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Bridging communities

Squamish Rocks columnist Jeremy Blumel takes a look at some of the area's climbing pioneers
Submitted photo Hugh Lenney left his mark on the Squamish climbing community.

I’ve climbed for 20 years; become stronger, learned better technique, had accidents, learned from said accidents, did not die, explored my own limits, injured myself, was often scared, reached and surpassed some goals while stopped short on others. 

I’ve gone to wild places and different countries but… by far and away what I remember most about every single adventure I’ve ever had, every climb I’ve done both at home and abroad – was the people. Climbing is a tool for learning about people and human nature, whether about yourself or the people that surround you. Perhaps we’re all united in that common fear of falling off the mountain.

The sense of community that runs through climbing connects people with shared aspirations, goals, trips and locales. It brings together people of disparate ages; generations apart yet climbing together because of a joint love of the act of dragging one’s self up off the ground and battling gravity one more time. 

This past week the Penticton Climbing community lost one of their own, one who connected people young and old, inspired many and was the definition of giving. That was Hugh Lenney. While I didn’t know Hugh as a close friend, we met and climbed next to each other many times and shared many close friends. You could say we were close acquaintances.  

Hugh was a kind, quiet, generous man who was instrumental in getting the Skaha Bluffs, the B.C. interior’s largest climbing area, protected as a provincial park. While he gave back to his community by developing whole climbing areas, it was the smaller, more personal things about Hugh that made an impact on me, like his unfailing generosity. 

Many a travelling climber felt this when they were invited to camp on his property for indefinite amounts of time, toured around the areas and given access to countless other locals hunting for partners. If one needed to borrow a truck, if one needed a ride, if one needed anything – Hugh was instantly there. 

But why is this appearing in a Squamish newspaper? 

It is because years ago a younger Hugh Lenney left his mark here too, developing climbs that still receive ascents today. A look on his Facebook page confirms the amount of people devastated at the news of his death, many deeply affected Squamish residents. Climbers from all over B.C. shared their condolences even if they only met Hugh in passing. 

Climbers are a connected community and when someone dies, we respond by feeling the shock, the sadness and the fragility of our own lives, together. 

Hugh exemplifies the human side of climbing, connecting people and sharing what attracted us all to the activity above and beyond the physical side. Hugh Lenney is survived by his partner Genevieve and their daughters Rose and Kate. 

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