like more fun than work, and, he felt it was the right thing to do I guess.  I thank him for the company, the laughs, and the dried mango with red bulls.

As for me, I’m not just a climber, it’s what I do, it’s what I love, it’s how I make my living.  It’s all connected. So when people ask me why, I tell them it’s because I wanted a mellow solo at the end of a hard day’s work, which is not entirely a joke, but more, I wanted to give Squamish something back, because it has given me so much (say cheese), I wanted to get my hands dirty and create something out of nothing, (all true), I wanted to expose a climb for the first time 5.9 leaders, the soloist, the guides, the lot.  The plan was to relieve traffic jams, and create an alternate exit for those who may be intimidated by the 5.10c finish.  Besides, how long could it take really, 2 days?  At the most right?  No big deal:)

Here are some shots before too much cleaning ensued.

Scoping out the base of the crack.  Can you see the potential?

Here you can see Ben pushing his way through the brush.

emerging (mostly) clean on the other side and wearing the same grin that Lydia had two months before.

Ben leading the last pitch.  This was the last I saw of him until we reached the top.

TEAM SCRUB,  reporting for duty.  SIR.

Me and a hoe, just taking five.

Moondoggie, showing us all how it’s done.

This was a one hour appearance by Andrew Burr, no joke, (just minutes before catching a flight home to his wife and daughter).  Burr is the other American Photographer that hauled his ass up there and worked like a horse.  In fact, I was the only local who put in time,  where were all the Squamish Peeps when we needed them?

taking the pain.  This was one, of our 10 hour days.

So was this…

And this…

However, there could be worse places to hang out and do some PUBLIC SERVICE.

happily dehydrated.

And soloing his way back out.  Notice the layers of mud on his face.

It’s a good thing it’s only 5.9

Evening is upon us, but it’s starting to shape up.

There’s a surprisingly clean spot in the middle there.  Weird.

Here,  Ben Moon is fresh as a daisy,  ready to start the day and do it all over again.  What a psycho!

In the end, it took us 5 days.  Over 70 combined hours of scrubbing and nearly $200 in tools.  A drop in the bucket compared to some new routes out there, and certainly worth it,  as this is now (technically speaking) the most manageable free climb to the summit of the Chief.  Ben and I find it’s a lovely addition, because now it makes the Squamish Buttress a much more mellow and consistent day.  We called it many names over the course of a week, wink, but in the end, we settled on just two…

Public Service 5.9

and/or

The Squamish Buttress, North Face Var, 5.9 (aka The Squamish Butt Face)

Although it won’t be the only climb established this year, nor will it be the best, it might just be the most traveled, so without further ado, I’d like to thank the people involved in making this project go down, seriously, this sort of shit doesn’t happen everyday, nor does it happen alone, so with a deep voice and great gratitude, to the names and links below, this Bud’s for you…

Jamie Selda’s Futuristic Vision.

Lydia Zamorano’s Endless Patience.

Ben Moon’s Hard Ass Work.

Andrew Burr Two hours of hiking, one hour of scrubbing.

And all the sponsors who encourage me to keep climbing, taking pictures and putting up new routes.

FIVE TEN

PATAGONIA

BLACK DIAMOND

JOE ROCKHEAD’S

STERLING ROPES

THE ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA

RYDERS EYEWEAR

PEACE OUT and happy scrubbing, er, I mean, climbing, yes, happy (and safe) climbing to all!

