This set of photos was taken from February 21 – 22.
It sure doesn’t feel like winter around here. With clear skies, dry rocks, and temperatures hovering around 10 C, I joined my long time buddy Spencer and his girlfriend Mikhaela on my first outdoor climbing weekend in Squamish. On Saturday we made our way to the Brohm Lake “Area 44” climbing area. The area offers lots of routes and a great view of the Tantalus mountain range across the valley. Sheltered from the wind and working a sweat up in the sun, hard to believe we were wearing t-shirts in the middle of February.
Although I’ve been climbing for about a year and a half now, this was my first time sport-climbing (aka “lead-climbing”, where you clip in to anchored rocks on your way up, as opposed to “top-roping”, where you climb up with an anchored rope set at the top). Spenny gave me a solid lesson on the new skill set, and we had a great day making our way up the rock faces in the sun. Outdoor climbing (with a view) definitely beats climbing indoors!
After a final ascent at sunset, we headed to the RV and joined some friends for a night by the campfire. On day two, Spencer and I made our way to Chekamus Canyon to take on a (my first) multi-pitch climb. In a multi-pitch climb, one climber leads, belayed from below, placing quickdraws as they reach the next belay station. From here they set a personal anchor and then belay the second climber up from above. The second climber then follows, removing the quickdraws as they go, leap-frogs past the first climber and resets the quickdraws en route to the next belay station. Repeat.
Our climb up “Star Chek” was pretty incredible. We made the hike down to the starting point, crossing a field of loose skree before reaching the river where we began our ascent. Since we would be finishing at the top of the valley and not returning to the starting point, we only carried one backpack with some snacks and one camera. Spencer took some photos before we started the climb but I don’t have any photos from the climb itself. We made our way up the 85-metre arete over four sections with a pretty stellar view from bottom to top, taking a break at the final belay station to take in the view and refuel. Naturally, we celebrated the top-out with a pint in the sunshine.
All in all it was a pretty successful intro weekend to outdoor/lead climbing… Itching to get back out there and check a few more climbs off the Squamish top-100 list!
Stay tuned…
Crooked Canoe Photography 
As usual, I enjoyed reading about your awesome adventure and viewing the amazing photos of the climb. What a gorgeous view!
LikeLike
The climbing pictures make even me nervous. Your mother must be fretting. I’m sure that’s why you left out photos from the multi-pitch 😉
Looks like a great time!
LikeLiked by 1 person