Skaha, I Love You

before (clean baby hands!)

after (if we were climbing in the Rockies there'd be more blood)

   My brother Tyler and I spent Easter weekend in BC, climbing Skaha Bluffs near Penticton, and here is how it all went down:

   Wednesday: we decide that we are going to leave at 7:30, stay in the hostel at Castle, then set out from there uber-early to make it to Penticton in time to get in some climbing. Shortly after 7:00 we decide we'll leave in the morning and skip the hostel. We say we'll leave at 4:00, but of course we switch that to 6:00 instead, like reasonable human beings.

   Thursday: OMGOSH it's 5:15, wake up, shower, chow down a banana, get on the road! You are going to CLIMB in the SUNSHINE AND WARMTH today!!! But first you have to drive for eight hours :( But WHO CARES, it will be WORTH IT.

   AND IT TOTALLY IS. After a long drive (Why is Kelowna so huge??) we arrive at our campsite, check in, set up the tent, and high-tail it to the bluffs. We climb some easy routes and get super stoked about climbing something that isn't a) plastic gym routes, b) polished limestone, or c) freezing cold. Skaha Bluffs are all gneiss and after limestone it is like climbing on rocks made of angels. ANGELS.

   We leave after bumping our grade up to 5.9 (Tyler climbs a trad 5.10a, I do not). It gets a bit chilly but we don't even care. A stop at a market for soup and breakfast/lunch fixings means that all we have to do is heat our soup, chow down, bed down, and sleep till morning.

it's alright I guess

   Friday: we wake up at a much more reasonable hour and make our way immediately to the bluffs. We are staying at a campground across the lake from Skaha Provincial Park and it is alright I guess (hahahahaaa, we have a tent site right on the lake! Gorgeous). We climb ALL DAY and it is AWESOME. I get in my first lead of the season on a 5.6, and it is scary and great at the same time. After a winter of gym climbing it is a bit of effort to get my head back into the outdoor game. Skaha climbs are verrrry crimpy, which results in sore finger pads and elbows. It is very much Tyler's style and not so much mine, but crimpy climbs have been on my "get better at this" list and I am very pleased with how I'm doing. We get on a 5.8 which I constantly want to take a break on but I power through and am quite proud of myself. We are stoked on life.

I took essentially this same picture many times

   Saturday: my climbing weekend came with the caveat of making sure I got some school done, so we take it easy in the morning (including making good use of the camp showers. Let me tell you: there ain't nothing much better than a good shower after a couple days of hard outdoor work) and head into Penticton to locate two things: a guidebook and a Starbucks with electrical outlets. We find the guidebook in an adorable used bookstore where I cannot resist a book about Arctic exploration, and find the Starbucks down the block. Tyler logs climbs and figures out what we'll climb today and tomorrow, and I write about the effects restructuring in the public and private sectors has on Canadian women. The Skaha guidebook is excellent, my essay is alright.

I <3 used book stores

   We drive up the winding road to the crowded parking lot, and realize we may have to make the long ardous trek from lake-level to bluff-level, and we do not look forward to it. A Conservation Officer tells us the lots are full, but we arrive just as a family is leaving. We snag their vacated parking spot and feel triumphant. Lunch is crackers and meat and cheese, which we relish.

   But what about the CLIMBING!? We get in an excellent afternoon at Red Tail wall, despite a group that hangs out on the climbs we want for an amount of time that we decide is impolite. But! A couple two-star 5.7s make up for any waiting around we had to do. I cheer at the top of one of them; it was such a good climb and I am so happy to be out here. We chat up the people climbing beside us, they are friendly, we are friendly, the world is friendly.

someone left their blood on the rock, gross

   We get back to camp, eat supper, drink wine, and soak up the beautiful night. The moon is nearly full, the sky is nearly clear, the wind has died down, everything is bright with moonlight and good company/experiences. We decide to climb in the morning tomorrow and find a place for sitting and schooling in the afternoon. I have almost finished my book (Girl in the Dark).

   Sunday: we wake up and it is cold, but no matter! We eat breakfast at the trailhead and set out on a short almost-hike to the Go Anywhere wall. We arrive as the sun is juuuust hitting the top of the climbs, and peruse the guidebook and snack until we feel like the rock will be adequately warmed. So follows a decent climb, a great climb, and a FABULOUS climb which I unfortunately have to take a break on due to weirdly sore elbows. My poor joints are not used to several days of sustained climbing. Nevertheless, my general level of "so stoked on life" continues to rise. Everything is awesome: the view, the climbs, the garter snake we see on the way back to the parking lot. I love it all. I belay Tyler on a sustained 5.10b, I do not feel up to much beyond 5.8 at this point.

oh yeah, 5.10b, you did it, nice work

   We drive into town slightly later than intended, find a (different) Starbucks, and camp out for a couple hours. I write about women's movements in Canada, Tyler pores over the guidebook, I draw all sorts of blanks on writing anything academic. I think my face is sunburnt. We decide on soup for supper again, and head back to camp via the grocery store.

   Back at camp we pack up as much as we can, and eat a great deal of food because we are STARVING, oh my GOSH. I read Villette until I almost drop it on my face because I'm falling asleep.

   Monday: it is calm and clear when we wake up, which is excellent since it is time to break camp and pack up the car. Our plan is simple: tear down, climb for as long as we can, drive home. Tent-take-down goes quickly, we eat pizza buns for breakfast, and we are on our way! Back to the Red Tail wall to send a 5.7, a 5.8, and a 5.10b which I don't even think about attempting. We say things like "just move up" and "I got a hold of that jug and I knew I was taking it to sends-ville" and "gaston into a hand jamb" and of course climbing jargon sounds ridiculous.

much ropes. so safety. wow. carabiners.

   Too soon, it is time to walk back to the car and power through eight hours of driving. Kelowna feels like it takes up two thirds of the drive but we DO see a sign for "Butt Road" and stop for blended coffee drinks/books at a Chapters so WHATEVER, Kelowna. You thought you could beat us but you CAN'T.

   Once we get into the Rockies we see a great deal more snow than when we left. Apparently while we have been wearing t-shirts in the afternoon and maybe getting sunburnt, a cold front has moved into my homeland of Southern Alberta. We are even more pleased with our climbing trip, since there is no way we would've ventured out into the Rockies to climb while it was cold and snowy.

instead we climbed in THIS

   At last: home. The trip was excellent, and it is also excellent to be home again home again jiggity jig. I sent a couple 5.9s this weekend, which is the level I had laboriously worked myself up to last season. I got in a lead on a 5.6, and had several 5.7s and 5.8s that felt GREAT. I am pleased with my abilities. It was a very good few days, and much needed.