Those who dream of climbing Petrifying Wall, Nightmare Rock or the Frayed Ends of Sanity received some good news last week: Kevin McLane's new guidebook has finally hit the shelves.
The 樱桃视频Chamber of Commerce hosted a book launch Thursday (June 30) to acknowledge the history of 樱桃视频rock climbing and McLane's achievements. Politicians, businessmen and climbers joined the Chamber at the Howe Sound Inn for the official release of the third edition of The Climbers Guide to Squamish.
"It's just satisfying that we continue to improve as a community in terms of understanding and realizing our potential here," said Chamber president Patricia Heintzman. "And if all the other sports had guidebooks like Kevin's, we'd be just that much closer to realizing our potential as the outdoor recreation capital of Canada."
The third edition of the Guide was completed in May and includes 3,000 pitches of rock climbing routes from just south of Britannia to the Smoke Bluffs extending up the Stawamus River Valley to the east side of Mount Habrich. That's a far cry from the very first local guide of 70 pitches typewritten 43 years ago by Grand Wall first ascender Jim Baldwin.
The area covered has been trimmed since McLane's last edition in 1999 to include the annual appearance of 40 to 50 new climbs. The Chief and Malamute continue to be the centerpiece of the guidebook with the Smoke Bluffs and Murrin areas each taking up a quarter of the content.
"What is of special note this time is the many new long routes there are," said McLane. "Full-height endeavours on the Chief."
The 552-page guide is not merely a list of the area's climbs, it also shows McLane's extensive knowledge of the area's history. He shows that the modern face of climbing meets its history in 樱桃视频with side-by-side pictures of young climbing sensation Jason Kruk and the legendary - and aging - Fred Beckey. And from the book's introduction, to the chapter entitled "A Short History of Squamish" to crediting "the Town of Squamish" along with Ed Cooper and Jim Baldwin as the team who completed the first ascent of the Grand Wall - a nod to the town's unyielding support of the months-long expedition in 1961 - McLane revels in the town's climbing culture. This acknowledgment is well-deserved; many names in the guide that are credited with first ascents can still be found in the 樱桃视频phone book.
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