>> October - November 1999

Many new routes completed in the Bugaboos_Guy Edwards, Sean Isaac
Many new routes were completed in the Bugaboos this year, despite the fact that the weather was not as good as it was last year, when no new routes were done.

The unclimbed west face of Central Howser Tower - tucked neatly between the beautifully sculpted South Howser (home to the classic Beckey-Chouinard [V 5.10]) to the right and the El Cap sized North Howser (home to many 1000m wall routes including the all-free All Along the Watch Tower [VI 5.12]) to the left - saw two teams of climbers gunning for its first ascent, despite horrible weather.

The face received its first ascent in late July by Americans, Todd Offenbacher and Nils Davis of South Lake Tahoe. Their Fear and Desire (VI 5.9 A3+) was climbed over four days in hideous weather more reminiscent of Patagonia than Canada. In the final 24 hour push they climbed through a serious snow and electrical storm and had an all-night rappel session. was when while Offenbacher was jugging, the sheath of his rope cut, causing him to take a 10m fall before the severed sheath bunched up in his ascenders and arrested his plummet.

Sean Isaac and Brian Webster (Canada) planned on making the first ascent of the face in early August, but when Isaac returned In mid-July from another wall climbing trip in Peru, he learned that he missed his opportunity by one week. Undaunted, Isaac and Webster decided to climb a new line and make the second ascent of the coveted face. Upon reaching the remote wall, they discovered that the only feasible weakness on the lower wall was to climb the first three pitches of Fear and Desire then branch left to a beautiful, narrow pillar on the right edge of the face.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie (VI 5.9 A2) is less dangerous than the Americans" route, and takes continuous A1 cracks and a 300 ft right facing corner to the top of the pillar at the south ridge. The main excitement occurred when Isaac encountered a 5m ìfloatingî flake, detached and cracked on all four sides, precariously pasted to the wall. Not wanting to even breathe on it for fear of scraping himself and Webster off the face, Isaac copper headed thin seams and riveted blank rock a couple feet to the right for the route"s only A2 pitch. They named the intimidating feature, The Pillar of Despair, Touch if You Dare.

A week previous to their Central Howser epic, Offenbacher and Davis added the third new route to the Pigeon Feathers, located adjacent to the Howser massif, resulting in Wide Awake (V 5.10 A2) on the south side of the South East Peak. This also happened to be a route that Isaac and Webster had their sights on, having climbed the first couple of pitches three summers ago. During the same period, Jay Sell and Bob Shultz established Doubting the Millennium (VI 5.10 A3) on the elegant Minaret pillar which is part of the South Howser Tower.

Also in the Bugaboos, one of the last great free-climbing prizes on Snowpatch Spire, a free ascent of the lower South Face Route, was claimed by Canadian Guy Edwards and a climber from Boston. Rob Rohn and Tom Gibson climbed the upper section (six pitches, 5.11) in 1980. The lower section provides an additional 9 pitches of climbing up to 5.12a, and provides a climb which Edwards described as ìvery sustained.î<<

 

Ontario Summer: Hot and Sticky on 5.13 Repeats, and a Possible New 5.14
Many local test-pieces fell to some young and some not so young sport climbers this season. The most notable ascents were by Sonnie Trotter, 19, (see Northern Faces). Trotter climbed Bionic Space Boy, an open project at Old Baldy tentatively rated 5.13d, commenting that it took him more tries to climb the route than any 5.14 he has climbed. This route may well be Ontario's first 5.14, and one of only a few routes of that grade in Canada. Trotter continued to rip it up, completing the project The Shaven Yak, 5.13d at Metcalfe Rock, stating that his mission this summer was to climb every 5.13 in the province (see interview in magazine).

The Big Khahuna (5.13c) at Lions Head, created by British rock god Jerry Moffat in the mid-nineties, saw a great deal of activity this summer. Trotter made short work of it, and not to be outdone, 17 year old Matt Zavitz sent it on his third day. Steve ìLady Boyî Townsend, worked hard on the route and made it through the crux numerous times, but was unable to climb the 5.10+ section to the shuts. It was also reported that some older sport climbers made short work of that route, Aruga at White Bluff, and other 5.13s.

Jeremy Smith is also reported to have had a strong summer. Mostly on the road, Jeremy is rumoured to have onsighted several 5.13s. It seems that the Ontario sport climbers are getting very strong.

