Joffre Lakes

Lower Joffre Lake

Joffre Falls

Upper Joffre Lake. Very reminiscent of Laguna 69 in Peru.

Check out dem glaciers

Whatcha lookin' at?

Is that the Northern Lights?? I hope so.

Bucket list #217: Drink fresh glacier water... Check.

Worth the hike 

I've found a secret hobbit glacier home.

Slightly cold, but has a nice feel to it.

No clouds on the hike back down!

Based on the suggestion of the bartender at Howe Sound Brewing whilst drinking a barelywine, I made my way to Barleywine Mountain for some scrambling. Based on the suggestion of the guys I met there, I made my way to Joffre Lakes about an hour north of Whistler. Canada has so many lakes and they're all so beautiful! These lakes in particular really reminded me of Laguna 69 in Peru. Super blue lakes surrounded by white granite and pristine glaciers. Would you believe that you can camp right next to the upper lake for only $5 per night? I HOPE YOU'RE READING THIS AMERICAN PARKS. 

The hike was very nice, albeit a bit busy. The camping was even better and once the clouds lifted, the night sky was comparable to some of the best skies I've gazed upon during my travels. Exploring the glacier above the lake the next morning was a real treat. I even found my first ice climbing booty, an expensive looking ice screw! The original plan was to then head to Banff, Glacier and Jasper National Parks, but I've decided to save those for another time and start making my way back south.

To The Top Of The Chief!

View from the top of Rock On. Already really great exposure.

Finishing up pitch 14.

The summit!

Mark and I ganged up to climb 15 pitches to get to the top of The Chief. We linked up Rock On [5.10a, 5 pitches] with Ultimate Everything [5.10b, 10 pitches]. Awesome climbing the whole way up and the view from the top was exquisite!

2 Days later we climbed another route on the chief, Millennium Falcon [5.11b, 14 pitches]. Only 4 of the 14 pitches were easier than 5.10. It was certainly the most challenging multi-pitch climb I've attempted so far. After making it through the first 13 pitches we reached the final pitch, 5.11b slab, and it was my turn to lead. It was 55 meters of slab climbing with only 8 bolts protecting it. The only holds were polished crystals leading up a dyke. I fell a few times before finally making it to the 7th bolt. The crux was about 12 feet up and right from this bolt and I must have taken 15 whippers, the biggest one being after pulling through the crux and falling during a mantel onto a small ledge. The 30 foot diagonal fall on slab was pretty intense, to say the least. With the setting sun, I was determined to make it through this pitch. I finally got through the crux and stuck the mantel. To my dismay, the next section wasn't easy and the final bolt was still 15 feet away. A 50 foot diagonal fall on slab and waning light was enough to force me to back down. Voluntarily dropping off the ledge and falling onto the last bolt was a wee bit spooky. Having to bail 20 feet from the summit after 8 hours of climbing was tough to deal with, but better than risking serious injury in a country that may or may not take my "socialist Obamacare" health insurance. A wonderful test of physical endurance and mental capacity. I loved the experience but I don't plan on tackling the climb ever again. Rest day today for sure!

Vancouver

Dr. Seuss exhibit.

Mmmm mountains...

Lots of parks for lots of frisbee.

Salsa lessons. It's most definitely not in my blood...

Rest day visit to Vancouver with Michelle and Jacquie. For a big city it's pretty nice. Had a great time exploring the digs. 

St. Vitus' Dance

The start to our multipitch adventure. Fun alpine pitch tugging on roots and cracks. 

Michelle climbing out of the tree-line. 

Jacquie exhausted after fighting her way through the "5.9" crack bulge towards the top. Not an easy section!

Yeah, that's nice.

Mt. Garibaldi at sunset. Debating whether the 30km roundtrip hike would be fun or regretful.

The chief at night. The parking lot is absolutely littered with white vans. Fancy people with their big fancy homes...

Our first multi-pitch adventure was the wonderful 5 pitch classic St. Vitus' Dance [5.9]. I climbed it with Jacquie, Michelle and Michelle's college friend Mark. Although it didn't take us all the way up to the summit of The Chief, it was a great introductory trad climb in Squamish. Mark and I tacked on a couple more classic crack climbs above St. Vitus' Dance for a great conclusion to our adventure. 

Squamish!

Crag life.

Cooking dinner on Michelle's awesome Rav4 dirtbag setup.

Thanks Sara for showing me that easy crack climbs are a great rest day activity.

The Chief looming over beautiful Squamish.

With 2 different groups of friends heading to Squamish, BC, I decided to skip over the rest of Oregon and Washington and drive straight to the Canadian border. Border patrol did not like the idea of an unemployed and unkempt man driving into their country with all of his belongings in his car. With the ability to stay in Canada indefinitely (they must be on their toes this year with our current election) they had me pull over for a search and a background check. Slightly nerve wracking, but I made it through with all of the right answers (and a single text message proving that I planned on going back to the US). 

Holy moly Squamish is beautiful! Granite cliffs towering over the town on all sides, complimented by rivers, waterfalls and lakes. I can see why they claim to be the outdoor recreation capital of Canada. The climbing so far has been world class. It's been really great seeing some New England friends as well.  Looking forward to the next 2 weeks here.