Getting Past It

As we get past our superficial material wants and instant gratification we connect to a deeper part of ourselves, as well as to others, and the universe. ~Judith Wright

After a couple of rainy days the sun has returned to Squamish. Got out this afternoon with Cletus, Tim, Moses and Brent. We waited till the rock dried off and got in a solid afternoon session at the Cutting Edge and then down at Totanka. The post break Totanka is still an awesome line. Its said that its a little harder now. I'm not sure - both ways felt hard to me. The first move is still stellar. Tim made it look easy and Cletus almost sent. Solid climbing by all.

Returned to check some emails and came upon this Judith Wright quote that the people at Prana posted up. After a solid bouldering session - instant suffering for a little while - i was totally struck by what JW has to say. So true.

Getting out and climbing with good people on rock in the sunny afternoon, trying hard on routes that are difficult and push us beyond limits, that cause frustration and silence, pain and bliss, always brings me back to the center. There is no material gain, no harm done, no dirty competition or unsavory antics. Just the simple try hard and get it done. The group cheering you on and inspiration to give it one more try. Try to keep the foot from slipping, the fingers from letting go, the hips from sagging, the tips from splitting. At the end of the day we are just a bunch of rock climbers trying to push bouldering and ourselves to the limits. Without care for money. Without the desperation of time. Just being.

No sending today. But thats cool. Maybe tomorrow. If not then, well........maybe the day after.

New lines and down time

Its still raining here in Squampton. Tis the season. Has allowed for some good down time. Went into town and hit up the local gym this morning after checking for something dry out by The Chief. Its all pretty soaked. Today's rain certainly will not help. although, the weather reports are calling for clear skies and sunshine starting Wed. Psyched!

The damp Northwest is still incredibly beautiful. The grey skies offer peace and introspection. Squamish is definitely quiet now. The locals are hitting the gyms and pretty psyched that season is gone and the boulder fields and routes will be much less crowded. Always the case.

Hiked out this morning and had a look at Siddhartha and The Method. Beautiful boulder problems. Classic lines. Another reminder of how much there is to climb here. Bouldering has become all encompassing while here. The cracks on The Grand Wall are soaking wet. The
Grand Wall boulders are also damp (to say the least) but should dry out after a day or two of sunshine. Then its back to projects and pebble wrestling for a couple of days before going south.

Waiting on the weather, on natures slight temperament, is classic in all climbing locations. Enjoying the view of such spectacular climbing and not being able to get on it is frustrating but necessary at times. All part of the process. All us climbers are pretty blessed to end up in places that are so powerful and abundant. A couple of days off the rock - gotta happen sometime........I guess.

Plastic Co-op

Its been wet here - lots of rain - so we went down the Grand Wall Bouldering Co-op in Squamish for the afternoon. pulling on plastic.....its been awhile. Awesome little gym and super rad community. membership run, very simple, no taped problems, all improvisation. chill and creative. its certainly nothing close when compared with the Grand Wall boulders and everything in the area but as far as a small town gyms go its very rad. come in, plug in your ipod, pull down. Simple.

as always great to have a good crew to session with. adults and kids running around. any place that climbers come together, commune, is often a good time. when no pretension, everyone just feeding off each other and having a good time, its revitalising and inspiring. some climb super strong, some just trying to get that first move. in the end someone is always cheering you on to get whatever you're working on.

The weather looks iffy for the next couple of days but so far so good. Seasons.....

climbing and customs

stuck in rainy Squamish. this could take a little while. one road town with a lot of rock climbing is getting rained on like southeast asia in summer. today was 30% chance of showers, and it rained all day. tomorrow is 40% chance of showers. hmmmmm.....see how that goes over. everything is measured in centimeters and celsius so i honestly have no idea what is going on half the time with weather predictions. needless to say its gotten cold and yes, its raining a lot.

best thing to do at times like this is find the nearest cafe or brewery, huddle down with all the other displaced climbers, drink tea and whisky, and wait for the time to go by. lots of smiles, lots of laughs, a little giddy, watching Australian rules football on a screen that is half the size of my truck/home. its bleak. but....its Squamish.

