Squamish, B.C. Climbing Aug 4-7, 2022
I love Squamish. I love the nature, the views, the people, and all of the outdoor activities! This was our second time visiting and it was awesome. We went last year over Labor Day weekend and got rained on the whole time, so we weren't able to do much outside (it poured, not drizzled - I can handle the drizzle!). Anyway, we did a bunch of climbing and relaxing this time and it was great.
We climbed routes at:
Woodstock (Murrin Park)
The Playground (Mamquam FSR)
The Courtyard (Mamquam FSR)
Amanda and Micah did the Relish Route by Shannon Falls (AMO Wall) multi-pitch (3 pitches). Chadani and I went on a little hike while they climbed.
We stayed at the Klahanie Campground right across the street from Shannon Falls Provincial Park. I love this campground! It's great. The bathrooms play music, the campgrounds are very clean, and the campsites are pretty private given that it's RV/tent camping. There was a bear wandering around the site - we never saw it, saw the scat though, but one of the staff said he was up until 2:30 AM one night trying to chase it out of the camp. Our campsite was next to the river and across from a fishing pond.
Aside from climbing, one of my favorite things that I personally did was sit by the river next to our campsite and stick my feet in the ice cold water. I finished the short John Cleese book "Creativity" and just relaxed. If you're interested, this book will probably take you less than an hour to read, if that, but it was a nice reminder for me that creativity doesn't happen on command, and that our brains are always working on creative things, even when we aren't really thinking about them. Play is important! All work and no play is no good for the creative mind. I also think this is true for our mental health in general - you need time to play. We aren't machines, we need to relax and do fun things too!
Climbing is one of my favorite kinds of play because it's very meditative for me - I am very focused on what I'm doing and very in the moment. What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel? What do I smell? What do I taste? All of these questions are very present with me when I'm standing on a little hold, attached to a rope above the ground. It's also great exercise and a good challenge.
I also may have over-indulged in Cadbury chocolate, but what else is new? When in Rome. Or Canada.Lol. On our last day in Canada, we saw a few friends and their new place and hung out a bit.
Here are some pictures from the trip. Please enjoy!
I'm going to post the photos of Chadani climbing for the first time EVER! She crushed it! She got up that route in less than 3 minutes. It's always so inspiring to see people be brave and try. This was a highlight of the trip, for sure.
Next, I want to share photos that Amanda shared with me from the multi-pitch she and Micah did! I am so, so happy that they got this opportunity because I know how much it meant to them to do it! How freaking cool is this? They both look like they're on top of the world...and they almost were! ;)
Can you spot Micah and Amanda in these photos? I zoomed in as far as I could with my telephoto lens from where I was standing in the parking lot. That's Shannon Falls in the background, the third highest waterfall in B.C. (335m/1099')
Chadani and I had a good time in "the enchanted forest" while they were climbing.
Here are some more climbing photos - random mix!
Me and Amanda at the top of one of the Woodstock routes at Murrin Park:
Me climbing up said route.
"It's okay to fart when you're nervous."
Me clinging for dear life. Just kidding. This is me pausing while lead climbing because I couldn't figure out where to put my hands next. I was feeling around. This last part of this route was really hard for me and I just didn't feel comfortable leading the rest of it. I think I would've felt better top roping it, but leading it (setting the rope as you climb basically) was making me way too nervous.
Some other things from the trip:
Micah and I stuffed a queen-sized blow-up air mattress into our 2-person backpacking tent. The good thing about car camping is that you can bring more things with you than you would backpacking, like an air mattress that is almost too big for the tent and big, comfy pillows.. He took this of me while I was sleeping. We need to get a car camping tent. We had one, but it got ruined...but that's a story for another time.
The ice cream truck came through the campgrounds one afternoon. I was reading and was so confused when I heard loud music getting closer and closer, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. And then I saw the ice cream truck round the corner and popped out of my seat and joyfully walked with purpose to the ice cream truck like a little kid. It was the perfect treat for a warm afternoon. (We took breaks from climbing in the afternoon because of the heat).
Chadani painted while we were climbing. She sat down and did this beautiful gouache painting...her use of color is just incredible. She's extremely talented! I also just want to add that one of her dreams after she finishes grad school is to open an art studio where she can collaborate with other Nepalese artists and showcase their work. If you have instagram, you can see more of her work here: @art.by.moon_
We saw lots of berries. Salal, blackberry, and thimbleberry (pictured). The blackberries and salal berries were not quite ripe yet, but the thimbleberries were getting there and there were a few that were in perfect eating condition.
Also saw tons of fireweed and bumblebees
We got lunch downtown one day. I love downtown Squamish and all of the murals. There's a lot of it. So many cool paintings.
All in all, another great trip for the books. I'm so thankful that we live within driving distance of these incredible outdoor spaces. Honestly, I still get awestruck when I drive around this part of the world. The mountains, the water...all of it is just so gorgeous. I'm really thankful for all of our friends that we climb with and the family and friends that want to hear our stories. I love B.C. - I can't wait to go back!
Stawamus Chief...next time, we will climb you.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!!