As you know, Black Diamond has a KILLER web-site Journal.  It reports new routes, new adventures or just some inspiring eye candy.  I wrote a short story about one of my (many) projects up here in Squamish, and they posted it up last week.  Although I was very busy day and night scrubbing a new route when it came out, I finally had some time to take a peek and share it here.  So if you haven’t already, check out some point and shoot pics of myself and my friend Paul Bride trying the new proj on the Prow Wall.  It’s impeccable stone and it’s going to be fun HARD.  For info on the new route I was referring to check out the Gripped News Page.  I’ll post more here early this week so stay tuned.  Basically,  it was a fucking riot up there.  My friend Ben and I cleaned a line with super immaculate climbing that goes at 5.9 (yes, 5.9, not a sandbag) and probably the easiest way to the Summit of the Chief.  So that’s cool.  Until that post comes…here you go… hope it’s a great weekend for y’all.

www.blackdiamondequipment.com

www.gripped.com

So after the ACC Youth Climbing Camp last week, I took two days off to chill out, sleep in and drink coffee – but then heavy rain paid a visit to the Bow Valley for two more long, soggy days.  All I wanted to do was drag Lydia up an 8 pitch sport climb, with an hour and a half approach (and descent) and eat sushi.  Is that too much to ask?  After a week long intense yoga retreat and another week of teaching yoga and doing a workshop in Canmore, Lydia (my wonderful girl) needed no convincing to go climbing for a day, she was, how do you say… jonesing.  But with two weeks off, she wasn’t sure she was up to the task physically, which she always says, but then crushes anyway, because she’s a freaking ninja.  The goal:  to climb Tall Storey, 5.11c in Echo Canyon, it’s a new route, only climbed twice before, but of incredible quality.   We stuck it, Lyds let me lead every pitch and she free’d the whole thing behind me,  so rad for a lady off the couch, but not surprising in the least.  A few photo’s to prove our claim of actually being on the route.

I have some opinions about the climb (most notably about the descent, as it was dangerous), some pictures and some video I will get to sharing later this week, but I don’t have any time tonight.  Tonight, I am destroyed.  Today, I scrubbed and have never worked so hard for a 5.9 in my entire life.

So, where was I, oh yah, in short, we did one more day at Lake Louise, (the Goblin Arete another 5.11c MEGA CLASSIC) and then departed for the best place on earth, Squamish.  Some more pictures of The Goblin Wall and the view from the anchors.

Okay, so now, I’m back in Squamish, just in time to catch the tail end of the Squamish Film Festival, what a party.  Lots of great people here, it’s so nice to have so many world class people come to our tiny town to celebrate the passion we all share for this odd but exhilarating activity.  Climbing.  What a concept.  Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell are both here right now, they’ve been attempting Cobra Crack a little with my man Pee Wee, they say it’s painful, but they say that with a smile, so it’s the good kind of pain, not the bad kind.  The new beta is OUTSTANDING.  Kick-flip, right foot, heel toe hook, latch, scratch, top.  As for me, I’ve been putting in my time SCRUBBING,  yes, scrubbing, not climbing, at all and let me say, scrubbing in Squamish is harder on the motivation (AND THE ELBOWS) than anything else you are likely to do here.  I’ve been getting the beat down on this new route I’m working on,  and while I’m at it,  let me be the first to say, that when it’s complete – YOU WILL ALL WANT TO CLIMB IT.  Yes, even YOU!   It’s going to be a semi-classic.  ha ha ha.  For sure.  Here’s a picture of my man Ben Moon who is in town for a few days and who was so unlucky enough for me to recruit him as a gutter boy.  There’s plenty of dirt that needs to fall before we release this puppy to the world.  But we’re nearly there, and although we (Lydia, Ben and I) have already free climbed it, it’s in no condition to start bragging about it, ha ha ha!  But soon.  Enjoy the pictures,  and latter, enjoy the route.

yes, that’s a rake in my hand.

yes, that’s a broom in Ben’s pack.

some walk on water, others…

only the beginning.

A tasty section of 5.7

Benjamin, all SMILES at the end (or was it the middle?) of a very, very. very hard days worked.

Why bring a camera at all – if you’re not going to take the mandatory, (some say cliche) rope coiling by setting sun shot?  ha ha.  Took me 50 takes to get it all just right.  No seriously, that’s a joke, I was just coiling the rope because it needs to be done,  Ben’s just got fast fingers on the trigger is all.  Okay, that’s it for now,  if you’re still with me here, pat yourself on the back, if you’re not, I don’t blame you, the world is full of amazing things to do.  But I thank you for dropping in,  happy adventures everybody.  It’s a good time to be alive.

