The Grand Wall - Sept 19

With a big move and school looming overhead, Eric and I made serious plans to tick off the most classic line in Squamish. The plans started off causally earlier in the summer though... "Someday I want to climb that thing, we need to find someone who can take us up it"... "Totally man that would be awesome". Progressing to "Wouldn't it be great if we climbed it together at the end of the summer?"..." Sure would!!". I almost climbed it with Mika but there was a last minute lack of gear problem (nice one Mika!!), leaving Eric to be all like "Oh thats awful, I feel so bad you didn't get to do it", while inside he's like "SHIT YEAH MAN LETS GET ON IT". Then we started to get this crazy idea that we didn't actually need a rope gun and we could climb it together.

Hmmm ok? I was still unsure. Eric kept up his positive reminders and apparently started to tick off some hard shit without me (living in squamish has its perks). I showed up one day to climb and he went on a sending marathon ticking off flex capacitor 10c, apron strings 10b and wire tap 10a. I was amped to see he could send any 5.10 he wanted on demand! I wasn't sure about myself at that point as I hadn't been climbing to seriously, but well if Erics on a roll maybe I can step it up too.

So it came down to that day where we checked out the first couple of pitches and Eric showed what he was hiding. The plans from there got serious... "So its gonna rain all weekend but it might be nice monday or tuesday"... "So monday we send the Grand then?"... "We'll see". Sunday night came though and it wasn't too wet so we thought that maybe we could check it out if it doesn't rain overnight. Monday morning came with blue skies and Eric sent me the "lets do it" text, so I headed up.

Starting off with Apron Strings I led the first pitch with Eric taking over for the rest of A.S. and Merci me (which we linked into one pitch). A party had jumped in front of us on the flake escape ledges and was hanging out on the traverse pitch when we got there.  Once the belays were clear I led out on the traverse pitch to the bottom of the split pillar.

 

Party ahead on the pillar

View from the top of the pillar, Eric following

 I then headed up the Split Pillar with a layback section at the beginning moving into perfect hand jams. This was one of the coolest pitches i'v ever done, ending with a crazy chimney section onto the belay ledge. Eric followed up to me and we hung out waiting for the party in front to finish the sword. Eric then started up the sword of damocles (see story below) managing the 11a crux before stalling on the mid section. He decide to lower and give me a whack at it so he could save energy for perry's layback. The strenuous layback at the end of the sword is pretty intense with some wild exposure.



At the end of the sword there is a long bolt ladder leading up to the start of Perry's layback. The belay there is pretty uncomfortable but the views are good. Eric led up Perry's rocking the bolted offwidth layback leading us up to the large ledge of the flats. He then continued up the bolted slab to the bottom of the sail flake. Once there we were completely beat so I french freed the sail flake to take us to the bellygood ledge.

top of sail flake

We had finally finished the grand wall to top off a great summer. It was pretty unreal and we were amped. Now I guess i'm ready to move to Portland and do some school... maybe we'll get another go at it in the spring.

Bellygood ledge!

(c) eric carter

The Sword of Damocles

As you finish off the pillar you are gifted with one of the best belay platforms in the world. You can't imagine your fortune for being able to sit there. Yet you look above and the sword taunts you...

Damocles was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dinoysius II of Syracuse, a fourth centry BC tyrant of Syracuse, Italy. Pandering to his king, Damocles exclaimed that, as a great man of power and authority surrounded by magnificence, Dionysius was truly extremely fortunate. Dionysius then offered to switch places with Damocles, so that Damocles could taste that very fortune first hand. Damocles quickly and eagerly accepted the King's proposal. Damocles sat down in the king's throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius arranged that a huge sword should hang above the throne, held at the pommel only by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles finally begged the tyrant that he be allowed to depart, because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate.