Big Chicken
Name this problem.
Yowza! Bouldering is hard, no? Well, at least grabbing sharp crystals and bearing down on them with all your might is hard (read: PAINFUL).
It has been two years since I have been in Squamish due to unforeseen border crossing requirements that took place in 2009, but I'm BACK! I mean, I just GOT back from a fabulous trip to the almighty Squaw. And oh how nothing has changed. I mean it, NOTHING has changed, except well, I'm a little fatter, balder, and weaker. But all that aside, it was a really nice three days filled with random social encounters, great weather, sketchy landings, and TONS of finger scraping granite slopers and crimpers.
This is the first time I have been to Squamish without at least 5 or 6 people in tow. Instead it was just me and Jimmy. It kind of felt like a business trip. We were there to 'take care of business', the first of which was a campsite. So far our mission was a failure, so we headed for the boulders instead. Black dyke, sloppy poppy, great for the warming up of forearms and fingers. Next, ATD!! Everything so far felt coated in a nice layer of moist chalk and as I shakily humped myself up the heinous mantle of ATD and walked down from the top out huffing and puffing I knew the next two days were going to be very difficult. So I basically stood back and made sure Jimmy didn't kill himself topping out everything he got on.
Jimmy went on a little Rampage of his own. Over the three days we were there he killed a handful of classics like Squealing Pork, Gibb's Cave, Worm World Cave, ATD, and literally finished the trip by sending Big Chicken. Oh yeah, as a side note we also made a short morning trip out to the Sport Temple where he managed a .13a second go. I would like to forget about my performance on the ropes that morning.
All in all it was a great trip! And, I broke down and bought the shiny new guidebook, which BTW is one of the best purchases I have made. Tons of new problems, updates to old problems, and good general info.
Now, time for some pictures:
Resurrection(V.9)
Resurrection(V.9)
Ride the Lightning(V.8)
The story about the camping goes something like this:
We were about to shell out $30 for ONE night at Klahanie falls when we were approached by a woman who identified us as climbers and offered us a spot at her site where she had her trailer and would be staying for the month. Jen was a climber as well and a very gracious host, down to earth and very fond of Rockband. We ended up paying her $20 for two nights and almost got arrested while enjoying a fire on our second night, completely oblivious to the fact that Squamish was under a very strict burn ban (sorry Canada). But it was a great deal, we enjoyed the toilets, hot water, and the picnic table that cane with the site, and even got to hang out in her trailer one night. Thanks Jen!!
Exactly how fast is this in miles per hour?
Jimmy takes a stroll down Sesame Street(V.9)
Okay, I didn't exactly get any pictures of actual sends but I will be posting a video soon of Jimmy's redpoint of Big Chicken(V.10). Check here soon.
And, we'll be headed back for round two next week. Hope to see you guys out there!
Comments
...nice job on ATD ( I wanna top that line out someday)
see you out there