Well, another camp has come and gone, and the girls killed it (if I do say so myself).  This past week, The Alpine Club of Canada hosted the second annual Under 25 Climbers Camp.  We had five days to turn five promising young ladies into all around mountain crushers.  Many of them only had gym experience, some of them had a rack of cams and nuts, others had never done a drop knee before, or a dyno.   It was the job of Jen Olsen and I to take them from A-Z, and back again.  Sport climbing, trad climbing, multi-pitch sport, and multi-pitch trad.  These four topics include a tremendous amount of information, from basics like clipping draws and cleaning anchors, to placing and waiting gear to building and equalizing anchors.  From a day at the crag to a day on the summit.  Pictures below.

One thing I noticed while staying at the Alpine Club’s main clubhouse, was the wall of fame, the past presidents for the last 100+ years.  One observation I made was that a surprising amount of the Clubs leaders, lived very long, very active lives, most ranging from mid 80’s to nearly 100 years old.  To me, this is incredible.  They say climbing and guiding in the mountains is hard on the body, but many of these lifers claimed 100’s of first ascents all over BC and Alberta, and they climbed hard very late into their lives.  It’s incredibly inspiring.  I feel a little bit sad when I see 40 and 50 year old tourists hanging around the Chateau of Lake Louise, asking questions about climbing and the hike, many of them telling me they “will never be able to do it”, or they say, “oh – no, I’m too old for that”.   It pains me,  they are already thinking old, and injured and in some way, are giving up.  I feel their spirit is a little lost.  So here is my question, does climbing in the mountains keep you young and strong, or is it the young at heart that are attracted to climbing mountains in the first place?   Does climbing add years to your life, or, is it because these presidents were so talented and already fit, or had strong genetic codes, that enabled them to climb for so many years and live such long vibrant lifestyles.  Personally, I like to think the rational answer is BOTH, – the moral of the story is to never give up right?

Enjoy the pictures.

Broken rock (directional) at Grassi,  this is what you get for slinging threads in the rockies. My bad.

Class is in Session.

Notice the chalk bag from Thailand. Awesome.

Ground Up, lead climbing, boo-ya.

Pocket pulling limestone.

HA LING, NORTH EAST RIDGE. 5.6. TICK.

The approach takes about an hour at the most.

And the view sucks every step of the way.

It’s obviously good fun, but expect lots of choss, wear a helmet people.

The mega corner pitch that makes the whole trip worth it.

Summit success, the girls and their loaded guns.

The ever incredible, LAC LOUISE.

Lowering from the chains, of yet another worthy 5.9 quartzite delight.

Yesterday, (Happy July 4th everyone, and what should probably be called, International RV’ing DAY) I drove from Squamish BC to Canmore, Alberta.  It’s by far the easiest 10 hour drive on the planet. Skirt along Vancouver, over to Hope and past Yak peak, Salmon Arm beaches, Revelstoke charm, Rogers Pass delight, Golden, Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore,  soooo easy.  I crashed up at the Alpine Club last night on the deck, and woke up to this view at 6am this morning.  Not too shabby eh!  Who needs Switzerland and Italy, when you got the Alps right here in our own back yard.  Time for a cappuccino and a chocolate Croissant I think.  Tomorrow may never come.

I

Well, another Canada D-eh, has come and gone, as of July 1st.  143 years and three days of quality beaver coats, ice hockey and Mayple syrup.  Yup, just a puppy we are.  Born in 1867, which is not too long before Jeanne Calment of France, born in 1875, who FYI was the oldest confirmed centenarian before she died in 1997, after living for 122 years.  Now that’s something to celebrate.  Something Canadians are not celebrating too much these days is the announcement of the latest tax release, the HST.  We are officially, the highest taxed country in the world right now.  Which is just fine with me, our hospitals and highways are in great shape (generalizing of course).

