One of the Stawamus Chief's most popular aid climbs, the Cannabis Wall (A3), has been freed by young climbing phenom and Squamish Rock Guide instructor Will Stanhope. The 21-year-old North Vancouver resident climbed the five-pitch wall, rated at an extremely strenuous 5.13, with partner Jason Kruk after spending six days scrubbing the route and analyzing the lines on top rope. On Sept. 6, he freed the wall on his first serious attempt on lead with Kruk following. "It's spending a lot of days just staring at the rock," said Stanhope of the process. "That's the cool part of it - breaking it down pitch by pitch and figuring out all the moves. I really enjoy that process." He added that one of the most important aspects of training is memorization."Just remembering where all the pieces of protection went and where to put the feet - Then when I get every little pitch into my head I can start to wrap my head around the whole route."In order to maintain the original character of the aid climb, in which a climber uses hooks and other equipment for assistance, Stanhope refrained from adding bolts even though they would have made certain sections safer. He did add five bolts to the last pitch but it was a variation from the aid line, he said.Squamish Rock Guides' Colin Moorhead said Stanhope's method shows a lot of class and respect for other climbers."He did it in very good style. It has the potential for horrendously large falls at a very difficult grade," he said. "He's a bit of a superstar in my opinion."Indeed, Stanhope had a big fall on a particularly difficult section on the second pitch, which he underestimated after trying it on top rope. He had to deviate from the aid line near the top, away from the fixed copperheads and head into a holdless groove without protection. A series of holds then led back the belay. He ended up falling about 12 metres before taking a "whipper" and tweaking his back."I swung back into the corner and flipped upside down. It was sort of a wake up call that you can get pretty complacent when you're climbing a lot, so then I had to keep my focus," he said.Stanhope recovered and continued on to be the first climber to free the Cannabis Wall, climbing it clean, without falling, using only his hands and feet. With his intimate knowledge of the route, he was able to explain how it posed its own unique technical challenges. "It's not super steep so you don't really get super pumped and get tired on the arms, but you tend to fall off because you get your feet in the wrong spot, or something, more than anything else," he said.Stanhope belayed American climber Matt Segal in the fourth ascent of the Chief's 5.14b Cobra Crack this summer, which he hopes to soon take on himself. For now it's back to the gym to build strength for the Cobra Crack, which requires tremendous strength, he said. As for the inspiration - he already got that from Segal."I was really inspired by Matt and his dedication," he said. "I mean, the guy spent like two months in Squamish waiting out the weeks of rain and never really wavered."
