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| A lone sign along a lonesome road bids you to weather the night (Marble Canyon Campground, British Columbia) |
PROLOGUE
THERE came to be a brief respite from pluvial weather that sliced through the forecast of a whole rain-drenched week a few kilometres east of the Fraser River in an isolated canyon seldom seen of man. Dusky storm-clouds and plumes of wildfire smoke grazed over mountaintops of muted colour as we hastened four hours from the ancestral lands of the Squamish Indians to this remote locale and elicit our single chance to bid for the summit. The following is a brief account of the events that transpired on our charge up 1068 meters of Guaranteed Rugged 5.10.
I.
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| The sunless road a conduit to lands of silent hill (Sea to Sky Country, British Columbia) |
THE bells toll four and shimmers of dawn illuminate the crumbling ridgeline looming above. The parapet in ruination is a bleak reminder of the inexorable dismantling power of Time and that one day I too will be rejoined to the same dust sequestered in these once-proud peaks. Rousing from fitful slumber we break camp and silently eat a tedious meal of grains and stale bread. By 4:35am we had sorted our particulars and ablutions and began trekking up the rubble-strewn trail. Pathfinding errors and precarious crossings finally deposit us at the base of the climb at a belated 5:50am.
II.
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| The Painted Sign a reassurance of our heading and an omen of events to come (Pitch 1, Guaranteed Rugged) |
Partly drained of hope and already exhausted I banish these errant thoughts as I rack up and tie in and begin the campaign ten past six. The mountain climate and serrated limestone gnaw viciously at my numb fingers. With temerity I place one single alpine draw on the entire traversing first pitch in hopes to reduce rope drag. My efforts prove futile as the second traverses back and the friction becomes almost insurmountable. Dear reader, allow me to serve as a cautionary tale to always back-clean as much as you can!
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| N. seeks higher ground, escaping the thalassic lake's gaping maw (Guaranteed Rugged, Marble Canyon) |
Quickdraws and alpine draws twelve are enough for my audacious partner N. to ascend the next ten pitches with me simultaneously and dutifully in tow. We converse through radio signals carried by the aether reverberating through the canyons. An oppressive compulsion to match pace keeps me swift on my toes and of alert mind. Almost exactly an hour of unceasing ascent elapses, and we arrive at the onset of difficult terrain.
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| Cruel artifacts of the selfish and selfless pursuits of mankind (Pitch 8, Guaranteed Rugged) |
The reins pass to me for two pitches and I quest upwards. Unsteady footing on deteriorating ground endangers myself and detaches cannonades of rock hurtling upon N. following below. Another worrisome dimension to our self-preservation.
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| Your humble narrator in the thick of battle (Pitch 14, Guaranteed Rugged) |
N. swings ahead for the next five pitches, and I move in lockstep. I hold my Odyssean resolve as palatial ledges ample for bivouac bid me to rest like siren songs of sweetness. The perfunctory belays at each 5.10 pitch hardly reduce the accumulating exhaustion.
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| Let your eyes not deceive you, as we are already 647 metres above camp here (Pitch 20, Guaranteed Rugged) |
The next four pitches are the hardest. I brandish the sharp end once again. The wind had picked up gradually—beneath the register of perception—until too late in the crux of the climb I realize it's howling a maddening tune. My fingers again have lost feeling. The integrity of the terrain upon which I clung is beyond suspect as I arrive at a precipice and peer over the spine of the mountain. My mind twists at the abyssal depths plunging below.
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| The earth swoops away beneath the feet, wrapping around the arête (Pitch 22, Guaranteed Rugged) |
Through the crux, N. now leads the march with victory in sight. The ultimate, crowning pitch, scarified by its own sloughing rock, is the last obstacle between us and triumph. I remain in pursuit whilst dodging an artillery of loosened detritus kicked down from above. I surmise it to be 11:40am as we clamber out from the pale shade of the mountain and into the sun's warm, tranquil embrace.
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| The enigmatic N. reflects upon our completed pilgrimage (Summit, Guaranteed Rugged) |
III.
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| O gorgeous view, all the more, be wary of hazardous descent (Walk-off, Guaranteed Rugged) |
EVENTUALLY I fulfill my convalescence and I recollect the shattered pieces of my corporeal body to embark upon the arduous path home. We stumble down talus wet-slick from waterfalls and treacherous scree slurry barely surviving in one piece back to the familiar road by 2:45pm. By far the most difficult ordeal of the journey, the descent was surely rugged.
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EPILOGUE
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| A family charitably accepting my adoption. Thanks John, Shion, Duy, Abby, Angela, and ya lil' tots (Government Road, Squamish) |
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| Sport climbing best climbing. Thanks Andrew, Sam (Forgotten Wall, Chek) |
| July 26, 2023 Ticklist | |||
| Guaranteed Rugged | Lead / Onsight | Canada > British Columbia > Marble Canyon | 5.6 Sport |
| Pitch 2 | Lead / Onsight | 5.10a Sport |
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| Pitch 3 | Follow / Simul-climb | 4th Class | |
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.5 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.8 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.7 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.9 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.7 Sport | ||
| Lead / Onsight | 5.10b Sport | ||
| Lead / Onsight | 5.10b Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.7 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 3rd Class | ||
| Follow | 5.10b Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5th Class | ||
| Follow | 5.10b Sport | ||
| Follow | 5.10a Sport | ||
| Lead / Onsight | 5.10d Sport | ||
| The Wrap-around Pitch 23 | Lead / Onsight | 5.10d Sport | |
| Lead / Onsight | 5.10d Sport | ||
| Lead / Onsight | 5.9 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.4 Sport | ||
| The Edge of Time Pitch 27 | Follow / Simul-climb | 5.7 Sport | |
| The Blow-hole Pitch 28 | Follow / Simul-climb | 5.9 Sport | |
| Follow / Simul-climb | 3rd Class | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.6 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.3 Sport | ||
| Follow / Simul-climb | 5.3 Sport | ||
| The Crowning Pitch 33 | Follow / Simul-climb | 5.9 Sport | |
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