Rock Climbing Weekly #4: Squamish 5.15, Ontario Multi-Pitch, V15 FA Vid
Squamish's hardest single-pitch route gets FA, hard trad and V15 bouldering
With iffy weather and travel restrictions in place, the middle of spring hasn’t seen the same boom of hard sends as a month ago. However, some big climbs have gone down.
In Canada, Ben Harnden made the first ascent of Dark Matter in Squamish, which he suggested 5.14d/15a for. If the grade stands, it will be the hardest route in B.C. Read more here.
At Cheakamus, Alex King repeated the famous Pulse 5.14a, Dan Beland climbed Happy Hour and Senja Palonen sent Shameless 5.12c at Echo Beach. Elsewhere in the area, Jennifer Slater got a tick of Codgery 5.12a, and Graham McGrenere sent ACDC 5.12.
This spring, Stu Smith made the first ascent of Travis Foster 5.14. Named after a highly accomplished West Coast climber who is no longer with us, it climbs a short wall in a nice setting. Smith said, “The process and send of Travis Foster on the Malamute. An old undone project that I put a bunch of days into of the span of a month. Named after my soul mate and brother Travis Foster.” Watch the FA below.
Also in B.C., veteran van-lifer and climber Francois Bergeron made the first ascent of Jangelophobia 5.12b in Skaha at Behemoth. He said, “That climb was partially bolted and cleaned by Jon Jones. I know it could go on gear, but I decided to finish bolting it to make it more accessible. You can add Jangelophobia to the list of bolted cracks in Skaha, with Wings of Desire, Apricot Jam, Italian Jam Shop, Icarus, etc. Bernie Mac unlocked the sequence to make it go from too hard to 5.12b, our proposed grade.”
Skaha and Back of the Lake in Alberta are two crags with gneiss or quartzite that have had bolted traditional routes since the 1980s. While the cracks sometimes get all-gear ascents, the communities have agreed that they’re far safer with fixed hardware.
Also in B.C. Brennan Doyle made another first ascent on Vancouver Island with Lecentious Cyborg V11 at the Duncan Boulders. And in the world of bouldering, Matt Lucas repeated some hard problems lately in Alberta with Cognitive Dissonance V10 at Frank Slide and Jabba V12 at Big Rock south of Calgary. Watch here.
In the Bow Valley, the closure date of Yamnuska was moved from May 21 to June 7, but Ha Ling is now closed until the summer. It’s been a wet week in the Rockies, but some routes are getting a lot of action, like the new Birdemic, a four-pitch bolted 5.11b in The Sanctuary on Grotto Mountain. In McGillivray Canyon, James Bull put down Sphinx 5.13c and Masson Tessier climbed Pass the Dog 5.13b and Less is More 5.12c.
In Ontario, Evan Peplinski repeated Return of the Degnoid 5.12a trad, and said, “Awesome tiered roof crack line with a fun crux section and some good varied climbing throughout. Cupped hand, tight hand, ringlock, fingerlock, jugs, crimps, mega kneebar – this thing has it all. Took some heavy cleaning back in the winter but it cleaned up pretty good. TR’d a few times wet in the spring and then sent first lead go. It’s too bad this thing is hidden in the middle of the woods, would be a classic at any Escarpment crag.”
In northern Ontario, details of a new six-pitch 5.10b near Sudbury were published. The Devil’s Work climbs at Riverside Wall in Algoma. The Sudbury area has been booming over the past year as climbers from southern Ontario look to escape the crowds. Read more here.
In Quebec, David Rae climbed Le Chevalet V13 at Val-David, and Will Baron sent Moby Dick 5.11b at Kamouraska, one of the most famous sport climbs in the province. And Kim Polisois from Montreal ticked Narcisse 5.12d at Sérénité.
Internationally, Canadian Bronwyn Hodgins freed the 36-pitch Golden Gate 5.13 on El Cap. Read and exclusive interview here. In Mexico, Sasha DiGiulian freed Logical Progression, a 28-pitch 5.13b, read the story here.
In the U.K. Eliot Stephens made the FA of The Origin Sit V15. And Steve McClure flashed Impact Day E8 6c on Pavey Ark in the Lake District. Watch below.
Mona Kellner repeated the classic Battle Cat 5.14b in Frankenjura. And Matteo Soule, 14, climbed his fifth 5.14c called Nadesjda in Joncas, and said, “It took four sessions to do it. It’s a really beautiful line. My father had already done it before.” At 13, he made the FA of Dieu Merci in Gorges du Tarn, which is said to go at 5.14c/14d.
At Valle dell’Orco, Italy, Jacopo Larcher and Babsi Zangerl made the second ascent of the multi-pitch Angels and Demons on the Caporal, a six-pitch 5.13R. The first ascent was by Federica Mingolla in 2020, the route was established by Ezio Marlier and Massimo Farina in 2005, but was abandoned. Larcher then made the second ascent of Grenzenlos, graded as a 5.13/14R trad or V12/13 highball.
In Arco, Austrian climber Eva Hammelmüller and Brazilian climber Cesar Grosso sent Underground, the famous 5.14d sport climb established in 1998 by Manfred Stuffer.
The Origin Sit V15
Weekly Updates: Ice Season 2020/21, Rock 1, Rock 2, Rock 3
Access: Many climbing areas in Canada are currently in areas where Covid-19 restrictions are limiting travel. Don’t travel for rock climbing right now, it could risk future access. Be sure to follow your local access group: Squamish, Kootenays, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland.
Gear and Tips: For spring rock climbing gear, check out the best climbing harnesses for 2021 and the best cams for 2021. For safety, here are five reasons to wear a helmet, tips to be a better bouldering spotter and 10 tips for a more fun spring. Always wear a helmet!
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