It’s so sunny, it’s so beautiful and I have not much more to say,  so many happy climbers, so many friendly faces.  Wanna get chalky and pumped.  By the way, they have a via ferrata up here in the gorge, why do so many climbers feel that via ferrata’s are crap?  Climbers drill holes in the rock too, what makes a free climb more important than a via ferrata?  Just asking?  I did quite a few of them in Europe and thought they were super fun.  Hmmmm…Okay, climb time.

So, I go away for a couple of weeks and come home to a flurry of internet buzz, ‘First Round, First Minute’ 5.15a? “CLOSED”?  Interesting?

This is obviously a scenario that’s been blown way out of proportion but since every person and their mother has weighed their opinion, AND I’m stuck at terminal D at 7:30 am with nothing to do with my life but waiting for a flight to Chicago from Seattle, I’ll join the armchair athletes with my two Canadian cents, even though I know I shouldn’t and don’t deserve to.  Nalle has a right to fly to Spain to climb rocks.  And Chris has a right to politely ask climbers to respect his project.  I personally feel that if Nalle had of just asked Chris in the first place, this probably would have been a positive and exciting thing instead of an inter-web shit show .  I’ve never met Nalle, he seems like a level headed guy, and nice enough, Chris is one of the nicest guys in the world, and I’m sure neither of them want this to escalate any further, but from what I’ve read, this sounds like it all comes down to a blend of mis-communication and a lack for forethought.   SICK PHOTO btw…

I applaud Sharma for standing his ground.  I think anyone would be slightly offended if someone came to try our project without so much as a heads up, especially since it was their first visit and the only route they wanted to try.  I don’t think Chris wanted to say no, but I.m guessing Nalle put him in an uncomfortable situation, and so he did what he felt was right, what anyone would do, he asked for a bit more time.   When I was 22, I once did something to an established climb (sort of by accident) without notifying the first ascentionist first.  I felt terrible when it happened, but the point is, my lack of consideration nearly cost us our friendship.  It’s all good now, but I will try to carry that lesson with me.

Things happen, putting ourselves in other people’s shoes, and imagining how they might feel under the reverse circumstances is all it takes.  I think, Nalle being from Europe all his life, stands by his claim that nothing in Europe is red tagged, therefore it didn’t really cross his mind to ask permission, which is also understandable, I suppose, but if he had, out of respect, I think there would be a much, much greater shot of Chris opening it up.  In conclusion to this pointless dribble, it just seems like a mis-communication, lost in translation type of deal.   I wish them both mucho successo in Spain.  That country is so amazing.

My plane is now leaving,  I’m out.  See you all in Chicago tonight at 7pm – and then the RED RIVER GORGE – and then COLUMBUS – Ohio – STOKKKKKKEEEEDDDD!

OH YAH, back home again, chill’n like a villain, for the whole day, well, most of it anyway.  It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, sorry ’bout that, but it’s been hard to log on lately.  Thank god.  The internet is a life sucking (sometimes useful and usually entertaining tool) but if you don’t have to be on here reading this dribble right now I encourage you to get off immediately, go outside, get your heart rate up, dangle from your tips, explore a new trail, find a new cliff, bolt some new routes, have yourself a picnic, whatever.  If you have no choice but to be stuck inside, working, or otherwise, then okay, you have an excuse, you may read on:))

E-mails have been coming in lately, some people want to know where I went and where I’m going, others want to know if I can guide them this summer up something beautiful, and a few of them want to know how to improve finger strength.  I’ll start with the first…

1. – On March 21st, I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada where I met up with Boy Wonder, some of you may know him by his real name, Alex Honnold.  On May 23rd, Andrew Burr rolled into town in his Toyota Tacoma, which would soon be missing a front tire, but that’s another story.  We drove for more than 24 hours into the heart of Chihuahua, Mexico to climb El Gigante near Basaseachi Falls, near Copper Canyon.  It was an adventure to say the least, but even more, an experience.  We probably should not have gone, we were warned about the dangers multiple times, and after being there, I suggest any interested climbers wait for the green light, there is a lot of chaos going on right now, and nobody can predict how the drug wars will unfold.  I won’t be going back for QUITE some time.   A pic from belay number 16.  Nice cankles eh!  Swell much?