Speaking of highways, I’m leaving tomorrow in my new/old mini van for the Canadian Rockies, (10 hours, rugged) which if you’ve ever been, you’ll know they are one of the Worlds most pristine natural wonders. I’m off for the ACC Under 25 Climbing Camp.  Should be a hoot.  Everything from basic movement skills, to building and equalizing natural anchors off chossy blocks of limestone.  Grin.

However there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to leave. I’ve been having too much fun here in Squamish lately, the weather’s been quite incredible the last few weeks, cool, crisp and windy, ideal for anything outdoor related.  I tried a few projects, made some great progress on some, and not so much on others.  I think the one I’m most excited about is a new free climb (old Maddaloni aid line) shown to me by Will Stanhope, who heard about it from Zack Smith.  Will’s already put in a shit pile of work on this rig over the last few months, and he’s got it ready to fire.  He floats through the cruxes, but the moves aren’t his issue anymore, it’s a stamina line, there’s not one single place to relax on the 60 foot venture, always tense, always straining.  Here he is below, placing a nearly blind cam behind the undercling, feet pasted on glass, the pump clock is ticking.  April Shannon Foto?  Note the warrior paint under his eyes.

And again below, (Ryan Olson foto I think), taking the whipper from the upper crux.  A fall from the last move would be a heart stopping event.  The only way to make certain the leader doesn’t deck is a heavy, experienced belayer, with long arms, who runs back and reels in the slack.  The climb is as exciting as they come…

I’ve been on it 5 times, and it doesn’t feel any easier than the first time.  I took a break mid afternoon and ran a top rope lap on ‘Lake of Fire’, which is a 5.13+ that shares the same finish as 69, when I came back to Will’s route, I fell three times.  Stout.  I hope the pleasant weather remains for a couple more weeks until it’s in the bag.  It will be one of Squamish’s hardest trad lines for sure, but more than that, one of the BEST.   Much Luck William.

On a side note.  Does anyone know why there are so many random bolts these days?  It seems there is one (or more) people out there with a drill that probably shouldn’t have them.  I think you know who you are, how could you not?  Please, please, please, before placing any more bolts, ask around, talk to people, lots of people – it will save others from getting upset, it will save them going out and chopping it, and it will save Squamish as a community if we can discuss where bolts should be placed and why.  And I’m not just talking about safety bolts on routes or rap rings, although that’s also a concern, someone added a bolt to Silent Menace, about a foot away from another bolt, weird, and an anchor to Penny Lane, tsk, tsk, etc, etc, but I’m talking about bolts on boulders and on slabs in the grand wall forest.  Here is a picture below I took of my buddy Chris, just below Permanent Waves, now what the F is this bolt doing here, especially when any boulder could be slung if need be?  Please enlighten us?  Or what about the bolt below Rip Riot?  You know, the totally random one on the ramp, beside the obvious crack with the pile of dust around it?  What’s that doing there?  What purpose does it have?  Is it for rigging?  Does anyone know?  Was someone practicing placing bolts?  I’m so curious, It’s perplexing to me.  I beg you, whoever is doing this, please exercise plenty of caution, respect and awareness when adding bolts to the Squamish corridor.  You are free to do so of course, this is Canada after all, you can do whatever you like, and I know this is a bit of a arduous topic, but at the same time, we are in charge of policing ourselves out there, and it’s imperative that we work (and drink) together, from time to time.  That is all.  I gotta go charge my drill battery now. Peace.

Here’s some very recent images from my teeny tiny point and shoot camera, the Canon S90.  Somehow I’m able to snap more pics cause it fits in my pocket and thus, it’s more readily available in a pinch.  The pics never turn out as crisp as an SLR, but they’re not completely terrible either.  This is a snappy of NEW YORK CITY from a moving car (about two weeks ago), I just thought the graveyard was a crazy foreground to the massive buildings in the back.  Click to enlarge.

