The CragBaby

Shaft, the Cb-gbers and I took a two and half week climbing vacation in Squamish, Canada. British Columbia receives a fair bit of rain during the month of June, but we luckily encountered cooperative weather allowing us to climb everyday.

Driving through beautiful Oregon. At this rest stop we happened to meet a trucker who also owned a chihuahua.

The coastal views on the way to Squamish. In this area, scuba divers congregate to explore two sunken ships.

View of The Chief. While taking this picture a car stopped and the driver warned us of an approaching bear.

The Pemberton landscape.

Squamish and the outlying areas house thousands of routes and boulder problems. Shaft and I alternated between bouldering, trad and sport lines, taking one rest day to hike to the top of the Chief.

Me working ‘In Your Face’ in Pemberton.  This extremely fun v3 was on the Yosemite boulder that sits adjacent the railroad tracks.  The guidebook states to hide if a train is coming due to access concerns.

Shaft warming up at the SuperFly boulder in Squamish.

Shaft sending ‘Sloppy Poppy’, known to be one of the most popular v4’s in Squamish.

Me warming up on the Warm Up Traverse.

Me working ‘Bo Jo Jones’.  This problem consisted of numerous heel hooks. =)

Shaft roping up for routes at the Smoke Bluffs.

Me on Ancient Heart. This climb alone was worth the 15 hour drive to Canada. The 9 bolt 11c showcased numerous heel hooks, a boulder-y slopey crux and a crimpy top out. Pure magic!

Shaft on the third pitch of Deidre, our final climb in Squamish.  We had wanted to run it the day prior but were rained out, ending up bouldering instead.  We thankfully waited one more day, finishing up our trip beautifully with this classic line on The Chief.

Besides numerous days of setting up ropes and throwing out bouldering pads ….

Shaft continually munched on wild raspberries.

I made a new best friend.

We happen-stanced many bear sitings, two of which included dog-bear chases. For the record, the bear surprisingly ran away on both occasions.

We spotted logger truck collision signs.

And saw the biggest, ugliest slugs!

By the time we arrived home, the sweater-clad Cb-gbers was tuckered out, a sure sign of a successful trip.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I am on vacation with my friend Shaft and the CB-gbers in Squamish, British Columbia. It is so beautiful here, the climbing is superb, the temps have been good, and the surroundings remind me of Valdez, Alaska. Plus, we have seen MANY bears. I might post a couple posts while here, but perhaps not. It just isn’t a priority right now as I am focusing on relaxing in the sun and enjoying the view of The Chief.

In response to my previous post, thank you all for your support on the loss of my car. This past Wednesday it was found half a mile from my house with only the stereo gone and the glove box shuffled through. Can you believe that?! My good friend Mark went and identified it for me and lined up the towing (it is in drive-able condition but I took the key with me to Canada…doh! … and though I had mailed it to Mark, the car was found before the key arrived). It is now just waiting for me at his parent’s house. Thank you all for your support and for offering up your vehicles. And thank you Mark for taking car of all the details while I am away. I am truly lucky to have so many great people in my life.

Ok, I am off to go climb. =)

Hanging out in Venice, Italy with Warren and Joe.

For the past six years, I have taken either a foreign vacation or temporarily moved to a new U.S. destination. I have always gone solo, except for the 2007 trip where I met up with one of my dear Irish friends. The line up has included:

• 2002 - Denali Park, Alaska - I moved to Denali for a four month stint in order to earn money for school by waiting tables. However, unlike most folks, I worked only 5 days per week (equaling at least a 50 hour work week) and spent the weekends backpacking through the beautiful park. I saw tons of wildlife (bears, caribou, wolves, moose, mosquitoes of unbelievable size), fished in Valdez (caught my first and only salmon) but most surprisingly somehow caught a glimpse of Denali every weekend. I absolutely love Alaska. Seriously a breathtaking, wonderful place that has a very special place in my heart.
• 2003 - Europe - I backpacked around for six weeks hitting up parts of England, Scottland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. It was the typical whirlwind American trip, but real fun and the fist time out of the country on my own. I met a good handful of dear friends, such as this rockstar and a couple of these rockstars.
• 2004 - Chicago - I took a semester off school to go intern on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. What an eye-opening, learning experience! At first I was unsure if I would like the city as I am an avid outdoorsy girl. Yet, it was quickly evident, upon moving there, that Chicago is a fantastic city with a superb arts scene, restaurants and of course sports. Go cubs!
• 2005 - China - I spent a month backpacking through China. Yes, I did this trip alone as well. It was a hard “vacation” due to major cultural differences and being continually sick … but fun none-the-less. I met a couple of very dear friends who I ended up traveling with for about 2.5 of the 4 weeks, plus had the chance to do a little climbing in Yangshuo.
• 2006 - Ireland - The China trip was quite exhausting, so I decided to go to a place in 2006 where I could at least speak the language. I was in the country for 2.5 weeks and had such a superb visit. Ireland is one of the friendliest countries as people continually offered to help me out, chat over a pint, etc. I also met a superb group of climbers, two of which I have become good friends with and who I often reference on this blog as HIP #1 and HIP #2. One of the main highlights was my birthday. As many of you know, my birthday is a BIG DEAL to me. This year I was hanging out with the fantastic crew of climbers, climbing in the Burren over my birthday weekend. I felt so lucky.
• 2007 - Thailand - This trip was the first trip where I met up with and traveled with a friend, HIP #1. We met in Bangkok and immediately traveled to Tonsai, where we spent the majority of our 2.5 week vacation. Tonsai might have been the best vacation yet because I was in a climber’s paradise surrounded by handfuls of beautiful beaches, enjoying all of it with one of my best friends.

This year I am traveling with my friend and current room mate Shaft. We are heading up to Squamish next Friday and will be gone until the 22nd. We are actually driving (gulp) as it is quite a bit cheaper and it will allow us to stop along the way (perhaps to visit some friends of mine in Seattle, stop to check out Rainier or possibly even stop in Oregon to climb…all still up in the air though). I am real excited as I feel in dire need of a vacation.

If you have traveled to Squamish, I would be real interested in chatting with you about your beta on climbs, places to camp, activities for rest days, etc. Feel free to post up in the comments or send an email to wasatchgirl at gmail.com.