Gripped: The Climbing Magazine June/July 2017

On this 150th anniversary of Canada, we take a look back at a century-and-a-half of cutting edge climbs from coast to coast. As we head into the second half of 2017, there are countless youth teams training, more climbers than ever spending their days away from school or work at the crag and tens of thousands of routes from B.C. to Newfoundland. It’s easy to forget that it wasn’t long ago Canada only had a handful of climbers pushing the sport. Take for instance the 1961 first ascent by Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper of the Grand Wall in Squamish. Or the lesser known bold first solo of Mount Louis in Banff via the Kain Route by a young Ontario climber named Roger Neve in 1929. Both routes are now…

If you’re 8 years old and bouldering V8, what does the future hold? Mind-bending new sport routes, progressive alpine lines, international comps and 2020 Team Canada pride. With support from Climbing Escalade Canada, the National Federation for competition climbing, a new generation of climbers is discovering the sport, accessing training and coaching and laying down the skills to become tomorrow’s strongest, most inspiring climbers. When you shop at MEC, 1% of every sale goes back to the community. Through organizations like the CEC, we inspire and enable Canadians to lead active outdoor lives. mec.ca/community…

The North Face Base Camp Flip Flop $40 Flip f lop season is the best when you have comfortable ones on your feet. We don’t think you could ask for a better around-thecamp or crag than these ultra-plush egg crate footbeds. Your feet will thank you. Arc’teryx Gamma Lt Pant Revised $200 It’s hard to find a good pair of climbing pants, but Arc’teryx has always been able to find the balance between fit and climbability. They fit well, have big pockets and a f lexible belt. A top choice for summer alpine. Patagonia 850 Down Sleeping Bag New $589 With 850-fill-power traceable down, this new three-season sleeping bag is one of the best to hit the market this year. From the low-profile hood to the extra-warm foot bed, this…

Amanda Berezowski has been climbing for 16 years. She started as a young competitor on the Calgary Climber Centre’s youth team before heading outdoors to the walls in the Bow Valley. She grew up climbing with her dad and younger brother, Tony, now a coach in Calgary. In 2016, she reached a milestone and sent her first 5.14a with a tick of Dinosaur Highway in B.C. 1. Do you remember your first outdoor climbs? Yes, but more the experience than a specific climb. I remember being scared and the different stages of getting through it. I loved going to Grassi Lakes and climbing the overhanging sections where I was the least scared to fall. One of the clearest was getting on my first 5.11 in Skaha. I got scared halfway…

Dan Beland Sends Winter Projects West Coaster Dan Beland has been on a charge for the past few seasons. Between New Years and early spring, he sent a number of 5.14s. In Mexico, he sent Inferno De Dante Extension 5.14a, Honey Bitch 5.14a and Murder Weapon 5.14a. He travelled north to Utah where he made quick work of the classic Golden for a Moment 5.14b. He then turned his attention to Solid Gold, which had one ascent. It took him a number of attempts and after noted, “The king line at the cave. The best, hardest and most direct way to climb Golden. Sounds like this is probably the second ascent. We’ve been here a month and I’ve focused everything on this route, so it’s pretty amazing that it finally…

As we went to press we heard the sad news of Swiss climber Ueli Steck’s death on Mount Everest. Steck was a leading alpinist. Find an extensive commemoration of Steck on gripped.com. The 2017 Piolet d’Or went to Russian and British teams for separate new routes in the Himalayas. B.C.-based Kim McGrenere sends hard routes in spring, including Sniffing Glue 5.13c, Pucker 5.13c and Inferno de Dente 5.13d. Leslie Timms from Ontario sends hard routes south of the border this spring, such as her onsight of the crack Reggaetone 5.12. Squamish climbers Vikki Weldon and Tom Wright tick hard Australia routes Eye of the Tiger 5.13b and Serpentine 5.13b. Sunshine Rock near Banff gets two new 5.11s called Thunder from Down Under and Headless Horsemen. Jon Cardwell sends Papichullo 5.15a…