United States most populous city looks just like it does in the movies.  High energy, a constant stream of electricity.  With the Nor’Easter Crew, Joe Kind Kid and Abbey Smith, we drank and bar hoped until 5am after this shot was taken, it was fun times at the time, but the next morning it seemed like a terrible idea, but in the very end, I was glad we did it, how often do you get to party down in mighty Manhattan?

Below is the kitchen of climbing legend, Russ Clune.  That’s him there on the left, drinking a beer like any legend should.  He also hunts, and smokes, and is ripped like Bruce Lee.  His entire basement is a climbing wall, and since he’s lived in New Paltz for the last 30 years or so and climbed basically everything there is to do at the Gunks, he now spends more time on the woody, dreaming about Yosemite and European Limestone.  He cooked us the most incredible venison and we talked hangboards.  What a bro.  Outside his back door, is the sparkling white quartz conglomerate looming above, beckoning to be enjoyed.  If only it would stop raining.

Climbing.  Here’s the Sting, a 5.11d, that somebody told me was 5.11a?  what the hell?  It was more like 5.12a/b and like most classics in the Gunks, (if not all) it was entirely gear protected, a Russ Clune F.A.  Sooo goooolden.  Lots of big moves to delectable slots, and bomber cams.  It don’t get much better.

Upon getting home I saw these dirtbags drinking coffee in the Nesters Market parking lot, it’s good to be back.

On the same morning I began a great week of rock guiding.  We had a wonderful gentleman from Tokyo come visit us here and I had the honor and the pleasure of showing him around all the five star classic climbs of Squamish.  He left on Friday, so it’s been nice to get back on some of my own projects this weekend, and see where I’m at.  Below is TL on Exasperator 5.10a

And here again, on the Split Beaver 5.10g.  Smoke Bluffs.  I wanted him to learn his stacking technique, it took him some time, but he got it.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who is completely horrified by this company’s logo and message in general?  Seriously, What The F?

At first I thought it was a sick joke, but then I realized it’s fully legit.  Now, I’m all for clever marketing, artistic expression and a warm glow in your kitchen, but Cover the Earth, red?  C’mon, these guy’s aren’t even pretending to be smart or conscious in any way.  If I were in charge, I’d do him and a favor and let go of the marketing director pronto, I’d probably film it and post it on youtube, the graphic artist should know better and simply walk away in shame and take up a new career voluntarily, and the fleet of Vans owned by the likely heartless Sherwin-Williams company, should be re-painted (covered) with EPIC White Stallions, jagged cliffs and Wild Cats on the side and donated to dirtbag climbers around the country, the dirtiest dirt bag gets first dibs and so on…

From this,

and this,

To this.

Boooooooooooooooo – YA.

S.

I’m sorry it’s been a while, (like a whole week), but life takes time to settle back into sometimes from a road trip, I still haven’t unpacked.  For those who don’t know, I was lucky enough to be in Southern California for a short time last week during a cool spell of weather, visiting Five Ten and chasing blue skies and dry rock.  My new/old van made it with flying colors, 2 days to get there, two days to get back.  Above is a CLASSIC picture of someone (presumably Hidetaka?  or Mike Paul? ) climbing Stingray 5.13,  the line I was interested in during my 8 day stay in Joshua Tree, (1980’s?)  I LOVE THIS SHOT so much.

I’m happy to share the news that I did in fact squeeze out an ascent of this truly INCREDIBLE crack climb.  This is an Andrew Burr picture of me climbing just after the crux bulge (which isn’t really visible in this picture) but as you can see, you get your FIRST REAL foothold.  That’s Pee Wee from Montreal in the background,  (not to be confused with Bonjour Pee Wee from Denver)belaying from the slab.  You may remember him from many cutting edge crack ascents, most notably La Zebre, in Val David.