i have checked the weather in every city across the western seaboard. Skaha has 60% chance of showers on Sunday. Leavenworth is averaging about 27 degrees celcius. Salt Lake City is hot. Joes Valley is hot. Bishop is uber hot. not even worth checking Hueco in October. the east coast is, well, its the east coast. love it. far away. Ivan says its still summer. hmmmm.

stuck in rainy Squamish and i'm definatly wet. my pants are wet. my jacket - wet. have'nt worn socks in months. everything is wet. but the waitress is sweet so i can't complain. worse places to be stuck. its not the airport in Las Vegas. its not the bus station in Hollywood.

(my tea just came, that should only cost about $9 dollars.....)

its not the Foodmart in Orangeville. the train station in Pouchipsie. the subway in Times Square. the parking lot in St. George. no - its Squamish stuck. like a mellow fist fight. a lot of love in the room. for sure.

i remember being stuck in Reno for two days while a storm rolled through in January. but they have casinos and bright lights. Squamish - a little bit more subdued. we have rock climbing and cool Mitsubushi vans with the steering wheel on the right side. dirtbabgs and derelicts. pros and pro hoes. cocktail waitresses that climb V11. the busboy is working on Singularity. nursing is the prized profession. everyone quite their job at the gym. everyone is sponsored..........and projecting...........

last night i dj'd an impromptu gathering at a friends house. plumbing. the girl is crashing for a couple of nights then flying to Bishop. everyone goes to Bishop. "Bishop then Hueco for the winter then Joes or......whatever." should probably just follow her. make it simple. she knows who made it over the boarder last night and who got turned back. poor French......nothing is fair in climbing and Customs.

"kept me there for 5 hours then sent me back to Canada. for what?!?"

the forest is still wet and now the caves are seeping and wet as well. its casual. The guys from Ontario are heading out at dawn in a van with Hunter S Thompson painted on the side in red and blue. subtle. it runs though. I wonder if someone will just give me money? not that cash would fix anything. cash does'nt buy sending juice. it certainly makes it look better though. stylin!

thug life.......

my project, a beautiful line that i am still unable to send, is fantastic and yes - wet. with Fred Nicole's core strength i might be able to turn the 5th move. Doyle did it quick.

"that thing is hard" i told him.

"hell yeah its hard" he replied.

not sure if thats encouraging or a holy deterant. either way theres a lot of "i think i can" going on. has gotten me this far......not saying much of course. i did get stuck in Reno once.

stuck in Squamish and the tea is getting weaker. only so many hot water refills a round can take. i'm quite sure it will cost about $9. would be par for the economic course here in Canada. Ramen is still cheap. thank the heavens for Ramen. although the Walmart is bumping the prices. can't prove it but pretty sure. In France we would just sit around and drink wine all day then go climb something in the late afternoon shade. maybe that will work here as well. maybe it will stop raining. maybe the nurse will take me home.

i still heart Squamish of course. just a little damp right now.

Water

the forest is still super rad, even though its been raining non stop for about 3 days........its not Utah desert right now, but that will come soon enough.

was out early this morning. a wet approach for sure. 2 dry lines in the whole place as far as i could tell. they are rad so no complaints at all. staying busy with them for sure. pulling on semi dry holds.....hmm.......

still a beautiful challenge. no doubt.

Tidal Waves

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."

Edward Abbey

The forecast for Squamish is bleak, i guess. Last night Tim stopped by and informed me that a tidal wave of rain if about to hit Squamish.

"But muscle through if you can. There is always something dry to climb" he positively suggested.

True, there is always something dry to climb. This morning i went back out to work on some projects but everything was soaked through already. One night of heavy rain. Makes for good sleeping and lazy days but not enough climbing for sure. Always make do though.

The last couple of days have been sunny and beautiful - we've been lucky. Received a new Organic pad and brought it out yesterday to Gibbs cave and into the forest. Awesome. A full pad - rad colors and super foam. The more i use Organic pads the more of a loyal fan i am. Their product is straight dope. Light pads yet built like a tank. Fine stitching and really easy to latch up. Throw and go. Thanks Josh - keep it up! Makes falling definitely more comfy.

