Squamish!

I've been in Squamish for a week now. Here's the breakdown.

Day 1
Get on two of my projects; Crime of the Century 5.11c and Baba Hari Daas V7. Turns out it wasn't my day and I didn't send either of them.

Baba Hari Daas

Day 2
Boulder in the morning and then climb Peasants Route 5.10c 6 pitches. The book gave it 5 stars and it deserves every one. Excellent climb. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera so we don't have any pictures.

Day 3
Rest and swim at a lake in the Squamish area

Day 4
Climb Birds of Prey on the Squaw 5.10b 6 pitches. We were on route for the first four pitches and then took a 5.10 variation in a cool dihedral for the last couple pitches.

The second pitch of Birds of Prey
The dihedral up top

Day 5
Sport climb at Chek Canyon with Josh's fiance Krista . We got on a bunch of climbs for Krista as well as a handful of 5.10's and 11's. I didn't really like the place that much the first time I went there, but now I'm a new man. I really enjoyed the climbing. I'll definitely be back.

Krista on a 10c

Day 6
Back to the lake for more swimming and rope swing action.

Josh getting some hang time
Krista celebrating b/c we found a small rope swing

Day 7
Climb the Grand Wall 5.11a 10 pitches into Black Dyke 5.10b 4 pitches. This was one of the coolest climbs I've ever done. It follows incredible features right up the middle of the face. Several classic pitches are on this climb including the split pillar, the sword and perrys lieback. After seeing posters of these it was really rewarding to finally be able to climb them. I was able to onsight all the pitches except for the two 11a's. This isn't too bad considering that 11 of 14 pitches are 5.10 or harder and I still went for it and took some decent whippers on those two pitches.

The Grand Wall is on the left and goes to the top and Peasants route is on the right

The first pitch on the grand wall
The 2nd pitch
The split pillar
Josh pulling through the crux on the Sword
Perry's Lieback
The ledge we had to crawl accross when we were done
Josh enjoying the view from the top

We've had a great time in Squamish, but we are ready for the Bugaboos. The forcast is for sunny skies so we are heading there for the next week or so to get on some classic climbs in the alpine. Check back in about a week for an update.

Back on the road!

It's official. I am back on the road. I'm going to be traveling for an an undetermined amount of time with Josh. While I was back in Washington a lot happened. I climbed a bunch in the Seattle area, went on a week long surf trip and met an amazing girl that I am now dating. It's weird how things work out.

Right now we are traveling in my 1993 Subaru Loyale that has 280,000 miles. I loved the RV, but there was no point in keeping it if there was only going to be two of us. It worked out alright though, we did sell the thing for $500 dollars more than we bought it for.

Currently we are in Squamish climbing routes and bouldering. Check back in a few days for a full report with pics.