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Published: September 9th 2008
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Highway 37
looked in the rearview and saw this killer sunset. Our return trip back through the Yukon Territories and British Columbia was relatively uneventful. Crossing the border from Alaska into Canada was somewhat anticlimactic. Preparing for the worst, we expected the cavity searches and incessant interrogation that highlighted our first encounters with border crossing personnel when we were northbound. Rather, we were dismissed to venture through the wilds with little more than a look at our passports.
We drove hard with few stops and little sightseeing other than to boil water for coffee and Ramen. Just before Watson Lake we turned off onto highway 37 (if I remember correctly) which led into the more populated areas around Prince George. From there we hastened down towards the Vancouver area, hoping to get in some quality climbing as we passed on through.
Our first night we camped at a derelict gravel pit which held some fine bouldering just a short way up the path. The selection was fairly limited but some good problems were climbed. We had not done any climbing since the brief attempt at climbing the slag piles in Anchorage so we retired early, feeling pretty worked. From there we ventured south along highway 99 into the town of
Little Bears
it looked like a very small cub with a young bear-- neither of them behaved aggressively or acted particularly territorial. Whistler, where we found some nice sport climbing on pocketed granite. We killed a day thusly and then headed down towards Squamish, a coastal climbing mecca, featuring every type of climbing- short, long, hard, easy, cracks, faces, bolts and gear...a plethora of choices which are overwhelming to a visitor who has never been there before.
We opted to climb at Murrin Provincial Park, because of the fact that you can literally back your car up to the wall to climb- short moderate routes, not the most photogenic climbs by any stretch of the imagination-- but ones with minimal legwork to reach. I led a 5.8 crack on gear, then we top-roped a 5.10a crack next to it and did several laps on it. During the time we were climbing here, another fellow joined us to do some rope-soloing-- meaning that he was climbing using a more sophisticated mechanical system to provide protection in place of a climbing partner to belay him. It became clear that he knew his way around the rock pretty well and we began chatting a little bit. He told us that he was local and just was coming out to run laps on some climbs
British Columbia
we missed all of this driving in as it was rainy. thank goodness for good weather on the way out! to recover from an injury-- and offered to show us a long traversing boulder problem (meaning it is low enough to the ground to be climbed safely without ropes). Watching Ed climb it, I felt reasonably confident that I might be able to link all the moves and complete it as well. Long story short, I didnt, but we got a good bit of exercise and had some fun trying it.
As we talked with Ed he asked us about our trip and what sort of accommodations we had. After learning that we were sleeping in my car most of the time he very graciously offered us a guest room at his place for the night. I will say that sleeping in my Civic is not the horror story most of you are probably imagining-- certainly it is no worse than a tent, and it has its pros:warmer, higher off the ground, safer (locking doors etc), electricity and so on. That said, a bed and a real roof over one's head is a welcome respite from whatever makeshift accommodations can be had on the road, clever though they might be...So we gladly accepted his offer and made our way
Whistler
Entering Whistler over to his place after flailing a few last times on the boulder traverse. We got to shower for the first time in a while and then ate what will forever stand out in my memory as the greatest salad ever. It was a perfect meal by my standards as it was free of simple carbs that tempt and aggravate the palate of a diabetic. It was the first greens we had eaten aside from a few McDonalds side salads along the way which made it that much more special. I usually am not a beer drinker- but I tried some "Devils Elbow" from a local brewery and found it much more to my liking than other, lesser beers I have tried.
Over dinner we chatted with Ed about his climbing experiences, picking his brain and asking many questions. We came to learn that he had been all over the world on various climbing and trekking adventures and had much to tell of the various places he'd been. Meeting someone who has done so many of the things I have dreamed of doing made it seem that much more possible to actually DO the things that I dream of
rather than just read about them and dismiss them as wishful thinking. All in all, his hospitality was wonderful and greatly appreciated.
The following day we went back and climbed a slab at Murrin- a 5.8 that seemed very easy from the ground and got much more intimidating as you climbed up. Its relatively shallow angle was deceptive since there was a lack of recognizable handholds. It gave us an opportunity to work on footwork and re-taught the lesson that grades can be deceptive. We followed that up with some more top roping on the parking-lot adjacent wall where we had met Ed the day before. It was somewhat anti-climactic but we felt that it was a nice way to end a good stay in Canada. Squamish is one place to which we most certainly hope to return.
From Squamish, it was a few hours to pass through Vancouver- which as cities go, was very nice-and pass over the border back into the US in the state of Washington. We hadnt really planned any stops in Washington but opted to bypass Seattle for the most part and take the scenic route through, which led us past terrific views
Car
Walking back from Bouldering I saw this car in the woods, thought it was kind of cool. of Mt Ranier and Mt St Helens. Aside from these great peaks, the forests of Washington were quite impressive. The trees were huge and moss seemed to cover almost everything in sight.
From Washington we continued south across the Columbia River into Oregon, heading for the birthplace of bolted sport climbing in America-- Smith Rock.
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