Matthew and Cassie's Big Climbing Trip.: sunshine at squamish

Thursday, August 4, 2011

sunshine at squamish

climber sculpture

Huge Slug - they are all over in the forest.

After our first trip to squamish two years ago where it rained for a week straight, we knew that there was amazing bouldering in the dripping forest but didn't get much of a chance to explore it. We were hoping for better luck with the weather this time around, but can't believe the luck we've had so far. Blue skies every day and the 10 day forecast is completely dry! Last time we were here, we decided to hike to the top of the chief on a rainy day and remember it being a miserable, wet, cold, slippery experience, with countless stairs to get up there, at the time we were happy to get a view of the bay below through the dripping fog. We decided to try the hike again and there's just a bit more to see on a clear day and it's really quite a pleasant hike when you're not in miserable conditions. The nausea inducing looks over the shear drop from the top were plenty to remind us why we prefer bouldering to multipitch trad.

north summit of the chief

peering over the edge

what you see when you look over the edge

We've started to explore the boulders with much better luck than our first trip. We've gotten on a few classic problems so far and hope to get many more projects in the sunny days ahead. The campground and boulders at the chief have been a great place to meet other climbers from all over which adds to the fun.