The last crux moves, near the top are not nearly as hard as the lower half, (but equally as good) and the climbing is still very sustained.  Placing gear can be strenuous because of the right leaning nature of the climb, it’s hard to see your placements clearly, the rock can be complex, like picking a pad lock with a paper clip.  There’s a semi-fixed nut in the photo above me, placed from another climber trying the route, but not clipped on lead. Oh I’m so pure.  ha ha ha.  Geeek.

Below is a different, broader perspective.  I love the look of the rocks in this one, they look like soft pillows, not the flesh tearing 4 rated grit sandpaper it really is.  ha ha.  I also like the look of the lone rock sitting on top, as though you just wanna go up here and roll it off for some unexplainable reason.  AND just a reminder, If anyone out there is planning to share these images, PLEASE be considerate to the hard work our talented friend Andrew Burr put into capturing them, and PLEASE ask him permission and PLEASE give him proper credit where it’s due.  Thanks.

Mega Pee Wee using his wtf gaze in combination with his strategic taping super glue technique.  Pee Wee Ouellette is a total crack stylist, he makes impossible moves look good, on our last and final day he made a TR ascent with barely two quick takes and so he’ll be back in November to finish what he started.

In closing, I’d say STINGRAY is one of the finest cracks I’ve ever seen in my life.  It’s solid, (relatively speaking) it’s STUNNING in aesthetics, it’s steep, it’s leaning and it’s all by itself.  People NEED to climb this thing more often.  The only drawback is that it has been chipped in the past, aid climbed with the use of metal pitons, the same way that many of El Cap free routes have been climbed.  In my honest opinion, it may not be possible had it not be “aided” first, at least not by common folk like me, even with the pin scars, I could barely wiggle in my not so fat finger tips, one layer of tape was too many, so I went tapeless for the final working attempts, and the redpoint ascent itself.  But this should not be a deterrent, not at all, it’s a remarkable climb with extraordinary movement and a completely dazzling position, it gets no stars in the store bought guidebook, but it gets FIVE stars in mine.

How hard is it?  The climb was difficult to get any confirmed information about.  I read on Gripped.com that a man by the name of Mike Paul made the first Top Rope free ascent of the route in the 80’s.  Awesome.  Then the legendary Hidetaka Suzuki from Japan spent a winter in Joshua Tree where he made the first historical lead ascent, on pre-placed gear, from what I’ve been told, and it was likely one of the hardest in the world at the time.  Then, I heard another rumor that a Joshua Tree local, either flashed it, or “basically” flashed it on Top Rope – which is quite understandable.   I first tried the line this February 2010 for two days and three honest attempts.  I too flashed the opening moves on top rope on day one, and after a moment to rewarm my hands, flashed every sequence towards the anchor.  The climb felt like a 5.13b-ish (give or take) miles harder than Equinox, but not too shabby, and I was ready to make quick progress.  But then I broke a crucial foothold on the lower section (imagine that) along with two less significant footholds, and the climb made a jump in difficulty.  How hard, I have absolutely NO idea.

It took me three more tries just to do the new moves, then three days to feel solid enough to go for the lead.  When I went for it, I sent on my first ground up attempt (Thursday, May 27th) luckily not taking any of the falls we expected to take.  But in the end, the climb took me 7 days.  I basically tried the climb once per day.  The same strategy I used for Just Do it, 5.14c when I was 21, nine years ago.  7 tries over 7 days I think.  So does that make Stingray 5.14c?  Definitely not, I’m probably not as strong or as motivated to be strong as I was when i was in my early 20’s, but I have climbed 79 5.14’s in the last 12 years (super dork, I know, I actually kept count, L is for LOSER), and if this IS a 5.14 (which is HIGHLY possible) it will be my 80′th one, and for me at least, that’s something to celebrate.  I have climbed 5.14 on my second try, I have climbed 5.13d in less than 20 minutes, and Stingray took me 7 days.  Was it because of the pain?  Maybe I’m getting soft, maybe old, ha ha.  Or is it just plain hard?  I don’t really know.  A strong competent climber could do it faster no doubt, I wasn’t going for a speed record, I was playing with it and preserving skin,  having fun with my friend Pee Wee who was also attempting the climb and who has climbed 5.14 cracks in the past and I was hoping to do it it before I left, which I did, but barely.   So I will say this, as far as PURE crack climbs go, (not to be mistaken with trad climbs) it’s the second hardest one I’ve ever done next to Cobra.  If you can climb Stingray, you can climb Cobra, and vice versa.  The real bottom line is that’s it’s truly excellent and I hope future ascents will shed light on it.

