Four months ago I moved to Squamish without knowing anyone. It’s been a summer of facing my fears and challenging nature – but it wouldn’t have happened without the generosity of new friends.
In my first few weeks it was friends setting up a top rope on easy grades for my first forays into crack climbing. There was borrowed bravery too when it was time to swing from a rope and into icy spring lakes.
Late in the summer – while haphazardly working on a roll in a friend of a friend’s kayak – my roommate shrugged off my constant apologies for accidental gropings and a chronic failure to follow instructions.
It takes a real generosity of spirit to continue patiently providing instruction even after someone spits a mouthful of lake water in your face.
Another big thank you to the anglers down at Fisherman’s Beach who warned my girlfriend and I that if we carried on using our lightweight gear into the fall we’d likely be dragged downriver by a salmon. You shared your knowledge, and while you’ve robbed us of a good fishing story, you may have also saved us from an untimely river death.
Even with friends and strangers as teachers and wardrobes of borrowed gear, I feel very lucky to have the financial stability to not worry about getting injured, damaging my car on a gnarly logging road or not being able to afford lessons and rentals.
Programs in the Sea to Sky that help make outdoor sports affordable for families without that luxury – like Sprockids, Climb and Conquer and Squamish Big Brothers and Big Sisters deserve more recognition.
This is my short love letter to all the passionate people that make outdoor recreation a little more accessible. Whether it’s lending gear out to friends, sharing your knowledge for free or professionally, or making sure low-income kids get the chance to try new things.
Where would we be without you? I know exactly where I’d be – sitting indoors still believing I was born simply incapable of taking on granite faces and ocean waves.
I’m not being dramatic when I say my life has been changed. And no guarantees, but if I do ever figure out how to roll a kayak or stand up on a surfboard – I promise to pay it forward.
