Bear Mountain!

On Sunday, I felt the need to get out, do some exploring, and stretch my legs.  My explorations usually take the form of rock-seeking-missions, and I decided that this Sunday was going to be no exception.  I have long wanted to go check out the cliffs at Bear Mountain, and to see if there were any bouldering opportunities to be had there.  I knew (from rumours, and various online fragments of information) that the cliffs at Bear Mountain were sandstone, and tended to be somewhat sandy (i.e. poorly cemented); not exactly a destination.  However, climbing is climbing, and adventure is adventure, so I grabbed a coffee, put Lupin in the van, and headed off to Dawson Creek!

Perhaps the most unique thing about Bear Mountain is the enormous wind turbine installation there.  There are over two dozen HUGE wind turbines installed along the ridge, which gives the setting a somewhat science-fiction vibe.  I parked near the end of 233 Road, near the first wind turbine. I decided to hike through the forest along the entire length of the scarp (to ensure I wouldn’t miss any boulders lurking in the forest), then hike along the top of the cliff on the way back (to enjoy the view and check out the cliff itself). 

To make a long story short, my explorations were moderately successful.  Good news = I did find a nice cluster of boulders in a pleasant woodland setting with nice landings.  There is probably room for about 50 problems, with lots of overhanging arêtes which will provide some decently hard problems.  Bad news = there was only one cluster of boulders.  I did find a few more boulders at the far end of the scarp, but they were neither big nor plentiful.  Also, the boulders are formed almost exclusively by big cubes of coarse sandstone-conglomerate.  The conglomerate will be a little hard on the hands (think texture like a meat-tenderising hammer), and isn’t always completely solid.

I did see a few really nice-looking potential problems, though.  The first big boulder I saw (photo 1) was a big brick-shaped block, but one end was propped up; as such, the two suspended arêtes had sit-down starts, and could both be in the V6-V8 range.  Another cool-looking line (photo 2) was on a big tooth-shaped boulder with a scoop.  It didn’t look difficult, but did look really (!) fun.  Other than that, there were a number of arêtes and small caves scattered around (photo 3), from which a dedicated boulderer could make a nice circuit - once everything was cleaned up.

If anyone wants to go there and take a look, do some scrubbing, open some problems, let me know!  I am certainly willing to show anyone what I’ve found.  Cheers!

1) The business end of a giant brick of conglomerate.  Sit down starts on the right and left.  My walking stick  (about 3 feet long) for scale.

2) Cool scoop, with a crack/seam feature.  One of the best lines I saw at Bear Mountain.

3)  Bear mountain boulders.  

Hasler Flats Trip

I headed to Hasler Bluffs this past Monday with my friend Domhnall to do some climbing, and check out the potential for new routes and bouldering in the area. One of our goals was to get a rope on at least one new line at Hasler Bluffs. When we arrived at Hasler Flats, we first stopped to check out the new area, then headed over to Hasler Bluffs. We walked the length of the crag to check it out (Dom hadn't been to the area before), then we decided to lead (what we thought was) a moderate bolted route that wasn't in the guide. It turned out to be an oddly bolted 11-, so I took some hangs at the bolts trying to get psyched to boulder up to the next bolt, which always seemed to be in an odd spot and a little too far away. After we finished with that route, we went down to the base of the crag and did some bouldering on the blocks down there. We repeated Anonymous Arete (Dom flashed it, very nice!), and then cleaned up a new line on the adjacent block. We worked it and finally sent it - it's a really classic compression problem up a steep bulge (probably V4ish).

Then we headed back up to the cliff where I led Nose Goblins (5.7), which is a fun route with good gear, although I felt that there were some loose flakes on the route that could maybe have been pried off to make the route safer. We moved the rope over, and Dom made quick work of a .10b crack. We moved the rope over again, so we could toprope a new line that climbed through a beautiful orange wall with a big roof at midheight. It looked about .11b from the ground, but it turned out to much harder and more technical than I thought (partially because some of the rock was covered with a beautiful patina, which meant that the friction in those sections was a bit reduced). Such an amazing route - hopefully I can get out there to put bolts in it soon. There is a lot of potential at Hasler Bluffs for hard routes in the .11+ to .12+ range.

There is a (somewhat outdated) guide for Hasler Bluffs written about a decade ago; it is certainly worth having if you are planning a trip to the area. The guide (hosted by the Prince George section of the ACC) can be found HERE. I am hoping to write a new Hasler Bluffs Guide this year, but we'll have to see if I have time.

