My Rock Climbing Heroes
The Climbers That Inspire
Anyone who has been immersed in climbing for a long time is sure to have climbing heroes and I am no different. My heroes are people that I respect and admire not only for their climbing ability but also the contributions they have made to the sport. Of course my heroes have changed over time and I’ve been fortunate enough to have met quite a few of them. I have stood star-struck in the presence of heroes, I’ve climbed with them, I’ve had beers with them, I’ve been disappointed by heroes and I’m sure I’ve disappointed them.
I grew up in Kelowna, B.C. and spent a lot of time climbing in Skaha Bluffs. My first climbing heroes were the local hardmen and route developers. Anyone that could climb 5.12 was just amazing to me and I remember watching people such as Peter Arbic, Hugh Lenney and Geoff Creighton bolting routes and climbing hard. A vivid memory of mine is still Geoff on the first ascent of Prestidigitor 5.12c. Everyone at the crag was cheering him on and the route looked impossible but he did it. I was falling on 5.10, on top rope, so the thought of climbing 5.12c, let alone a f irst ascent, was incomprehensible. I was in awe.
As I started climbing more and more I also started reading the magazines and studying some of the history of the sport. The first video I ever saw was and the top climbers made it look so easy that I wanted to just see them climb in person. The classic videos provided an insight into the world of the top climbers of the day. Names like Ron Kauk, Peter Croft, Dan Osman, John Bacher and Lynn Hill took on mythical status in my circle of friends. One friend even changed his bank pin to karn. Although he also ordered CDs from bmg and Columbia House in names of famous climbers so maybe it wasn’t all hero worship.
I still remember the first time I met Canadian legend Jim Sandford. It was in the spring of 1996 in Chekamus Canyon and only the previous year Jim had established Canada’s first 5.14, Pulse, on the walls above us. A friend and I were on a May longweekend trip to Squamish from Kelowna and I was trying a 5.12c there called Cut to the Chase. The day before I had climbed a different 5.12c called Fleeing Heifer on my second try for the fastest I had climbed that grade. I had been on Cut to the Chase only once and was roped up for my second attempt when Jim walked in.
My climbing partner pointed him out in a hushed whisper and then I was up. I fought, battled and clawed my way to the anchors with my feet skating everywhere. It was ugly and I knew it but I managed to redpoint and I was psyched. My second 5.12c in a weekend. I lowered down and some people were saying their congratulations. I looked over at Jim and was expecting a “good job” or “nice work” but instead, through his trademark wide grin I heard “Not quite ready to free solo that one yet are you.” Clearly I didn’t look in control up there. A classic line that I’ve stolen and used later.
One of my favourite encounters with a hero was when I was in Australia. Malcolm “HB” Matheson is a prolific route developer in the Grampians and has made the first ascent of the most iconic and bold routes in the area, such as Serpentine, Passport to Insanity and Welcome to Barbados Have a Nice Day (punchline to a joke), just to name a few. I met Malcolm at a dinner and we didn’t really talk about climbing. Instead I remember him telling a rather animated story of how he saved the house we were in from a fire by running through f lames in and out of the bathroom and throwing buckets of bath water on the fire in the kitchen. Over the next few weeks I was able to climb with Malcolm a few times and always enjoyed his stories. One day I even rounded the corner at a crag to see Malcolm climbing with Peter Croft. As a B.C. boy Peter is still one of my all-time heroes so seeing those two climbing together was mesmerizing. I don’t even remember if I tied in that day.
Unfortunately Malcolm was one of the heroes that I probably disappointed. I travelled to Australia to try and climb a dream route there called Serpentine, a 5.13b that had been called one of the best climbs in the world. The second pitch of Serpentine is 40 metres long and doesn’t have an anchor. To lower off the route your options are to either downclimb to the last bolt or jump from the top. It’s about seven metres from the last bolt to the top so it’s a big victory whip. Malcolm was already at the top of the first pitch so when I got up there he offered to belay me on the second pitch rather than having to drag a belayer up. As I was getting ready he told me he was pretty sure that if he tied off the end of the 60- metre rope to the anchor, I could jump from the top and swing right in to the alcove where the he was. A 40- metre fall. I kind of laughed it off but when I got to the top I was too scared to jump. Here I was with one of my heroes, one of the boldest climbers I knew and I was going to chicken out. I started to downclimb to much heckling from my belayer and the people on the ground. I