Have been heading out to Gibbs every morning to work on projects there. I often enjoy the rigors of overhanging problems more then technical face climbs. Granite here enables a fine mixture of the two. The climbs can be thuggy but there is always a fine necessity for balance, footwork, subtlety, and patience. nothing comes quick. Its an awesome challenge, especially on more strenuous climbs. When pebbles become giant footholds its hard granite climbing time.

As the seasons shift the climbing areas have become much more quiet. Makes one realise just how busy summer is here. With the intro of Fall - the fog, the rain, the cooler temperatures - the number of active climbers dwindles down to a handful. Its super peaceful and encouraging. Last night we sat out by the river around a fire and watched the clouds roll in over a full moon sky after a long day of bouldering at The Chief. Getting cold, everyone tired yet still psyched. Marsh mellows and stories. Thanks To.

Hopefully the sun returns tomorrow and back to rock climbing.

The Circus

Its been wet. enough rain to have many around here considering heading out sooner rather then later. lots of rain overnight and in the morning - spots of sun in the afternoon. super moist.

yesterday Mia, Rachel, Tomas and I went out the Chek to sport climb at The Circus. the crag stays dry in the rain. beautiful, like an ampitheater. climbers and belayers huddled under the roof staying out of the rain, all cranking on the 7-8 hard routes that stay dry in the rain. it is quite the circus for sure. community.

climbing, with all its media attention these days, all the magazines, photographers, comps, money, etc, is still the simple battle of persistance and commitment. a bunch of climbers trying to find a dry spot to climb on a sunday. everyone just trying to get it done. lovely and simple.

afterwards Mia and I headed back to the chief and went out to try and find some dry boulders. Gibbs cave is really the only dry thing that i know of here at the moment. the whole forest is super wet. we found two lines that were dry - enough. Mia got on some hard problems - pushed it for sure. tired, hungry, and wet, we kept at it and made some awesome progress on two projects.

in the evening, after a long day of climbing, with silence and darkness at camp, we cooked dinner in silence and let the days events pass over us. the wonderful tired feeling after a full day out on cliffs and boulders. peaceful. no harm done. jumping on hard routes and difficult problems, listening to punk rock music on ipods, wandering and waiting for tomorrow to come around and do it all over again.

more rain, sure.

"without struggle there can be no progress."
Fredrick Douglas


rock climbing, hard and fun.

further motivation

oh yeah,

and for something totally rad.

http://www.deadpointmag.com/videos/watch/monumantal-13d-trad-climb-gunks

home town - namean.

motivation

"from work to more work"
Israel Cruces

I was bouldering the other evening and ran into Israel. he came down to work on his project after a full day of work. Israel pulls super hard. been down in squamish for a couple of years now. getting it done. a family, limited time, still out to crush after work. climbing.....work. projects, obsessions, travel. gotta love the job for sure.

the northwest is settling into some fall weather. early morning sessions hiding out from the rain. staying dry is part of the game for sure. luckily there is plenty of overhanging rock climbs to get under.

at the moment am pretty psyched on the whole Gibbs area. the forest is so beautiful and lush that even with the rain can just tell that everything in the neighborhood is getting fed well and all quite perfect. early morning clouds hanging low and sunsets over the mountain tops at the end of the day. its all rad. long days out in the forest with projects and friends - just being outside on real rock and not messing with any plastic is a joy.

at night its movies and long conversations if feeling social - or just chilling and reading and enjoying the simplicity of fresh air.

thanks to Josh and Chuck for constantly supporting and providing the extra motivation. "just a rock climber." super simple.

Magic

Have been working on granite roof problems down at Gibbs cave. awesome lines - thin holds and not much else to work with. split tips and raw skin. just peanut butter and bread. climb, rest, climb. some writing in between. rains have been intermittent but still all good.

"to venture in the highest form......" something like that.