In the end however, we didn’t get shot, we saw some guns, yes, and some marijuana fields, but all in all the folk we met were kind, hospitable and interactive.  If it weren’t for the conflict going on, this place would be like a second Yosemite Valley, for perspective, I feel it’s much, much better than El Portrero Chico, and definitely more wild.  Huge walls, deep gorges, raging water falls, towers galore, a truly majestic place.  Around every corner I expected to see a Unicorn or Teradactyl.   Right now Andy Burr and the Black Diamond team are working hard to help bring this story to life, so I’m not going to say too much, just that we had the best time ever, and we free climbed Logical Progression, 5.13a, 28 (long) pitches, five stars, 15 hours.  I was actually quite shocked that I managed to keep up, considering I haven’t tied into a rope since November.  The ultra sustained climbing wore hard on my body the first day, but my partner Alex was all confidence and my motivation to free climb such a massive beast was strong.  It’s good to feel tired and great to say it’s over.

Andrew Burr Photography pic, Critter Bivy Ledge, day two of our onsight attempt, pitch 18.

2. – I am leaving this Friday for Chicago, IL, to do a slide show at the patagonia store (click on this link).  If you are around, please come out, I’ll have some pictures from Mex, and some video clips from the fall season.  I will also be doing a slide show in Columbus, Ohio the following week on April 23rd for the Ohio State Mountaineers Club.  It’s truly an honor to be invited by this organization, and I can’t wait to meet the members and share these new adventures.  More about that tomorrow. until then, click HERE.

3. – This weekend I had my first Squamish Guiding client of the year, a lovely lady from Vancouver who has never climbed outside before.  I took her to the Smoke Bluffs and gave her a proper tour of the park.  We talked shop, life and I put her on some stiff 5.10’s.  From a season in the gym, she had good strength and balance, but getting used to real rock took some time, not to mention hand jamming and finger locks.  Near the end of the day however, she looked a lot more comfortable, and I could see in her eyes that she’ll be tearing it up this summer.  I look forward to coaching her along.  On that note, I’ll have some time this summer if anyone is interested in learning the ropes, climbing the Chief or working on technique.  Guiding is a great way to spend time on rest days, and I love being busy.  Slots are filling up already, so contact me sooner than later if your interested.  Oh and on a side note, someone stole my quickdraws from an anchor on Sat, I left them there for a reason, NOTE: PLEASE DON’T TAKE ANYTHING THAT DOESN’T BELONG TO YOU, it’s called stealing and you will go straight to hell for doing so.  And if not hell, then maybe a close second, a crowded beach in China.

4. – To improve finger strength, and your overall climbing ability, you gotta do deadhangs.  I’ve said it so many times before, and I’ll say it again, spend more time focusing on your finger tips than your arms and you’ll improve dramatically and develop more confidence on small holds.  The more times you can hang from a small edge, the more prepared you’ll be.  If you can’t afford a decent hangboard, then buy a used hockey stick from a garage sale for a dollar and chop it up into 5 inch pieces.  Sand a few of the edges down so they slope, should take you about 6 minutes.  Then, start dangling and don’t let go, fight like a dog.  Work open hand, closed hand, your first three fingers and your last three fingers, do some pull ups if you’d like, some lock offs, but squeeze the snot out of that piece of wood, rip it off the fuggin wall and you’ll be sending harder than ever,  I swear to you.  If it doesn’t work, you can always try doing this…

Going to Sin City tomorrow, then who knows where….

“GONE FISHING”

If yesterday wasn’t THE MOST beautiful day in Squamish history, I don’t know what was.  Today is looking to be about the same and tomorrow too.  I’ll admit, I have shit to do, essays to write, photo’s to tweak, taxes to file, bills to pay, video’s to edit but I just can’t do it.  Not with skies as blue as these.  There’s just no way, screw it, I’m calling in sick.