On the new routing front, Gus Alexandropoulus climbed his Lions Head project Drunken Master, rating it 5.13a, but stating that the grade required confirmation by subsequent ascensionists. Gus also onsighted the first ascent of Cyclops (5.12c) at Mallory Beach, commenting that it was one of the best sport pitches he has done. A new bouldering area at Cape Croker was also opened this summer. While the area is reportedly small and requiring much more work, the climbing is said to be even better than that at Ontario"s best bouldering area, Niagara Glen. It is rumoured that most of the boulders are so overhanging that it is possible to climb even during torrential downpours. <<

 

Damp Weather Hinders Rockies Crag Scene_Dave Dornian
It's been an ugly, ugly summer on the crag scene. Active areas on the east side of the Rockies are mostly limestone, and when it rains, the rock seeps. After it's rained a lot, the rock can seep for days afterward, even when the skies are clear. It's hard to send your pet projects when putting your fingers in the pockets is like dipping hand cream.

But there have been weather windows. And there are always folks who are just plain stubborn. 1999 started with enthusiasm at the two year-old White Buddha area in the Kananaskis. Beginning in January, it was possible to boulder there in a tee-shirt on clear-sky days. New problems were completed, and old ones repeated quickly. Amazingly, it seemed like there were more people out some Sundays than inside at the Calgary gyms.

By Easter, emphasis shifted into the Bow Valley, where the difficult but sunny Bataan (as in "The March on..." - there's a bit of an approach), high on the south face of Grotto Mountain saw a flurry of development by Roger Chayer, Jon Jones, and others. Home to some of the longest and most consistent sport climbs in the region, there are now almost enough routes installed to make the walk worthwhile. That is, if you climb 5.12 or harder.

Shortly after that the skies fell in, and for the next months it was difficult to climb regularly at any one crag. Climbers congregated like mosquitoes at sheltered hangs under roofs. Grassi Lake became tremendously popular, probably as much because it takes only five minutes to run in and check conditions as for any other reason. Simon Parsons resuscitated a couple of abandoned projects in The Rectory there with The Gimp at 12d and Nice Try at 12b, and bolts grew between as beside bolts in other parts of the canyon as people sought dry variations.

Part of the crowding at Grassi might have been caused by the restricted access in the well-known Carrot Creek, just up the highway in Banff National Park. Though climbing there has not actually been forbidden, authorities hoping to see it used as a wildlife corridor have discouraged travel through the drainage.

Finally, late in May, it became warm enough to posthole through the ebbing snows to the drier quartzite crags at the Back of the Lake. For a supposedly 'worked out' area, there has been a surprising amount of quality development here in the past couple of years. Greg Golovatch, Dave Thomson, Karl Krause, and the ubiquitous Jones have been finding new rock and novel linkups everywhere, at all grades, and Peter Arbic installed three intimidating lines on the backside of Blob Rock late in '98 before he quit the region. Locals are still attempting to redpoint the centre of this difficult trio, a powerful and sometimes friction-dependent testpiece in the mid-13 range.

The Ghost Valley continues to enjoy a low-key golden age, with trad and sport rigs blooming almost every good weekend, but there has been little new development at the other established crags this year. Nevertheless, Barrier Bluffs, Grotto Canyon, Cougar Canyon, Acephale, Prairie Creek, and the longer rigs around the town of Canmore and on the Yamnuska remain as popular as ever. All areas continue to benefit from the attentions of The Association of Bow Valley Rock Climbers (TABVaR), the seven year-old regional bolt fund, whose members keep busy refurbishing anchors in high-traffic areas. Not much more than rumour at this stage, there has reportedly been a rejuvenation of sorts on Castle Mountain, with the installation of Go Boy, a 5 pitch 5.11, and a new cliff under development by Dave Thomson on the lower tier of the peak.

Most published information to most of these areas is out-of-date, out-of-print, or both, and it seems everybody is getting set to release guidebooks. When you visit next season, look for new beta from Perry/Josephson (Alpine and Trad rock in the Bow Valley), Jones/Martin (updated South Rockies sportclimbs), Tremain (bouldering), and Miller/Dornian (Canmore sport climbs). For interim reports, topos, and scratch updates, visit the TABVAR website (http://www.stronghold.com/tabvar).