The hard problems in Squamish are thin and techy. all very temperature dependant. the most difficult thing is either waiting for good weather or patience during mid day heat - chill and wait for the evening session. wait........

super mellow now that most of the crowds have gone and season is about over here. the crew of climbers that are still around are peaceful and intent. everyone goes about the forest working their projects, hanging out, searching for new lines, loving and living with the boulders in the shadow of the chief. more time on the rock is always better. climb now, work later.

as always am humbled by the climbers around the hood. super kind, super strong, just getting it done. no big. enough projects to last a lifetime for sure. the bold and beautiful lines. Everything is perfect in its own way.

Good Morning Squamish

Good Morning Squamish.

Went back out to Gibbs cave this morning. rained overnight and early morning though starting to clear - by the afternoon was sunny Squamish again and everyone was out at the Apron boulders. After two days of rain everyone was psyched.

Got on First Nation Giver with folks in the afternoon. Pretty awesome Tim Doyle problem. great right after a rain. good spot. Put up two new lines behind the Cutting Edge boulders as well. Psyched to finish cleaning and get it done.

In the end, as always, its just a lot of try hard and not much skin left.










Sun goes down on another beautiful Squamish day. lots of climbing, lots of trying, good people, pebble wrestling.











Listening to The Sex Pistols song "Problems" on the walk out of the forest. made sense. certainly enough to go around.

Pumpy

Bit of a rain delay here. sheltered at the Adventure Center for a bit. the morning session - although pouring rain - was rad. empty parking lot, empty boulder fields, made my way out to a cave area. everything wet except for two problems.

DJ Pumpy is a beautiful roof problem that comes right up the middle of the cave. big and pumpy moves on awesome in cut granite. Black Magic is a very enticing line but the holds are wet and will need to let it dry. (this afternoon......?) the start hold may have broken off but its still super rad. way low start. beta intensive.

with the rain comes prosperous cold temperatures. great for granite. this technical granite climbing is so different from the juggy sandstone holds of Joes Valley or the sharp cobble pump found back east in The Gunks. its super subtle. like a mellow breeze instead of a harsh pull. the rock bites back but its always there. will not make it with pure strength or pure technical prowess. defiantly calls for a zen like balance of both. super focus = footwork.

i keep hearing about this new Wolverine area out in CO. sounds super interesting. congrats to DG for finding it. Some awesome lines going up from what i hear. kinda psyched.....

Sunshine

Went out the other day before the rain came to get some climbing in. The forest is so much fun.








Squamish landings.......










Babba Hari is one of the most awesome lines in the forest, as i always keep going back. such a clean route.










Encore. Such a beautiful boulder. the cross move.....really!!!???!!!











and then it started to rain. such is Squampton. forest lovin.....

Friday Night Lights

The guys at the table next to us are talking about the stock market. Josh has a cough. Organic is sending a new pad (psyched!). Prana clothing hold up super well if you wear it for a week straight - give or take a day. t-shirts are awesome and jeans bomber. It rained on and off in the forest all day. found caves and alcoves to climb in. granite rips and tears. sarah w says don't give up. faulkner said he would take pain over a regular experience. jay z bumps on the ipod as steps go softly through the forest. taking time to look out on the boulder fields - lush and lovely - nothing moving. in the early evening everything is still. pads lay under a project. covered in chalk. tired. getting cold. damp. drum and bass is the perfect come down after a session. breathing in an empty parking lot. fingertips burn.

i heart rock climbing.

Its all perfect

No skin left........

The last two days have been lovely full on out project time. Granite....sharp. The process.....
Taking some time to breath after this evenings session and realizing it is'nt the particular rock climb per se, sometimes, as much as how hard one works at it. Effort....

"Cmo'n Son."

In a daze, everything drained, gone, spent, no send, will have to return, watching the clouds roll in as The Chief sits without care, and staying here in Squampton town for awhile longer. Focus......

Foggy days in Squamton town

Back to Gibbs for the morning rain session. Cloudy days here in Squampton.

Packing the bare essentials for a solid morning session - keep it simple. And a pad of course.......









