Christmas and the winter solstice have just passed, it’s winter break for all in school and, finally, we’re deep with a cold and snowy season that has stopped all outside climbing in its tracks – or so you would think.
It’s been a year of ups and downs, with everything leaving its mark upon our community whether climbers or not.
We’ve had tragedies with the disappearances of Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson on the Ogre II Peak in Pakistan. When two world-class, cutting-edge alpinists disappear without a trace from a mountain with such rumour and legend, it reminds us how quickly we can be erased while the mountains remain unchanged and unflinching.
We lost Kim Schmitz, legendary Yosemite speed wall climbing pioneer, international alpinist and unsung hero for remaining in climbing over the years despite many accidents, injuries and illnesses.
In Alpinist Magazine he was quoted saying “Climbing is fun. It’s the most fun I ever had. Best thing I ever did. I still love it. And I love being in the mountains even more than I love climbing.”
We also had pure triumphs; displays of raw determination and effort with Adam Ondra making the second free ascent of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgenson’s Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. Known for his savage sport climbing, bouldering and competition skills, Onga jumped outside his own limits by travelling to the one world-class area he had yet to even see – Yosemite Valley.
He had his sights on The Dawn Wall, the world’s most difficult and continuous multipitch free climb. Never mind that Yosemite represented a different style of climbing, on a different type of stone, and all on a scale that Onga had yet to prove himself on.
In his characteristic style, he attacked The Dawn Wall with the openness of a beginner’s mind and the gritty determination and strategy of a seasoned professional climber.
It’s a serious lesson to us all to try. Go ahead and try because those climbs, they don’t climb themselves, you know.
Trump takeover
Finally, we all witnessed the election down south and the surprising result at its finish. This event runs separate from much that we do in climbing because we rarely think about the political moorings surrounding the U.S. when we climb down there.
Sure, we roll our eyes sometimes, but once rolling through in our vans with crashpads lashed and embattled racks stowed, we all seem to belong to the same tribe. At least, we did until now.
Much has been wondered about and many have put it out there, timidly at first, about how their beloved locales throughout the U.S. will change and their experiences may shift now that Trump is head honcho.
Will we quietly slip into the desert meeting likeminded folk like all the years before or will there be a new boldness sported by the common people to say what they feel and to not keep an open mind to all us travelers’ differences anymore?
Will there be less understanding towards the attitudes, cultures and beliefs of Canadian climbers or, more profoundly, of anyone different, when I walk up to a campfire holding my daughter’s hand at Creek Pasture Campground in Indian Creek, near Moab Utah, and ask how a stranger’s day was?
I sincerely hope not, but I can’t help but wonder what will be going through the minds of the people in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and onward when I next cross the Peace Arch Border and head for a simple adventure scratching my way up a foreigner’s stone.
I hope we are still the same tribe. As we reach winter’s peak, keep Kim Schmitz’ words in mind as you head south, sooner rather than later.
Happy winter Squamish!
