NOTE: I found this unpublished blog post from 2018 (!) on my laptop today. A bit out of date, but a nice write-up nonetheless! I returned to the Boulderfields for the 2019 Rock the Blocs as well, and - spoiler alert
- won the Masters' Category again (for the fourth time :) ). Anyways, read on about my 2018 Boulderfields exploits!
- - -
My June* trip to the Boulderfields (near Kelowna BC) seems to have become a
de facto tradition in my climbing life. As June approaches, I step up my training and start to mentally list all the problems I'd like to try - and hopefully send - in the enormous field of gneiss blocks that is the Boulderfields Basin. This year, most of the Lethbridge / Frank Slide crew couldn't make the trip, but that didn't stop Alissa and I from packing a stack of mats, chalky shoes, and camping gear into my Honda CRV for the long drive from Southern Alberta to the Okanagan. With Object Climbing taking up more and more of our time, we had lots to talk about during the drive, and after a day of driving we arrived at the newly refurbished campground at the Boulderfields, ready for more than a week of bouldering!
This year, the project at the top of my list was Green Lung (V8). Green Lung is a relatively new addition to the long list of hard-ish problem in the basin, and is the kind of problem I get excited about; a good start hold to define the line, a sequence that demands a great deal of subtlety (the crux holds are hard just to hang on to), and a nice highball-ish finish. After my first session on the line, I had the first move figured out (a big reach to a good edge), but I was perplexed by the second, third (a tiny bump move to a terrible (!) sloping gaston, fourth (a move up to a tiny intermediate), and fifth (a dynamic move to the ledge that marks the end of the hard climbing) moves. Despite the fact that I was having issues with almost every move, I was excited by the line, and every time I pulled onto the problem I seemed to improve a bit. Plus, I had a blast working the problem with Alissa, Ryan, and Alex - bouldering is better with good friends!
A couple days later, Alissa and I headed over for another session on Green Lung. I kept my expectations low, but was surprised to find that I kept making incremental improvements on the line, and was soon doing half of the moves that had stumped me earlier. The move to the sloping gaston was still iffy (very (!) low percentage), but the move that was really stumping me was the fourth move - a very short left-hand move to an intermediate microcrimp (a bump move! Not even a real move!). Alissa and I had to walk away with no sends... again.
After a rest day, though, I headed back to Green Lung. By this time I had used my 'between-burns' time to clean up the landing, sweep the problem, and generally beautify the line (it is now a lot more photogenic!). Setting to work, I finally figured out the fourth move, but I continued to be perplexed by the bump move. Alissa thought it looked like I could set my hand differently on the sloping gaston (even though I was holding it reasonably well), and on the next try I changed my finger positioning a bit and was able to easily bring my hand up to the microcrimp! A few tries later I pulled smoothly through the beginning, and did the tricky hop to the ledge perfectly. I lapped out the juggy high ending to the problem, ecstatic that I had succeeded. A fantastic line, intricate and technical, and one of my favorite at the 'Fields! Alissa made good progress on Green Lung as well, but was ultimately stopped by the huge move to the gaston ("SO reachy!" would become a bit of a saying during this trip...).
Incidentally, there is a fantastic video of the first ascent of the Green Lung (and many other problems) online, you can see it
HERE.
Another problem I was interested in trying on this trip was Empire Strikes Back (V8), which is the low start to Evil Empire (V6), a line I had done fairly quickly on my last visit. Last year, the sit start had looked hard to me, so I had walked away without trying it. Alex, Alissa, and Ryan were also keen to try Empire Strikes Back / Evil Empire, so we headed down the hill to check it out. We were climbing with James and Air (from Edmonton, entertaining people to spend time with!), and James dispatched both ESB and EE quickly, while Air and Alissa made good progress on EE. After warming up, I tried the low start, and surprised myself by doing the first two moves on my first try. Feeling strong, I took a bit of a break, and managed to send ESB on my second try (very unexpected, but nice!). Both Alex and Ryan had success as well; Ryan sent EE (which he had worked the previous year), and Alex would go on to send ESB later in the week during Rock the Blocs. Congrats to both!
