Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

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skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
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Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by skykilo »

This was a work trip to Vancouver. Tip: never tell the customs guys you're heading to Canada to work, but getting paid by somebody in the states. It just can't lead to anything good. After missing a flight for the third time in three months, I landed in Vancouver near midnight to be held in customs at the airport until almost 2 am.

Anyhow, I contacted my Lebanese liaison at the lab to learn that it was just as well for me to be free on Saturday. I thought Naomi would enjoy the Great Game. Does a better four-pitch climb exist?

Pitch one: 55 m of fun, layback to face moves to cruxy finger crack to steep, pumpy hands.
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A nice rest on pitch three if your legs can make the stem.
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The last pitch starts steep.
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The next morning Naomi said, "Let's do Freeway." I said, "Sure thing, first pitch is yours." Here she is on the first pitch.
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We did not climb Freeway. That will have to wait for another day. I thought a late afternoon cock-tale of Wild Turkey would quench my thirst for adventure.

Naomi in Bullethead Gully: just look at that facial expression!
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After an adventurous Squamish approach up fixed lines and jungle vines, the climb starts with a wild traverse.
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Naomi follows the traverse.
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Wild Turkey is all about a 60 m pitch of a monster flaring crack. It was nice and dirty and wet, too. A bit early in the season this year, I guess.

I was proud to make all the moves free through this part.
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Then it was getting late and I was getting my ass handed to me. I did more damage to the back of my hands than I have in years. Sunset was approaching and I was getting really worked so I started to pull on the gear. By the time I finished my epic, I guess I had an audience. (The Bulletheads are just above the parking lot for the Chief.) As I finished the climb, a chorus of cheers and applause erupted from the parking lot. I crawled behind a rock and hid. Ha ha ha.

Then I spent three days working at the lab. When the operators tried to tune some energetic charged particles through the superconducting linac for me, they found one of the power supplies for a crucial bending magnet had failed. Short of another 50-amp supply ready to go on the shelf, my experiment got put on the shelf.

But I got to see the second coming of Vancouver's Stanley Cup riots. And we got to climb Angel's Crest. (High Plains Drifter was part of the original objective but that's a bit much when you don't start until one in the afternoon.)

Naomi leads Angel Crack.
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This photo is good beta.
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Oh, Canada.

naomig
naomig

Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by naomig »

I'm glad my expressions don't cease to entertain you. I guess my body isn't trained yet to do awesome multipitch climbs two days in a row. I was already 3/4 spanked on the way to Wild Turkey (hence that dead look on my face) and kind of bummed that I bailed on Freeway - I really don't like giving up but it just made sense at the time. On Wild Turkey I got 8/4 spanked. When Sky is away I forget how epic days out with him can be. I got to use my head lamp again too.

PeteH

Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by PeteH »

Sky's indeed a good adventurer.

idahoalpine
from Idaho
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Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by idahoalpine »

Angel Crack looks fun! That traverse on WT looks sketchy!

teleross
TeleRoss
from on the beach
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Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by teleross »

Wild Turkey looks like the funk!
Freeway is long and STRENUOUS! Good stuff for sure! But come prepared for that one.
Keep telling you.....Milk Run-Upper Tantalus Wall link up is the hit! Get on it!
:P

naomig
naomig

Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by naomig »

teleross wrote:Wild Turkey looks like the funk!
Freeway is long and STRENUOUS! Good stuff for sure! But come prepared for that one.
Keep telling you.....Milk Run-Upper Tantalus Wall link up is the hit! Get on it!
:P
We'll hit that one day. I heard that the first pitch on Freeway, which I bailed on, is the shitty pitch and it gets fun after that. I want it so bad. So my choice between first pitch of Freeway and first pitch of Upper Tantalus is 11b slab vs 11b offwidth. Not so stoked about first pitches.

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skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
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Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by skykilo »

I'll lead the first pitch of Tantalus Wall. I want to do the splitter offwidth on the lower part instead of Milk Run too, just because it looks so striking and splitter and I haven't done it.

ziff

Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by ziff »

It is a great pitch! one of the best. the chimneys out left of there are nice as well, albeit dirty.

teleross
TeleRoss
from on the beach
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Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by teleross »

Yeah higher up on freeway it gets fun but harder
pitches 4 and 5 are the bidness... both are sustained 50 meter pitches with very few rests p4 11+ p5 11.....so good!

E_$
imminent whippage

Re: Squamish: Great Game, Wild Turkey and Angel's Crest

Post by E_$ »

both of your expressions are classic. make sexy time with the jungle rox.
great looking routes! can't wait to get back up there and try some of those.

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