I’ll close this one out with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite climbers, Dave Macleod, he puts it so perfectly, “grades are memes that shift around like tectonic plates sometimes, sometimes one pushes others up or down, but they are all floating.” 

P.S.  Thanks for the GOOD times Pee Wee, and you too BURR, always FUN, and you two lads from SLC, ya, u know, thanks for the extra BACON,  YAH!!!!

So, I was able to scrape by two weeks of travel time for this month of May.   It was a hard decision because I wanted to go to Yosemite Valley, but they’re getting WORKED by the weather gods this season, and still even this week they’re getting lots of snow, seems like everything is wet.  such a bummer.  So, my friend Pee Wee and I drove down to Joshua Tree, which is a good 7 hours south of Sacramento, CA, and about as far So as So Cal gets.

The weather here too has been FREAKY, 95 degrees one day, then 60 and cold and windy the next, last night I froze my ass off in the van, as though it was January, I never would have thought May could be like this, it’s anybody’s guess.  But for the most part, it’s just what we expected, the sun is warm and the rock is chossy   We are making attempts on Stingray, but they are few and far between, like one try every other day.  I tried the climb back in February, and it’s truly an amazing line, tight fingers and steep and leaning.  I flashed the crux moves on TR, and thought it felt like a 5.13b-ish.  I was expecting to do the route in a day or two.  But then, UNFORTUNATELY, on my second attempt, I broke the most crucial foothold on the climb, and now, it’s really hard, probably solid 5.13d.  But it’s hard to say because it’s so f ‘n painful. I haven’t stuck the crux yet, but I can link from there to the top, so it might happen any day now, unless I tear a huge flapper, or blow out my elbows, both of which are highly possible,  at the same time even.

Back in Squamish, about two weeks ago, I climbed a project of mine which I was really happy about.  An overhanging arete.  It’s the sort of feature you look up at and WISH it had holds on it.  This one did, but barely.  I tried the line last spring, and found the tiny crimps that linked it all together. It’s incredible movement, knee drops, slopers, heel hooks, lots of squeezing, and a very tedious mantle.  I tried it a few days and was able to link it once or maybe twice, but then it got hot, summer hit, and then my appendix ruptured at the very end of August, which ruined my fall season.  And so it sat all winter.  This spring I went back, and TR’d it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was much stronger than last year.  I did the moves quickly and linked it twice in a row on my second day.  I guess the bouldering paid off.   I reckon the line is a 5.11 to a V10/V11 to a 5.12b.  It’s the direct start to Big Daddy Overhang, so we called it Sugar Daddy, and I suggested a rating of 5.14 because of it’s bouldery nature, an endurance climber might find it hard, a boulderer might find it easy.  We shall see what others suggest.  It’s a brilliant little challenge, incredible movement.  I hope it gets climbed on again soon and repeated, it’s so good.

Okay, so that’s it for now, I have very little time and energy to be writing my journal, I have a guitar to buy and play, lunch to make, a tan to work on, and some beer to drink.  Best wishes to all, thanks for popping in and reading this nonsense.

Sonnie.

This is me sticking the last hard move before the mantle, the gear goes in a horizontal crack behind a large flake about a body length below my feet.  And below is local boy Andrew Boyd, after the mantle but before the 5.12b finger crack.  I swear it’s Soooo gooooood   Please come and try it, you’ll love it.