Having sent two of my projects for my trip, and feeling like I was climbing well, I was eager to find a new challenge. I was curious to try
Battery (V8), a steep (!) line that climbed through a series of sloping rails and slots. It looks amazing, but one or two attempts on the line a few years ago left me perplexed as to how one could climb such an incredibly steep face on big - but quite sloping - rails. James was keen to try it as well, so we hiked a stack of pads down to the Horsemen Room and set up shop in the Battery Cave. James set to work on it, and after a short session had the moves dialed enough to pull through the sloping rails, work up the slots on the right side of the cave, and top out the line (via the left-hand exit, which looks more secure than the decidedly spicy right-hand exit). By the time James had sent the line, I had warmed up enough on adjacent problems to attempt the line. I tried to use the same beta James had employed, but could barely fathom how he had used a sloping arete hold to pull up to the first slot (good work, James!). After a handful of attempts, I realized that while I simply couldn't use the arete hold that James had (too weak? too tall?), I was able to use an amazing sideways-heel-toe cam to reach up to the first slot. Even with that move sorted, however, the line still felt long, powerful, and intricate, and I packed up feeling beat, resolving to return later.
Alissa getting higher than usual on the classic Boulderfields highball Memento
(V0+).
Climbing in the Boulderfields basin in amazing. It has become one of my favorite bouldering areas in North America, with great holds, solid rock, and intriguing sequences all in a fairytale-land setting. Andy White, the author of the new guidebook and godfather of Okanagan bouldering, let us take a good look at the new guide (weeks before it was released to the world), and with it we were able to navigate the maze a little more easily. Although we didn't get to explore the area as much as I would have liked to (I STILL haven't seen the new classic
Spirit Bear), we did have a great time hunting down fun problems in the forest.
Alissa wanted to find and climb some of the classics in the area, so she set to work on
Cave Dweller, one of the best (and most shaded) V4s in the Boulderfields. It soon became apparent that the relatively straightforward crux of
Cave Dweller is much more involved for someone only 5'3", forcing Alissa to use a MUCH more sloping hold to solve the crux. Coming close her first session, she returned a few days later for the send. We also wanted to try
Nothing Like Viper (V4), an overhanging arete near
Cave Dweller. Though she came close her first session, she couldn't quite solve the funky movement required to gain the lip, and vowed to return later in the trip.
Of course, one of the reasons I travel to the Boulderfields in the early summer is to participate in Rock the Blocs, arguably the best climbing festival in the country. I'm always impressed how an event like RtB can attract hundreds of like-minded people from across western Canada, but I'm glad it does; it's always great to reconnect with good friends and meet new people. I had won the Master's Category the previous two years, but this year I was fairly certain my reign was coming to an end, as my old friend (and absolute crusher) Mike Doyle was in town and was coming up to sample the bouldering of the Boulderfields. It was a bit of a surprise to learn that Mike is old enough to be in the Masters Category (is he
really 40!?), because he was just an unusually thick-armed teenager when I first met him years ago. But as the crowds gathered Saturday morning, in rolled Mike, with the same huge grin on his face, arms bigger than ever.
Mike, originally from Kelowna, had climbed in the Boulderfields years ago, but only on the sport routes there. As a result, Mike was mostly keen to check out some of the classic lines in the area rather than compete seriously in the event, so we bombed around the 'Fields hopping on stuff, filling out our cards as we went. Mike warmed up and quickly sent the tough
Shark Biscuit (V7), then we headed over to quickly do the classic
Dark Prince (V5). After that we headed deeper into the basin to do
Out of the Shadows (V7),
Jay's Pinch (V6) and the high
Firefly (V5). Mike unfortunately broke a chip out of the finishing rail of
Firefly, taking a huge bone-rattling fall. Mike shook off the fall, sent
Firefly, then suggested we try
Chaos out of the Serenity (V10), a stiff line I'd never tried before. I was surprised that it seemed more plausible than I had thought it would, and I was able to do about half of the moves (including the cruxy first move) fairly quickly. Maybe next year, with a little training!
Another successful Rock the Blocs! Huge props to Andy White and all the Okanagan Bouldering posse that come together every year to make this thing go. Undoubtedly the best event of its kind in the country!