Need a New Mat?

Revolution has their 12-G Mat on sale! Not a bad deal, especially if you knew someone in the States who you could have it shipped to. Check it out here.

Bouldering Guides to Giscome, Hedley, and Godman Creek

In an effort to make them accessible to as many people as possible, I have decided to make the three bouldering guides I have produced in the past available on this blog. They are 'copies' of the original guides, as I am making them available via Google Docs. This virtually guarantees that most people will be able to print copies of the guides if they wish (although the quality may be somewhat less than the original PDFs). I'll also provide links to active URLs where the original PDFs are hosted. Happy Bouldering!

The Giscome Boulders, near Prince George (BC). A fun little bouldering area on reasonably decent granodiorite. Only 50 problems, but several are of exceptional quality, including Fear of Flight (V2), Solar Power (V4/5), and Amon Ra (V10). This was the first guide I wrote (back in the late 90's, I think), and the grades are 'Northern Rockies Stiff', i.e. notably stiffer than those of Squamish. The Google Doc version of the PDF can be found HERE, and the original PDF (requires Adobe Reader) can be found HERE.

The Old Hedley Road Boulders, between Princeton and Hedley (BC). This is a fun area in the arid south of the province, and could ultimately hold a few hundred problems. A few friends and I spent a several days there, cleaning stuff up, and had lots of fun. The rock is a generally solid granodiorite (some boulders have smooth water-worn features), and the landings are often very flat and sandy. There is an AMAZING swimming hole nearby, with some very fun deep-water soloing over a deep, clear, warm pool in the Similkameen River. Standout problems include Scot's Cave (V7/8), Inner Vision (V5), and Nose Job (V1). The boulders are essentially scattered at the base of a talus slope adjacent to a Provincial Campground; only a short walk from your campsite to the boulders! The Google Doc version of the PDF can be found HERE, and the original PDF (requires Adobe Reader) can be found HERE.

The Godman Creek Boulders are located in West Vancouver, just off the Sea-to-Sky Highway that links Vancouver and Squamish. I was pretty heavily involved in the development of this area, after discovering it on one of my many 'boulder-hunting' forays (some people hunt mushrooms, other hunt for bargains, I hunt for boulders). The problems at Godman Creek are generally on short bluffs of granite similar to Squamish. The problems here are generally slabby, although there are a few steep lines as well (including Jenga V4). There are several decent lines here, althought the REAL classic of the area is the highball Moby Dick (V1), cleaned valiantly by Ronald Gagne. Other great problems include Trent's Baby (V4) and Trouser Trumpet (V2). The Google Doc version of the PDF can be found HERE, and the original PDF (requires Adobe Reader) can be found HERE.

Enjoy!

Gym Projects

In the wake of last month's competition, the walls of the GPRC climbing gym were a little thin, so Julian and I spent four hours last night setting routes and boulder problems. I had thought we were only going to set for a couple of hours (from 9 until 11), but Julian is a machine, and we ended up setting until almost 2am. We had a productive time, though. Julian set two routes, and I set a route and five boulder problems. We were mostly setting moderate routes, and three of the five problems I set were fairly moderate. I did manage to set a couple of harder problems as well; these new lines, combined with all the new problems that Julian, Steven, and Noah set, will mean that the gym is well-stocked with projects for the next month or so. Spring training will be fun!

Spring is almost here! I am planning on heading out to Hasler in the next few weeks, to start climbing and cleaning new projects. More to come!

Training!

Many people (myself included) primarily just climb (mostly in a gym) to train for climbing. There are those, however, that REALLY train to climb - and reap the benefits when they become monstrously strong. Markus Bendler is one of these people. Check out this video (first in a series).(Go to http://vimeo.com/36429174 if the link doesn't work for you).

Eisprinz - Chapter one (with Markus Bendler) Indoor Training from Berni Kogler on Vimeo.

Hasler Cracks

Spring is slowly, but surely, coming to the Peace River country. With spring, of course, will come climbing. New projects, new boulders, routes to be bolted, cliffs to be climbed. I'm excited to try and climb the four hard cracks at Hasler Bluffs this year. I know at least 2 (maybe 3) of them have been done, but the fourth may remain unclimbed. Regardless, they all look great - thin cracks up faces that are either steep slabs or vertical faces. Here's a photo of Pressure Cooker (5.6 A1, with the A1 section being the thin crack that constitutes the bottom 3/4 of the route). Would be nice to climb this thing...