Gripped: The Climbing Magazine February/March 2021 Vol. 23 Issue 1

As we transition from winter to spring and head into a new year, we have a lot to look forward to in the world of climbing and beyond. Last year was a challenge for everyone, including for climbing athletes who lost comp seasons, brands for losing sales and events for not taking place. We missed seeing you at the trade shows, film festivals and climbing academies. Climbing was booming, it was going to a place none of us could have imagined: from its debut in the Olympics to expeditions up unclimbed mountains to the opening of countless gyms. Climbing was on fire. The sport of climbing has been there for people through many historical events, from wars and disasters to pandemics and social change. Climbing is a place people can…

Arc’teryx Castlegar Striped Toque $45 A one-size-fits-all toque that offers the durability of acrylic fabric with the warmth of wool. It’s perfect for chilly sessions at the boulders or commutes to the crag. The earband is a comfortable polyester fleece. Plus, it’s stylish. Metolius Ascender Set $100 The Metolius Ascender has long been aid climber’s, route developer’s and big wall climber’s go-to for jugging fixed ropes and hauling bags. It has a comfortable moulded handle that is easy to connect and disconnect from ropes 9 to 12 mm. Petzl Actik Core $90 The Actik Core is a powerhouse of a headlamp that will give you multiple day’s worth of illumination in the backcountry. The battery pack is easy to charge and the light pumps out 450 lumens. Great for early-morning…

Joe Skopec has been at the cutting-edge of hard Ontario climbing for the past few years. He’s climbed nearly every route on the Niagara Escarpment and has added his own 5.14+ sport climbs. He’s been one of the few rock climbers to showcase the world-class potential in the province and to bring international attention to his new, difficult lines. Throughout the winter, he’s been training for a what might be his most difficult new Ontario route to date. What’s your favourite crag in Ontario and why? Rockwood would be my favourite crag if it were open, but Lion’s Head for sure, it has it all. The adventurous approaches are fun, from rappelling in to boating in to a long hike in. There are 40-metre routes, a range of grades and…

Rockies Ice Report The Canadian Rockies had a lot of early season ice form in the fall. The result was one of the busiest new-routing bursts on record. The following is brief summary. Katana Above Lake Margaret, which is next to Hector Lake below Pulpit Peak, Sebastian Taborszky, Stas Beskin and Dylan Cunningham climbed a new serious 245-metre five-pitch mega ice line they called Katana WI6+X. It’s one of the most serious pure ice lines ever climbed in Canada. The east-facing route goes at WI3 60 m, WI6R 45 m, WI5+ 55 m, WI6+X 40 m and finally WI6R 45 m. About the fourth-pitch: “Climb the improbable free-standing pillar with the first screw at 30 metres above the belay. Pillar had a three-inch unhealed crack half-way up.” High Hanging Fruit…

Golden Gate in a Day Emily Harrington and Jordan Cannon both climbed El Capitan via Golden Gate in a day in separate ascents. The first climber to free El Cap in a day was Lynn Hill in 1993 via The Nose 5.14. See p.34 for more. K2 Climbed in Winter At the time of print, K2 was climbed in winter for the first time by 10 Nepalese mountaineers. The all-Sherpa team included: Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa. New B.C. V10 Allen James Rollin made the first ascent of Warhammer V10 at Arrowlakes near Castlegar. He said, “A sick compression line. Lots in intricate beta required and fully…

Doug Scott, one of the world’s most legendary mountaineers, died in December at age 79. He started climbing at the age of 13 after his interest was sparked during trips to the Peak District. Scott was a past president of the Alpine Club and received the Piolets d’Or lifetime achievement award. With Dougal Haston, he was the first British climber to summit Mount Everest in 1975. Two years after Everest, Scott broke both his legs while descending Baintha Brakk, the 7,285-metre Karakorum peak known as The Ogre, an infamous Himalayan peak. It required very serious technical climbing at high altitude. Scott managed to reach the summit, but during the descent, he slipped on the ice, swung like a pendulum on his rope and smashed both legs. His climbing partner, Chris…