Mike wanted to try the infamous roof problem
Baby Chthulu (hard V7...
cough-cough-V8
-cough), and so even though time was running short, we hiked down into the corner of the basin where Baby Chthulu is found. Mike made quick progress on the line, and was soon linking it in sections, but with only a few minutes left before the final horn we headed up to try
Evil Empire, which I had done earlier in the week. I managed to repeat
Evil Empire quickly, and Mike came close, but when the horn blew, Mike and I had essentially tied, though I edged him out of the title by a single point. It was great to spend a low-key day with Mike, and circuit around some of the Fields' best lines while managing to hold on to the Master's title for one more year.
The post-comp shenanigans were entertaining, with Andy White and all the Okanagan crew putting on a great show. Alissa almost won the women's pullup contest (!), and I got a great bag of prizes from the sponsors of the event. The late night party was a lot more subdued than in the past, largely due to the fact that the legendarily huge central stone fire-ring has been replaced by a standard steel firepit. Ah, progress...
After the comp, we knew we only had a few days left to wrap up our projects before heading back to Alberta. I headed back to
Battery, keen to see if I could manage a send. Trading burns with Alex, Alissa, and Ryan, I was able to link sections of the problem very quickly but was having a hard time combining the steep and powerful beginning through the second crux section (the 'techy tic-tac slots' moves) that lead (eventually) to a good rest before tackling the easier exit moves (which are easy but a bit intimidating; a fall from the end down into the boulder-strewn room where
Battery starts would be messy). I changed up my micro-beta again and again, trying to scrounge the tiniest bit of efficiency that would get me through my highpoint - the last hard move of the second crux. Finally, I climbed through the first section smoothly, took the crux holds of the second crux perfectly, and managed to get to the rest hold, where I chalked up before crimping my way to the top. I was so excited to send
Battery; it's the type of problem I love to climb - techy and steep - but not the kind of line I'm usually successful on**.
Battery is an amazing line, but make sure your bag of tricks is full for this one!
Alissa and I wanted to do a little hunting for new problems on our trip as well, so we headed down into the basin to look at a couple lines I had spied on earlier forays among the blocks. I put a rap line on the back of the Desk Boulder, and scrubbed a steep and juggy (!) line that turned out to be well worth the work. I managed to flash the FA of
A Day At The Office (V3ish), with Alissa sending the line soon thereafter. I'm sure
ADATO will prove to be popular for those climbers that head down into that sector. We also cleaned another line nearby, but even though it had great holds, the movement was incredibly awkward. Alissa FAed the stand start of
Log Barn (V2?3?), while I sent the especially awkward but harder low start (
Log Barn Low V4?). Even in the Boulderfields, not every line is a gem. ;) As a consolation prize, however, I did manage to onsight
The Desk (V6), one of the rare flashes for me at that grade.
Alissa working hard on the fun and funky A Day At The Office
(V3ish). Some of the biggest holds in the Boulderfields are on this thing (on the same boulder as The Desk V6/7), check it out.
With the last day of our trip fading, Alissa and I were sitting on our mats, talking through everything we'd done on our trip, and would like to do on future trips. Alissa had come close to sending
Nothing Like Viper earlier in the trip, so with little nudge we packed our mats up and headed down the hill for one last project before we had to leave. It took her a few tries to work out a smooth sequence for the bottom of the problem, but with the last minutes of our trip fading away, she managed to pull smoothly through the beginning and through the funky lip-traverse moves that guard the top of the problem. Success! On the way up the hill I stopped to feel the holds of my
Kaiju project - a long and tough V8 or V9 line with powerful techy moves - before shouldering my mat and starting the long trudge up the hill, leaving
Kaiju for another day.
As soon as I leave the Boulderfields, I can't wait for the next trip. The amazing rock, the bonsai forests atop the huge blocks, rest-day swims in the lake, and tons of amazing projects to find and climb all combine to make it an almost-perfect destination for me. With a little luck, I'll be back again next year!
*Is June in the spring or summer climbing seasons? For me, June is still in the spring climbing season...
**I'm going to take the OA (oldest ascent) for this ascent of
Battery. If you want to claim the OA, you'll have to wait until you're 48, then send. OAs are going to be my claim to fame.
