Ray and I had originally planned to go to Skaha in May, but at the time, the forecast was quite poor so I bailed and we decided to try again in the fall.
We had decided to give Thanksgiving a try, but as the date came up, the forecast was very poor again. At this point, though, I didn't care, and I wanted to get out of Calgary regardless. It was a good thing, as we got 1.5 good days of climbing and a day visiting wineries in the Okanagan region during our rain day.
When we got to the campsite late Friday night (around 12:30am), the wind was howling off of Lake Skaha and setting up camp was quite awkward and difficult. The next morning, I saw lots of fallen branches and debris.
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| Ray on Mysterious Semblance (Elusive Edge area) |
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Saturday's plan was to do Logan's Run, but as the routes in that area are a bit stiff for warming up, we stopped by the Elusive Edge area first. I did Climbing with Elvis (5.10a sport) and Golden Pie Crust Award (5.10a sport).
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| Nicolas on Logan's Run (Great White area) |
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We all did Logan's Run (5.10b), and as Ethan was coming down after cleaning the route, it started sprinkling so we decided to call it a day.
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| Ray's ever helpful advice to inexperienced climbers ("go up") |
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That night, the winds picked up again, and I'm pretty sure I saw one tent tip over.
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| Campfire overlooking Skaha Lake |
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The next day, the rains started in the morning and did not give the impression of letting up, so we decided to have a winery day. We visited 4 wineries and I brought back a bunch of fruit wines and dry reds.
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| Ray on Ready To Strike (Diamondback area) |
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Our last day was to be a half day, but the weather was beautiful so the hike in was definitely worthwhile. My goal was to do Ready To Strike (5.10a trad), and it was a fantastic experience. I was definitely scared in a couple of places, and I sat on gear (which I never do), but I plan on going back and doing it clean.
With my nerves frazzled, I called it a day and Nicolas and I drove back to Calgary.
10a trad! now that's rad! can you throw out a quick description of the route?
ReplyDeleteFirst section is face climbing along two bolts to a roof. The roof takes a #5 Zero (if I recall) and has a jug over the lip. After pulling through, it is mostly hand / fist jamming up a dihedral all the way to the top, with two good ledges for rests.
ReplyDeleteAt one point, I put in a #1 Link as a panic piece as my last piece was maybe 10 feet below and I was dangling a bit with no feet. My new favourite cam. :)
HA! My hands literally starting sweating reading that route info. It's been too long since I've stuck in some gear. Sounded like a great trip.
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