Jasper beat everyone by a year and got their guidebook into the shops this past July. Nature being the joker that she is, it's probably why they've only had three worthwhile weekends since Victoria Day.<<

 

Squamish and Horne Lake: Sandford climbs Driven, One of Canada"s Hardest Sport Routes; Sharma climbs V Hard
The last summer of the 20th Century packed a powerful punch on Canada"s west coast. The popularity of Squamish continues to surge. Visitors from places as far away as New York and California are now a common sight. Despite variable weather, the crags and boulders keep producing new routes.

On the first ascent front, Jim Sandford stole the show. In early August, he fought his way up Driven at Horne Lake. At 5.14b, this horizontal power route is a new contender for Canada"s hardest sport route. Back in Squamish, Marc Bourdon climbed into shape after 3 months off with a finger injury, to open his Fitness World, (5.13c). Vancouver gun Daniel Poggi climbed Super Panini, also 5.13c. Jordan Wright and Daniel Poggi both repeated The Division Bell (5.13d) at Cheakamus Canyon. Jola Sandford redpointed Globe Trotters (5.13d), at Horne Lake, probably the hardest climb to date by a Canadian woman. Bourdon"s Heat (5.13d) from last fall, remains unrepeated.

No Squamish update would be complete without a breakdown of the bouldering. The forest"s former test piece No Troubles (V10) was repeated by Tim Doyle, Nick Gibbs, Victor Ting, Erik Kubiak, and Nick Goodall. None of these ascents, however, could hold a candle to Chris Sharma"s onsight. While filming the new bouldering video ìRampageî Chris and a crew of American climbers made their presence known. Sharma quickly dispatched a much tried project to produce The Egg (V11) in a couple of tries. He then went to work on Sesame Street. A couple hours later, Squamish had a V12. The last problem he completed was dubbed The Proposal (V Hard), and it took several days to complete. Sharma declined to rate any of his problems, so grades are estimates only. Obe Carrion, who was travelling with Chris, repeated Zero Zero (V10). Tiffany Levine made a fine effort, and repeated this problem in the shortest time to date. New problems continue to appear like magic. The forest is definitely not climbed out.<<

 

Peruvian News: Canadian Alpine Wall Aces On The Sphinx
On June 23, 1999 after two weeks of effort, Larry Dolecki and Sean Isaac climbed to the 5325m summit of La Esfinge (The Sphinx) in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes, completing the first ascent of a new big wall aid route on the mountain's east face. La Esfinge, also know as La Torre de Paron, is a beautiful alpine tower of perfect orange granite located in the Paron Valley. The two largest faces on La Esfinge, the east and southeast face, were already hosts to four previously established routes, all by Spanish parties.

They had originally planned to attempt the cold 900m southeast face, but due to a lack of time, they focused on the right side of the east face. Although only 600m in height, this area had the steepest, cleanest rock on the mountain. Their route climbs a soaring orange-streaked corner that dominates the upper part of the face which was reached by 200m of hard aid climbing. After acclimatizing for the first few days by ferrying loads to the base of the wall the pair started climbing and fixing the first few pitches. The crux was the fourth pitch (A3) which took two days to climb due complicated route finding and long sections of copperheads with ledge fall potential.

After four days of fixing, they committed to the rest of the wall in alpine style with food and water for five days and a double portaledge. The huge orange corner afforded more aid than free climbing, but they topped out after only three days. They rappelled the route the same day they summited, reaching the ground well after dark. The 11-pitch route was named "Dion's Dihedral" (VI 5.9 A3) in memory of a young Canadian - Dion Bretzloff - who was killed on Yerapaja, Peru's second highest mountain, three weeks earlier. Almost all of the pitches are long, involving modern aid with thin nailing, heading, hooking and loose expanding flakes.

The granite towers and walls of Peru, primarily La Esfinge, hold much potential for high altitude big wall climbing but are usually overlooked in favor of the big snowy peaks for which the range is famous. With five routes now breaching Esfinge's ramparts, there are still countless aid and free lines waiting to be attempted by those in search of a different Peruvian climbing experience form the that afforded by the major snow peaks.

Additional Canadian News: In mid-June, the very speedy Guy Edwards (Canada) teamed up with Jason Price (United States) to make the first one day ascent of the east face of La Esfinge. They climbed the 20-pitch, original 1985 Spanish route (originally VI 5.10a A1) in 11 hours, from the base to the summit, mainlyl free at 5.11 with only a couple points of aid. <<

 

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