Home > News

Jamie Finlayson Sends Silent Menace/Smell the Glove

Jamie Finlayson is one of Canada’s strongest climbers and he recently sent a long-time project in Squamish.

By Jamie Finlayson

I tried this route off and on for four years, but the nearby route, Dreamcather 5.14d, had always distracted me. This season, I decided to put some serious efforts into Silent Menace or Smell the Glove, whatever you want to call it.

Jamie Finlayson on a 14b ("Smell the glove") in Squamish, British Columbia
Jamie Finlayson on Silent Menace 5.14c in 2012. Photo Jordan Manley

I have been bouldering predominately this year and I finally felt strong enough to pull through the burly opening crimps. The route links a hard V12 or V13 boulder problem into a dynamic V10. Short and burley.

This is the hardest roped route I have ever done. I have done two routes at the same grade on the Big Show at Chek, Superman 5.14c and Supermanboy 5.14c, but they are completely different in that they are long endurance type routes about 35 metres long and Silent Menace is only about 10 metres. So there is a lot of hard climbing packed into a short route.

Jamie Finlayson on Silent Menace in Feb. 2014.  Photo by Jamie Finlayon via GoPro
Jamie Finlayson on Silent Menace in Feb. 2014. Photo by Jamie Finlayon via GoPro

This is also the first hard roped route I have sent since my spine operation last October. Just over 10 months post-op from a disc removal and fusion at L5-S1. Now I have a few a months, hopefully, before the rain starts and the birth of my first born son, to focus on Dreamcatcher.

Jamie Finlayson on Silent Menace in early August 2014, a few weeks before his send.  Photo Michael Lim
Jamie Finlayson on Silent Menace in early August 2014, a few weeks before his send. Photo Michael Lim

Silent Menace or Smell the Glove [Editor’s Note]

Silent Menace was a classic 5.14a that was first climbed by Sonnie Trotter. In 2007, a key hold/flake broke off. A few years later, Ben Harnden (who made the third and last free ascent of Dreamcatcher) sent “The New Silent Menace” and renamed it Smell the Glove. The new name led to some controversy about renaming established routes. Since then, both names are used. Watch the breaking of the flake here:

– Be sure to follow Jamie Finlayson @jamiefinlayson and good luck to him on Dreamcatcher!

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The Best Climbing Gear According to Our Editors – March

Every month we're bringing you our favourite gear so you can complete your climbing kit with the latest and best stuff out there