The year was 1995 and I had been climbing for barely a year when I first hear about Squamish Days. When asked if I was going to point my parent’s wood panelled Ford station wagon towards the fairgrounds and check it out I rolled my eyes and said of course not, I had better things to do, or climb.
Later that day, high up on a cliff in the Smoke Bluffs, I remember the police sirens and booming voice of the announcer as I sweated and struggled up a mossy slab.
Flash forward to present day as I eagerly pay the entrance fee for my daughter and I to go watch the Sunday Pro show at the Logger Sports Festival. Embarrassingly, it took 20 years for me to wake up and understand the reason to go to Squamish Days and be part of the fun. Taking a day or three out of a climbing season or long weekend to immerse oneself in Squamish’s past is a healthy thing for a Squamish local or visiting climber to do.
It connects you to your community in a way that reaches back to the early days of Squamish. Whether you love or hate the logging industry and how our provincial government handles our resources, you’ve got to respect the guys on the ground doing this job day in, day out, whether in the past or the present.
Rock climbing in Squamish owes much to logging, from early loggers who also climbed in Squamish and explored some of the cliffs, to the network of cut blocks and forest service roads that made cliff exploration and access possible.
The physicality of these events and these athletes is something a climber can relate to and admire. In the crowd on Sunday were climbers I recognized from near and far, from all over the U.S. to countries abroad.
One climber in the crowd who needs little introduction is Alex Honnold of Sacramento, Calif. Alex has been blowing minds worldwide with his ability to climb without ropes and is no stranger to risk.
Alex has been to Squamish and the Logger Sports many times and thought these ladies and gentlemen climbing, birling, choking, bucking and chopping were the real deal. “Savage” was his exact term for their physical skills and he had special appreciation for the older guys who competed and had also long worked in the logging industry.
If you’ve never been to Logger Sports, plan to take that day off next year instead of doing a long route on the Chief. I assure you, you won’t regret it.
