Luke and Lizzy are finally done laybacking up the Grand Wall
Lizzy covered most of the details of our recent trip to Squamish in an earlier post. I wanted to add some photos since Lizzy was awesome and took a lot of good shots!
During our trip to Squamish I was still a bit tired from my trip up Half Dome, the weekend before, but was psyched to climb my first four 5.11′s since dislocating my right shoulder. The Grand Wall was a ton of fun and it was really nice to have no parties above us for the whole day, a vast contrast to my last multi-pitch adventure. It was also nice to have waited so I could onsight all the pitches, minus a hang to clean a nut on Apron Strings. The Sword had one hard move, and the finish was not as pumpy as I expected. My foot slipped (due to skipping a foothold) but I managed to catch my self, jarring my left shoulder in the process. Perry’s layback was brutally sustained and I almost pumped out near the top. I had to grunt my way up and it seemed much harder than the Sword. As I noted on the Mountain Project page there is no need for aiders or ascenders and it is easy to link the traverse from Merci Me to the short bolt ladder and the Sword to the long bolt ladder.
Jackie works out beta on Super Fly
I also really enjoyed relaxing and hanging out and going bouldering on this trip. I had only bouldered once at Planet Granite since March and it was cool to try hard on the excellent Squamish granite. Jackie, Maddy and Arther were quite psyched and it was awesome to follow them around and not have to choose where we were climbing. I can see why Squamish is considered a world class bouldering destination and on our next trip I might set aside some time to hang out in the forest and do some pebble wrestling.
Luke focus hard on this super thin problem.
Arthur crimps hard on some micro holds.
With much encouragement Luke eeks out a flash of Easy in an Easy Chair
Maddy enjoys a killer heel hook on Easy in an Easy Chair
Maddy fights for friction on some classic Squamish slopers
Luke gets a full helping of Monkey's Lunch
Jackie works the heel hook on Monkey's Lunch
Lizzy remembered that we had stopped by the Animal Magnetism area once before so I could play on Jack’s Baby. This is a classic Squamish sloper traverse which goes right to the finish of Monkey Lunch (seen above). It was cool to send a problem that I had tried many years ago but had no recollection of!
Maddy sends an excellent V0 near Titanic
Jackie warms up up on our last day bouldering
Arthur works on the big reach on Titanic
Luke has the jug of Titanic in his sight.
It was really great to be able to squeeze in some problems on our last day despite a morning of rain. The temperature in the forest below the Grand Wall was often nice and cool in contrast to sunny hotness elsewhere. Finishing the trip on a mellow note hanging out with friends was a big plus. Lizzy and I had climbed the Grand Wall, which was our only big objective, and had a successful trip. Sometimes it is important not to stress out too much about doing something big and crazy every day. I often forget that it can be just as fun to have a relaxing climbing trip as a one full of sending and exhaustion.
Also be sure to check out some more photos from Arthur:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthurhsu/sets/72157624399448586/
Enjoy,
Luke
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