Gripped: The Climbing Magazine August/ September 2024 Vol. 26 Issue 4

It’s that time of year again when the summer alpine routes come into condition and alpinists flock to the Canadian Rockies to test themselves. The alpine climbing in the Rockies is unlike the granite spires of B.C. or long ridges in the Sierra Nevada, as the rock is choss, the approaches are untracked and the descents are complicated. Some of the world’s best alpine climbers have said that if you can climb in the Rockies, then you can climb anywhere. If you’ve never been above treeline on a long Rockies alpine route, there are a few things to keep in mind. Always start on the easiest routes in the guidebooks, as the grades don’t do a good job at getting across the difficulties. If you’re a 5.12 gym climber but…

Arc’teryx Kragg $190 This is the footwear you never knew you needed. It replaces flip-flops and approach shoes as an in-between-climb shoe. It protects your feet, breathes well and is easy to slip on. Metolius Vegan Brush $14 Metolius has released a vegan version that uses synthetic materials instead of boar hair. It has a large handle and the tapered bristles are a durable alternative to non-vegan options. Petzl Neox $210 The most highly anticipated belay device hit the market this spring, and we love it. It’s similar to a GriGri but gives a smoother lead belay. A great option for sport and gym climbers. Wild Country Mosquito Pro $160 This is one of the best new harnesses for multi-pitch and trad climbing objectives. It has big gear loops, a…

The Singularity V15 is one of Squamish’s most iconic—and most difficult—boulder problems. Located in The Room underneath Chris Sharma’s Dreamcatcher 5.14d, The Singularity was established by Tim Clifford in 2007 and originally graded V14. Subsequent ascensionists have started the problem from a lower hold, upping the complexity. Nalle Hukkataival made the second ascent in 2017, and Lucas Uchida repeated it in 2022. On Feb. 5 this year, Ethan Salvo made the fourth ascent of the problem. The line had been a multi-year project for Salvo, spending session after session, season after season, trying to unlock the famously finicky climb. The Singularity is unique. It requires everything to come together in order to pull off a send—co-ordination, balance, strength, mental clarity, try-hard effort and conditions. Many top climbers have tried their…

On April 18, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld a decision of the B.C. Supreme Court from 2023 finding that a waiver signed by a client for a day of rock climbing at Begbie Bluffs near Revelstoke wasn’t enforceable, in a case where he fell and got injured while being guided on a mountain climb on Mount Roger in Glacier National Park a month later. The effect of the decision in Manson v. Mitchell is that the case can proceed to determine if the guide and the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) were at fault. Now, neither defendant can rely on the waiver as a defence. This is a significant turn because it means the client needs only to show that the guide was negligent—or failed to act as…

Bishop locals Chase “Swami” Leary and Andy “Big Hippie” Puhvel have completed a grand project up the nearly 600-m face of Keeler Needle (4,300 m). Keeler Needle is attached to Mount Whitney, was first climbed by Warren Harding in 1960 and is widely regarded as the proudest spire in the Sierra Nevada. Puhvel, 52, and Leary, 32, live in Bishop and, for the past five years, have been on a first ascent tear, putting up high-quality, hard routes in their backyard alpine playground. Before their barrage of new routing, there were only two pitches rated 5.13 in the entire alpine Sierra, and they were both on the well-travelled Incredible Hulk: Airstream (FA P. Croft) and Nalazak (FA J. Whittaker and L. Rivera). Since then, Puhvel and Leary have added eight…

Most of us typically approach learning how to trad climb the same way. We begin with some toproping, we mock-lead and get an experienced climber to assess our gear, and then dive into the real thing. Our belief in our own climbing abilities allows us to be brave, leading low-grade trad climbs with a fair amount of confidence, knowing that the likelihood of actually falling is slim. The trust we have in our gear and its ability to save our lives often comes more gradually. And while a healthy amount of caution is integral when climbing, this inability to put our faith into our gear can be detrimental to our progress. It also doesn’t really make any sense. Whether you actually weight your pieces or not, you are ultimately trusting…