

But there are some things which don’t change. Minutes after arriving a big white van pulled up with a matching Primus sticker on the back. Peter Micheaux. He is a legend in my world. I have known him since bouldering became an integral part of my world. He wrote one of the first guidebooks for the forest and can often be found in his home woody or climbing at Fleming beach in Victoria. But now, he is Squamish based and what a pleasure it is to run into Peter. Never will I be bored or uninterested in his presence.
As for the forest, some paths were overgrown while others were spreading out with erosion. Moss returned to the tops of some old lines which never got repeated. It actually looked better than before I left. So green and dense with various evergreens which loomed high above my head.

I visited old projects as well as new lines. While topping out problems that I had done over a 1000 times, my heart pounded hard. I was out of breath. What? Out of breath? Squamish has always been the place I could go to and measure my progress or there lack of. If I could do old projects or if problems felt easier; I knew I came back better. This time however, I was left confused. I felt stronger on individual moves but my fitness felt shot. Given all the training put in, which was more than ever in my life, I was meant to be in good shape right? Well, I wasn’t sure anymore. Trying old projects for measure was overwhelming. My focus was wanting to roam around the forest and simply climb. Repeating a bunch of things was like a gift. The unique movement of the Squamish bouldering made my insides jiggle with happiness. It felt so good to move and climb on this stellar granite.

The Squamish trip was interrupted with a brief visit to Vancouver Island, in particular, The Boulders Climbing Gym. Kimanda had invited me to go there and climb with some of the kids, help with their technique and check out the gym. I got to try the speed climbing wall on auto belay and yes, it was hard and yes, I down climbed half way. Finally committing to let go and trust the device, I let out a little scream of fear and excitement. Surprisingly, it worked! My feet touched bottom. 🙂 On top of that, Cedar and I got to meet with her homeschool teacher who we work with at a distance through “SelfDesign Learning”. If that wasn’t enough to put icing on the cake, we finished the evening with homemade carrot cake to celebrate Peter’s 40th birthday.
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Good-bye Squamish. see you soon. |
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Kimanda of Boulders Climbing gym in Sannich |
Hey there. Thanks for posting. We met briefly at the end of your trip in Magic Wood last year (thanks for an inspirational day climbing and for the lift to the station). I leave for Squamish tomorrow from the UK, based partly on your recommendation. I have little idea of what to expect, no topo, no tick list but an open mind ready to learn 😉 Henry xxx
hey Henry! Cool great. Squamish is perfect without a topo! tons of nooks to explore. Enjoy your stay there and i wish you many adventures!
Heres a link to a circuit.. squamish is so good for this!
http://www.thomasinapidgeon.blogspot.ca/2011/07/circuit-for-you.html
bizzz!!