With the weather having been less then ideal over the past couple of days most people are either clearing out or laying low. A small group of die hards have been getting after it where ever its dry, as is always the case. There is an abundant amount of climbing available in the rain, and the lines - HARD - are awesome.














Curled under the cave on a pair of crash pads, taking a breather, watching the rain fall outside, skin pulsing and feet sore, waiting to take another burn - no other place in the world would rather be. Climbing in the rain in Squampton. Good fun.

"We are what we repeatedly do."
Aristotle

Staying Out Of The Rain

Awoke this morning to rain. Tis the season here in Squamish. Rain. Am supposed to get used to it in September. So said Tim. So said Israel. There was some chatter over morning tea - plans. Climbing - rec center - other. I headed off to the Chief to find something dry to climb.

After hiking up to my project I found it was seeping wet. Its overhanging so fortunatly i could stay out of the rain but still the ground was super wet and the foot holds and topout were drenched. After some quick thinking - not much - i opened up the pads and got in some throws. Made sense....... The hand holds were dry but the feet slipped like a banana peal. Nothing going. Some definite try hard. Afterwards it was off to Gibbs Cave.

Empty and dry. Perfect. Gibbs cave is a beautiful spot with awesome lines. Rain protects out in the Apron. Rad. In the early morning its a great spot to pull hard while the rain falls along the periphery. After a short break I returned to find Israel working the Sharma link up. Israel is a Strong local climber - supper mellow. He turned me onto some new beta for Gibbs Cave. We threw some pads together and worked the sequences for a couple of hours. Almost sent it.....Israel will send the link next time for sure. Damn Sharma's strong......

There is a unrepeated V14 on the lower left side of the cave that Israel showed me. Unrepeated is quite impressive around these parts. The second hold is horrible! No purchase at all. Rad.

Many awesome lines down there. Apparently the rain is supposed to keep up for the next couple of days. Will be a fine place to spend some time - for sure.

For a rainy day in Squamish got to climb for almost a full day. Not bad for bad weather. Tea, climbing, writing, drum and base on the headphones. I heart Squamish.

Thanks.

Process

Apparently the process is the project, not the other way around. This i was told the other day by two people. One friend, one family. Wise words I think.

Projects are quite consuming. In the world of instant suffering, projects are everything - grounding and focusing. They are also damn hard. but thats the way its supposed to be. Hard. If it was'nt hard, would'nt be worth doing. If it was'nt difficult, a challenge, on the brink of impossible, would'nt really be worth the time and the effort would it. Pushing it to the bring of frustion, tension, stress, ability and possibility. All for a payoff that has no monetary measure. There is no money in this game.

Staying out late. Missing events. Sitting in the cold. In a cave, under a boulder, next to a tree, pacing, waiting for the pump to ware off, drinking water, munching on carrots and granola, looking at the line, trying not to look at the line, packing up then un packing again, wondering what the reason could possibly be for all this. Trying very hard not to think at all. Leaving and coming back. Projects. Process. Either way.

When Tomo walked by and gave me some beta that changed the starting moves it opened up the whole problem in a way i had not seen before. Its still super hard for me, and having a ridiculous time with it - not much skin left - but now i gotta go back again. Could take awhile........

Good times.

Breath

I woke up this morning and went out to work on my project super early. the camp was still asleep. tired. we were up late last night watching movies and misc. social at camp. but the morning was perfect on the granite. Quiet forest, nothing moving. Try hard. It gets intense. Try, fall. Try, fall. Try, fall. Bouldering, a series of short moves that often produces little more than one little insight, one key, one piece to a puzzle that is the whole boulder problem. This morning it was just a simple heal hook. move the heal up some more. simple. move the heal up some more. thats it. hours of clawing and falling and skin shredding and thats it. move the heal up a little more. move gracefully up the rock. easy and gracefully. thats it. take it slow. don't rush it. breath. breath. heal hook. toe hook. high heal. throw. hang on. simple....

not so simple.

as the sun came up fully i walked back to camp. friday i think. trad climbers heading out towards the chief. ropes and racks. tired. i sat on the bumper of my truck. nothing felt real. everything moving and still. breathing. hard. rock climbing. trying. it all has meaning. Go back out in the afternoon when it cools down. Go back out again tomorrow. Simple.

thanks Prana. Inspiring.

