Gripped: The Climbing Magazine June/July 2018

One of the first climbing books I purchased was Chic Scott’s Pushing the Limits. It chronicles the most important Canadian climbs from the dawn of the sport to the late 1990s, when the book was published. Since then, a lot has happened. Some important climbs have been made and the limits are continually pushed farther and harder. But pushing the limits can’t happen without the climbers who push them and these days, it takes obsession, strength, a strong head and an unbelievable amount of commitment. There aren’t many climbers pushing the limits, maybe four or five in each discipline around the world. In Canada’s alpine, pushing the limits has often involved climbing steep, cold and rotten faces of north-facing stone in winter, alone and isolated. It takes more than courage…

This summer, Nathalie Fortin will be heading to K2 for an attempt at the world’s second highest peak. She’ll be going with Serge Dessureault, Benoît Lamoureux and Maurice Beauséjour, all Quebec-based climbers. Only four Canadians have ever climbed K2: Don Bowie, Andy Evans, Jim Haberl and Dan Culver. We touched base with Fortin in Quebec. 1 Where are you based? I live in Montreal and have been for the past three years. I was working in Ottawa for the federal government and I was getting sick of driving eight to 10 hours every weekend to go ice climbing. I then made the decision to move to Montreal and took a big demotion, which I have never regretted because the first winter I climbed 44 times and 38 times the following…

Arc’teryx Acrux SL GTX $200 If you’re looking for a great approach shoe for this summer, look no further. The Acrux SL GTX is made for those mucky trails, scree slopes and big talus. It’s a durable shoe with a seamless one-piece upper that breaks in quickly and has a sticky sole that helps on wet approach slabs. Black Diamond Hot Forge Heated Chalk Bag $60 Every Canadian needs to own this new chalk bag from Black Diamond. The heating system is surrounded with a lightweight fabric, the chalk bag itself is made with 80 g of insulated material, and there are two lithium-ion batteries and a button to change the settings. CAMP Cassin Torre 70 $300 The CAMP Cassin Torre 70 is the king of haul bags and comes…

2018 Canadian Boulder Championships The Bouldering Nationals took place At Up the Bloc in Ontario, with some of the country’s best climbers. Sean McColl won his 12th Canadian bouldering title. After a frustrating semis, McColl dominated finals. Allison Vest won for women and took her first Bouldering championships. New Smoke Bluffs Crag The Smoke Bluffs got a new crag thanks to some hard work by a group of climbers, mostly led by Aaron Kristiansen. He called the small crag Parking Lot Wall and it’s only a few steps away from the parking lot at the bluffs. The climbs range from 5.6 to 5.10 and are mostly gear protected. Kristiansen said, “Found in the parking lot of the Smoke Bluffs, the Parking Lot Wall offers the most easily accessible assortment of…

Carbonedale Freed Brad Gobright made the fourth free ascent of Carbondale Short Bus 5.14R in Indian Creek. Hard Problems Climbed Isabelle Faus made the first female ascent of Delusion of Grandeur V13 and climbed Electric Ant V12 in Chironico in a day. Julia Chanourdie Crushing French climber Julia Chanourdie has sent her second 5.14d with a tick of Molasse’son in Mollans, France. Ha Ling Closure Climbing on Ha Ling Peak in Canmore will be closed throughout the summer: check online for details at pc.gc.ca. Vikki Weldon on V10 Canadian Vikki Weldon climbed her second V10, this time in Joe’s Valley, with a tick of Finger Hut. New Bulletshead Pitch Kyle Smith established a new 5.11b/c trad pitch that links into Bulletheads East up thin cracks and a funky corner called…

Brian Greenwood died on April 6, 2018, at the end of a good life. He was born in 1934 in Hebden Bridge, a steep-hilled woolen mill town in the Pennines of West Yorkshire, U.K. Brian immigrated to Canada in 1956 and settled in Calgary because it was close to the Rockies. Within a year, he was doing serious climbs, and over an 18 year career, his record of first ascents, establishment of new routes, first ascents on hard north faces and winter ascents and traverses was remarkable. He was instrumental in establishing the Calgary Mountain Club, the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, and in 1965 he organized and instructed the first guide’s course in Canada. In his 40s he moved to Golden, B.C., where we met. I was the community…