Yesterday I stuffed two packs full of gear, ropes, racks, wire brushes and a hand saw and set off for the Second Summit.   There’s a line up there I’ve been eye balling for three years, I could never find a partner who wanted to check it out with me, seems like most of my friends are busy pumping out the next generation of granite masters.  So off I went, Hans Solo Style, with knees buckling under the weight of my 80 meter 11mm static line and all my crap piled on top of it.

Standing on the edge, I took in the view for 2 whole minutes,  then I built an anchor, rapped over the side and spent the better part of five hours moving up and down the rope trying to find a weakness out of this wall.  The exposure is about as intense as Squamish rock can get, it’s 1500 feet straight down.  A drop zone for base-jumpers I believe.  I felt a bit like Tommy Caldwell in Yosemite, but a weaker, skinnier, less committed and more terrified version:)   The crux is that the wall is massive and it traverses significantly, like 150 feet, so in order to make certain that features connected, I had to keep jugging back to the top, moving the rope, rebuilding the anchor and rapping back in again, repeat, repeat, repeat.

BUT…

I think I found a line.   80 percent of it’s going to be difficult and fun, the other 20 percent however is going to be desperate if it goes at all and sharp as all hell.  Razor burn sharp, with no footholds.  Just squeezing the life out of some broken glass like crystal.  That’s if I can even reach between the little fuckers.  We’ll see, I would be very excited to know that it’s got real potential, that it’s possible, but right now, it’s hard to say, I think, I hope, is the best I can offer to you and myself.

Ain’t she beautiful?  Three potential pitches of blistering bliss above.  The sunshine was definitely an injection of motivation for this search, but so has been the BDEL journal.

As we all know, Tommy Caldwell is the “King of the Captain”.  I think TC and Alex Honnold and Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra are the most exciting rock climbers in the world right now. I know there are more, this is just my personal opinion as of today.  I recently read Tommy’s mini essay about his attempts on Mescalito at the Black Diamond website. I’ve been friends with Tommy for a long time, but I’ve been a fan of Tommy for even longer, and I’ve read many of his articles.  This one is short, but it’s as powerful as any I can remember.  REALLY good job Tommy, I loved it.  Keep up the good work on that rig.  We wish you success for all your hard efforts.

PLEASE CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF, NOW. and have a great day….

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, it’s much appreciated.  I’ve gotten some great emails as well, and honestly, it’s not an easy choice to make, the odds that anything will happen are probably tiny, but the odds that if something did happen it will end in violence, are significant.  So lets change the mood here shall we?  Here’s an email I got from a friend yesterday, hilarious fairy tale…

“Once upon a time, a guy asked a beautiful girl ‘Will you marry me?’ The girl said, ‘NO!’ And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and drank beer and scotch and had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted.”

The end
And here’s a video I found on youtube.  Also, hilarious….

MAYBE!   As I sit here at my desk, drinking coffee, looking at flight prices to Phoenix, Arizona.  I get an e-mail from my mother who asks me to reconsider my trip to Mexico.  For good reason.  What are mothers for?   I love her dearly.  She then tells me to read the latest news blast from the Yahoo home page about the recent shootings from the drug wars.   I am supposed to leave on March 23rd, meeting up with Andrew Burr and Alex Honnold, then we drive south to Hermosillo and then east bound into the mountains of Copper Canyon, then upwards on Logical Progression.  What do you think?  Should we go regardless?  Is it worth it?  What would you do?

If you’re bored today like most people, and you’re dreaming about when you can finally move to Squamish and live the life you were meant to live, then here’s a few superbly cheesy, and highly commercial (yet granted well executed) videos to keep the dream alive. The music gets quite annoying after you’ve watched about 2 of them, but there’s no denying that they behold beautiful cinematography and a great marketing campaign.