Rad.

A Day in the forest

A real good crew of climbers headed out to the forest to boulder after some rain had laid way to Squamish for a couple of days. Everyone has their own projects, their own grades, all the little stuff, but everyone was just super psyched to climb with each other and get it done out in the forest. Simple.

Big up to Organic for all their support - the best pads in the biz!




After some morning libations and packing we headed out to the Boulders to get it done.


Ina just starting to pull hard. The morning warm up rounds. We went over to Bobp Jangles to warm up after a long cold night. Everyone was a little creeky but the motivation soon kicked in and everyone went quick to work on the beautiful morning granite.







Sending Cassey and Ina sending. Two of the strongest and most commited climbers I've met here in Squamish. Awesome people. Super kind and rad rock climbers from across the ponds.















Josh sending. Josh is certainly one of the most talented boulders in camp. He's been getting it done out here in Squam land for a couple months. Crushing in the forest! All climb and no glam - definate hardman.








Ina, Josh and I pulling down on Babba Harri Das. Trying hard...... Such a beautiful line. Totally inspired by the granite out here. Super challenging and always an awesome ride. There is no way to cheat this boulder problem. Cant start it in the middle. Cant do end moves. Have to do it from the ground up. Simple. Thats it. Straight line. Rad.

Inspired By George

The day started with rain. 6am, waking up in the tent, the sweet sound of rain pelting down on the tent walls. A lovely sound but certainly the mornings plans would be put on hold. There would be no 8am start to the bouldering day. There would be no project sending day. There would be no running through the forest with peoples and pads. Rainy morning in Squamish - its lay low, mellow, cafe, laundry maybe. Stuff..... I was doing stuff..... All that life stuff.....

Walmart. Starbucks. Home Depot. Driving - gas. Stuff. Not good.

And then I got an email from George. George wrote me that he really dug what I said about climbing and wanted to shove off from work and hit some rocks. That was enough for me. Simple. Go climb.

The rain had stopped for about an hour. The roads were starting to dry. I pulled into the parking lot, grabbed my Organic crag bag (awesome) and crash pad, an I pod and my Patagonia rain jacket and started out towards the boulders - a bit of a plan in my head.

On the way I ran into Tim and two Austrian girls that climb way hard. He was heading out towards the Apron boulders. It would be dry there. Tim's local - he knows. But I'm stubborn, so I headed into the forest, hiked out to my project, felt the wet holds, looked at the line that keeps me here, stood with anxious desire, then hiked out again towards the Apron Boulders.

It turned out to be the perfect bouldering session. We climbed for 5 hours after the rain on dry granite in the crisp August afternoon talus with no one else around and a fall chill in the air. I had no idea of the names or the grades of the problems we did. Not a clue. Had no desire to ask. We were all simply happy to be outside climbing.

"Feels good to get out huh" Tim said. This from a guy who climbs outside everyday. We all climb outside everyday. It always feels good to get out.

Way down low in Gibbs Cave we worked a long pumpy overhanging line that was dry. A huge under cling to start with and a wicked crimp in the middle that is a definite stopper..The only dry line for half a mile. Sharp. Elegant. Powerful. Puzzling. A line that appears straight forward but once on it the feet are not there and everything gets thin. Complicated. It was fun and perfect. Its a world class boulder problem anywhere. In Squamish its a dry line on a rainy day.

"Take it!" Yelled the Austrian girl. Hard encouragement. We all laughed.

After awhile the light faded and in the cave it was even darker. We pushed it right till the end then packed up and walked out through the Talus as the sun set.

In the parking lot we stretched out and watched the last of the days light drop behind the BC mountains. It was quiet, peaceful, perhaps the best and simplest session in along time. No agenda. No projects. No failure, no success. Simply climbing with friends on some dry boulders after the rains. Fresh air. Movement. Nothing better.

Thanks George, for reminding me to always just head out there. Whatever you find is always perfect, just what you need.