Philip Quade Week 15: End of the Road

It was far from a quick trip from Kelowna back to the Bow Valley. It set in quickly just what rough shape Serenity was in. We limped along – There was no agenda on the day, except to reach our destination if possible. And after about 9 hours, we did. I slept in Lake Louise in the over flow parking, and the next morning, woke up, packed, and prepped to head into Black Feather Crag – an area I hadn’t been to before, but was keen to check out – for a shoot with Bergen Galts and Iain Hollan.

I was really impressed with the canyon, not sure what to expect on arrival. I was also somewhat surprised at the amount of traffic that day. I got a line set, and we went to town. We were short on time that day and had to make the best of it.

I’ve shot with Bergen many times before, and always look forward to it. But it was Iain that surprised me that day, at how eager he was to get on a rope in front of the lens. It’s always great to work with new people who are excited to shoot and want to have fun with it

As the day wrapped up I headed for Canmore to prep for what would be the last shoot of the trip. I repacked and did a little prep work, then headed for dinner with a friend now located in Canmore full time. After, Serenity and I found a place to pull in for our last night, got cozy, and enjoyed the last night, thinking back on the road we’d covered in the last few months.

As I sat beneath the boulders in Kelowna, coming to terms with the fact that my blown out wrist would mean the end of my climbing on the road this summer, my phone went off. I was disheartened, a little angry, and pretty disappointed that I couldn't even pull on to start a V0. The Boulderfields were one of the areas I was most looking forward to all summer. • But all it took was a quick message in that moment saying "Hey, I'm in Canmore for a few days. Want to get out one day to climb/shoot?" To pull me back into gear. • I was so stoked that with only a few days left before her departure for Europe, @celestio wanted to get out for some Bow Valley bouldering. Big Choss was the obvious choice for me. It was the first area I ever climbed in outdoors, and still holds as a personal favourite. • Couldn't have asked for a better day to end my summer tour around North America than by showing Celeste around my home boulders. • Photo: Celeste Wall, @celestio warming up on what was my first V4 send outdoors, on the Fairy Boulder. Big Choss, Kananaskis Country, Alberta. • • • • #climbing | #bouldering | #bigchoss | #explorealberta | #climbingphotography | #climbing_pictures_of_instagram | #climbing_is_my_passion | #organicclimbing | #climbingisbliss | #climbingnation | #radgirlscollective | #radgirlslife | #climblikeagirl | #mountainbabes | #skratchthesummit | #skratchlabs | #c_l_i_m_b | #adventurestartshere | #climb | #shotoncanon | #livewild | #getoutstayout | #roadtrip | #tourcanada | #kananaskis | #climbinglife | #racedayfuel | #grippedmagazine | @skratchlabs | @racedayfuel | @organicclimbing | @grippedmagazine

A photo posted by Philip Quade (@philip_quade) on Aug 29, 2016 at 9:13pm PDT

In the morning I made a stop at Rocky Mountain Bagel Co., and headed off to meet Celeste Wall for the days shoot. I picked her up and we set out to Big Choss, for a day of bouldering. It was her first time bouldering in the area, which is always an exciting instance for me, as Choss has become my home boulders, and definitely my most visited area in the Bow Valley.

We toured a good chunk of the boulder field. Checking out classics, as well as a few of my favourite problems – Warming up at Fairy boulder, then moving through Sector Six, where she worked Hey Sailor V9 – a problem I have been keen to shoot for some time. We worked right through to the back end, Old Ironsides. Origin of the Species V9, was another problem I had been gunning to shoot for a while. Celeste gave it a few runs, while I bounced around, shooting away. It also gave me a chance to scope out my next project for Big Choss, Studer Slab V5/6.

As we prepped to call it a day, I took Celeste to my favourite part of Choss. At the far west end, just before the tree-line, sits a massive slab, with a dynamite lightning bolt crack on the right side Waking up To the Crack of Don – as named by Don McKeown – and a wicked, thin slab face to the left – The highball slab face is a project I am excited to start next season.

This boulder offers one of the most aesthetic climbs – in my opinion – in the entire area. That night I landed back in Calgary. Serenity finally getting a well-deserved rest. She’ll go off the road for the rest of the season. She served me well over the roughly 22, 000km we clocked this summer. As for me, rest would have to wait. A return to Calgary means moving back into my house, going back to a day job, and readjusting to city life. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily excited for all of those things, but a few moments of consistent workspace to catch up on projects and editing will be nice.

The summer was quite different than I expected it to be. It became way more involved and work-focused. But, no complaints here. The catalogue I walked away with, and the network of amazing climbers, photographers, editors and industry contacts is priceless.

Now, it’s time to buckle down, heal my wrist, and start training and prep work for my next project. In a few weeks I’ll be off again, along with Rachael Hiltscher, to explore Indian Creek, and get a taste for some desert bouldering.

Back here in Calgary now for the season… Kind of. The next five weeks will consist of editing, cataloging and getting athlete portfolios wrapped up from this summer. As well, training my butt off for some desert exploration bouldering and shooting in Indian Creek, in October with one of my favourite crushers, @rachael_leahcar. • Photo: Rachael Hiltscher (@rachael_leahcar) showing me how it done, on "Chainsaw" V4, at the Leather Face Boulder, in Horseshoe Canyon, Arkansas. • • • • #climbing | #bouldering | #climb | #rockclimbing | #climbing_is_my_passion | #climbingphotography | #climbingisbliss | #climbingnation | #climbing_pictures_of_instagram | #climbinglife | #climblikeagirl | #c_l_i_m_b | #girlswhocrush | #girlswhoclimb | #radgirlscollective | #radgirlslife | #mountainbabes | #flashedclimbing | #grippedmagazine | #racedayfuel | #skratchthesummit | #skratchlabs | #gnarlynutrition | #arkansas | #roadtrip | #livewild | #lasportiva | #flashfoxy | #womenrockclimbing | @grippedmagazine | @flashedclimbing | @heyflashfoxy | @women.rock.climbing | @skratchlabs | @gnarlynutrition

A photo posted by Philip Quade (@philip_quade) on Aug 31, 2016 at 8:17am PDT