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Canadians Start 2017 With Strong Rock Sends

The first month of 2017 is nearly over and while January often isn’t a big rock-sending month, many Canadians have made big sends in and out of Canada. On the West Coast, Graham McGrenere sent Hung, Drawn and Quartered V10, “Might be V10, might be V8…who knows. Couldn’t compare it to Black Velvet Low because of some icy holds.” Simon Yamamoto has been visiting Thailand and reported sends of Gaeng Som Plaa 5.13a, Phet Maak 5.13a, Voodoo Doll 5.13a and Sex Power 5.13b, which he got on his second go. Steve “Manboy” Townshend is currently projecting Greed 5.14b in Thailand.

Despite some bad weather, Dan Beland ticked some steep 5.13s in Red Rocks, including, Monster Skank 5.13b, SOS 5.13a and Modern Warfare. “Our new campground friends showed us this wall and a nice fella at the cliff gave us some route beta,” said Beland about Modern Warfare. “This climb was awesome. Came off just short of the onsight, so second go. Steep and powerful.”

In Bishop, Josh Muller and Regan Kennedy spent some days in the sun and some days in winter storms, but Muller managed to send He Got Game V11 and Rorschach Test V11. Squamish trainer Patrick Humphries spent some time in California and sent Checkerboard Right V9, Los Locos V7 and Soul Singer Right V9.

Also in Bishop, Alyssa Weber sent Last Dance V9, Mr. Happy Extended V8, The Hulk V6, All About Love V8 and Water Hazard Right V9, including many more. Josh Bylsma of Alberta also ticked some hard problems in Bishop and Red Rocks including Bubba Gets Committed V10, Highbrow V8, Abstraction V8, Timmy’s Problem V9 and Book of Nightmares V11. Leslie Timms spent a few weeks in Joshua Tree climbing steep cracks up hard Californian rock.

In Patagonia, Canmore-based Sam Lambert is busy climbing classic alpine rock lines with American Kiff Alcocer. Together, they almost topped out Super Domo WI5 M6 600m and climbed Tomahwak WI6 M7 450m up Aguja Standhardt. As we head into February, spring-like temps will open up climbing in Squamish, Skaha, south-facing walls in the Rockies and some crags in Ontario and Quebec. Remember that winter freeze/thaw cycles can create loose rocks on well-travelled routes.

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