I was asked to participate in these commercials last summer. I said NO because I felt like a complete tool saying the words, “I am the spirit of Squamish”.  I hope that doesn’t offend anyone.  I just could not sit in front of a camera and crew and say that line with a straight face.  Impossible.  I think the mountains are the spirit, but not me. I’m a nobody fool, just here for a short time trying to enjoy it as much as I can.  I think the tag line should have been “THIS is the spirit of Squamish” not “I”.  I, is lame. Just my opinion. But I’m glad these were made, I think, they do an excellent job at showcasing our outdoor activities, friends, and peaceful lifestyles here.

But these youtube files have a down side, they will probably draw more crowds here, and more population which cuts into what makes the Sea to Sky so amazing and wild.   Understandably, this pisses a lot of people off.  But please don’t forget, at some point or another we are all “imports” to this area.  Immigrants if you will.  Aliens.  What really makes you a local I wonder?  I first came here in the year 2000, roughly 10 years ago, some of our friends came about 30 years ago and we met one family who arrived 50 years ago, and so on. We are all coming from somewhere and we should try to embrace that other people will want to come here and live here as well.  Why wouldn’t you?

Last month Lydia and I took a vacation to see the Islands of Hawaii and surf the waters.  It came across to us at least that the (typically white) American citizens who lived there felt (for some strange reason) that they were special people.  That they were better than you and me because we were just a tourist and they were “temporary residents”.   Basically, many of the surfing worlds working class caucasian locals were (for lack of a better word), grumpy assholes.  Which would never deter me from going back and enjoying the beauty of the area and meeting non asshole like people – BUT STILL – it’s as if they act like that just to fit in, so that outsiders won’t feel too comfortable and try to move there.  Even if they could afford it.  I watched them on many occasions going out of their way to be dicks to tourists, it’s like it’s part of the white man from the main land’s social responsibility. Each annoying roll of the eyes from some blond douche with a tan serving coffee at Starbucks said in bold type “I can fly over here from New York City during the winter months and live the beach bum life, but screw you if you try and do it too, I’m significant damnit“. What a crock of shit. That mentality really got to me bones.   It’s weak and narrow minded and so very self important.  When we got back to Squamish, it reminded me how calm and genuine it is here.  I hope it can stay like this during the next 10 years, 50 years, 100 years.  But who can say?  I’ll do my personal best to remember what’s it’s like to be a tourist here, and I’ll try to be as friendly as I can, if I’m not, I’m sorry, it’s because I fell off my project earlier that day, or I recognized you from Haleiwa.

On to the videos and the editors note at the bottom…enjoy…

MOUNTAIN BIKING

ROCK CLIMBING

HIKING

KITE BOARDING

FAMILY

PLEASE NOTE:   Not everyone in Hawaii were assholes.  In fact, with all honesty, some of the coolest most laid back down to earth folk I had ever met were on that trip, BUT it only takes a few rotten apples to spoil it for everyone else.  Please show respect and kindness and appreciation for the life you and we lead.  It’s a wonderful world.

The 23 year old from North Vancouver is back at it again, this time with a slide show in Bellingham, WA.  Perhaps the coolest place South of Squamish and North of Portland.  Will is one of my many hero’s, he’s a natural entertainer, humble, real and with a passion for climbing that exceeds most.  It’s his passion that allows him to achieve so much in the vertical world.  When most climbers cough up excuses, will coughs up a can of Kokanee, then sends his project.  In this photo below Will (green t-shirt) and Jason Kruk play safe at the Five Ten booth in Salt Lake City.  Check out his blog for details, but more importantly, go to the show, I believe it’s free. (CLICK ON THE IMAGE)

…hold on just a cotton pickin minute.  Not that Smith Rock or Australia don’t sound incredible, although I’ve been to both of them before….

Sonnie may have found a partner for his dream trip to Mexico.

Sonnie is getting very stoked again to climb some limestone.

Sonnie will share more soon, when, where and with who.

Thanks for your patience, keep up the pulling down.

Namaste!

P.S.  Here’s a tip when doing pull-ups.  Instead of pulling your body UP, try to think of pulling your elbows DOWN, it’s weird, but it will feel easier.