Gripped: The Climbing Magazine April/May 2021 Vol. 23 Issue 2

Road trips are both the best way to explore your local area and venture far from home to have the epic of a lifetime. All you need is a vehicle, some food money and climbing gear, and there’s no telling what kind of memories that you’ll make, or shenanigans that you’ll get up to. There are a few ways to take a road trip, one being the impulsive toss-everything-in-the-car and figure it out on the way style; and then there’s the plan-before-you-go approach. More than once, I’ve gone from having no weekend plans to driving for a few hours to climb at a new crag in a matter of minutes. That works fine for short trips, but if you’re going for a few weeks, then you’ll want to be prepared.…

Might I suggest that Gripped remain a climbing magazine and not a magazine used for political platforms. This offensive route-name agenda appears to be following the “cancelled culture” agenda. While I agree that some route names lack taste, and I would not want my children to repeat them, I do believe in freedom of speech. It appears that in our current culture, there are some who find most everything offensive. Personally, I find stop lights offensive, since the red light reminds me of how the first white people called the First Nations “Red Skins.” Since I am Métis, I find it offensive. Personally, I was offended to see this issue rear its ugly head once again in your magazine. I was offended by one of your advertisers, “My helmet, my…

Keen Ridge Flex Hiking Boots $170 Soon, the muddy spring trails to the rocks will be open and your sneakers just won’t be a match for the mud and water. Keen’s Ridge Flex boots, however, include its waterproof, breathable insert and aggressive, non-directional lug soles for stability, even on muddy uphill trails. Ever felt pinched by your boot at the flex point of your foot? Most of us have given up wondering whether our normal stride could ever be free of this discomfort, but Keen tries to fix it with bellow-flex inserts on the upper, beneath the laces and on the heel for the Achilles. The bellows expand and compress naturally with every step. Keen is also a leader in environmentally friendly technologies, like pfc-free, durable, water-repellant and environmentally preferred…

Stacey Weldon has played a leading role in Canadian climbing for nearly two decades, from winning comps, to sending hard boulders and sport climbs up to 5.13+, to representing Canada on the world stage. This winter, Weldon was selected to represent the International Federation of Sport Climbing (ifsc) as a part of the Women in Leadership Program for this year’s summer Olympics. As a member of the Climbing Escalade Canada’s (cec) board of directors, Weldon is the first elected athlete representative from Canada. With career highlights reaching to a 12th place finish at the 2015 Chongqing World Cup, and two seventh place positions at Youth Worlds in 2002 and 2004, Weldon is a strong representative. As busy as she is with the world of climbing, her full-time job is an…

New Squamish WI6R/X In 1993, a cold snap froze a number of tall ice lines in the Squamish Valley. The wall has likely frozen in the past 27 years, but little information about it can be found. A new 120-metre WI6R/X was just added to the area. According to local legend Don Serl, the late Guy Edwards attempted a big line but backed off due to conditions. That line is the one that Paul McSorley, Sam Eastman and Tim Emmett climbed and called Wild West in February, with pitches at: WI5+, WI6, WI6R/X. The Squamish ice season this winter lasted about 10 days, which was more than enough time for locals to dust their tools off and repeat many of the classics. John Lauchlan Award Recipients Two teams will receive…

New Quebec WI6R In Quebec’s Hautes Gorges, Yan Mongrain, JP Bélanger and Charles Roberge made the first ascent of Klondike, a new 220-metre WI6R. The pitches go: WI5R 50 m, WI3+ 35 m, WI6R 35 m, WI4+ 40 m and WI4 40 m. Teddy Bear Knifefight In January, the Stanley Headwall got its second new route of the winter with Teddy Bear Knifefight M5 by Greg Barrett and Nick Baggaley, which is a new start to Suffer Machine. Earlier in the winter, Don’t Stand So Close to Me M7+ 90 m was established by Alik Berg and Uisdean Hawthorn. It was repeated by Raphael Slawinski (see p.32). New Mixed Crag Over the winter, the development of the Mythos Crag by Andrew Abel and friends took place. Mythos crag is located…