Gripped: The Climbing Magazine October/November Vol. 23 Issue 5

Since the advent of bolted crag routes, there’s been a clear difference between sport and adventure climbing. There was a generation of climbers, around the 1980s and 1990s they’d been pushing limits outdoors for their entire lives, and then visit a climbing gym or bolted crag for their first time much later. They left the dangers of run-out routes and scary alpine lines to safely clip bolts or train indoors. Compare that to today’s climber, who likely started in a climbing gym and might one day climb outdoors. Whereas two generations ago, climbers started by having adventures and moved to a sportier version, climbers now start in the sport and might work their way up to adventure climbing. The pandemic forced a lot of gym climbers to head outdoors for…

La Sportiva Trango Tech GTX $340 Fall mountaineering requires reliable gear that will keep you moving fast to stay warm. The Trango Tech GTX is ideal for those moderate alpine lines, so you can move quickly across glaciers. They are light enough that approaches don’t leave your feet aching. Compatible with semi-automatic crampons, so you’ll feel confident going from rock to ice in no time. Made for alpine climbing in spring, summer and fall. DMM Chimera Quickdraw 12 $36 Mounted on an 11-mm dogbone, the Chimera is built for those who want to keep the weight on the harness down. The carabiners have a clean nose and 9 kN open gate strength. These were made with hard trad climbing in mind. Also a great quickdraw for those early-season mixed routes…

Dung Nguyen started the Vsion climbing gym in Canmore 20 years ago at the age of 28. Twelve years later, he closed shop and relocated to Montreal. While in Canmore, he coached the national youth team and helped dozens of young climbers become masters of bouldering. Drawing on his decades of coaching experience, we touched base with Nguyen for some tips on heading back to the gym this fall. 1.  What’s the most common injury when climbers are getting back into the gym? Shoulders and elbow injuries are the most common. Gym routes and boulders tend to be more intense, sustained and dynamic than outdoor climbing. 2.  What’s the best way to warm up when there’s no cardio equipment? Cardio without a machine can be done by skipping ropes, jumping…

Canada Competes at Olympics Sport climbing debuted at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, with Janja Garnbret and Alberto Gines Lopez taking the gold medals for women and men. Two climbers represented Canada, Sean McColl and Alannah Yip from B.C. At qualifiers McColl finished 17th out of a possible 20 men. McColl had been dreaming of competing at the Olympics his entire comp career, and plans on going for Paris 2024. After the Games, he said, “Although I didn’t advance to finals, I am relieved that it all even happened. Thank you to everyone for their support and kind words, it means the world to me and every single cheer brings a smile to my face. I could feel the energy behind me and I still enjoyed some amazing moments. In…

Saskatchewan Rock Climbs Katee Pederson, Ashlyn George, Sabrina Heywood, Ada Krahn, Courtney Hancherow, Kristen Moore, and Sarah Hicks of Saskatchewan paddled 180 km up the Foster River in the northern boreal forest of the province and made first ascents. They climbed Flight of the Eagle 5.11b, Bonnie and Brian 5.7 and Unnamed 5.10+. Ashima Shiraishi Ticks V14 Ashima Shiraishi climbed her first V14 in 2013. She has climbed V15, but hadn’t climbed the grade for a few years. In August she climbed Jade V14 in Rocky Mountain National Park. New Cap Trinité Aid Climb Le Temps Suspendu is a new 280-metre A3- on Cap Trinité. The nine-pitch route took Tom Canac three years of projecting and cleaning to complete. Wildfires Close Crags The wildfires in B.C. and Alberta this summer…

Michelle Ang is from Toronto and started climbing after a friend in grad school suggested it to her as a fun activity to do to relieve stress over 10 years ago. She said that she fell in love after her first session at the gym, and started picking it up more seriously in 2011. Ang is now based in B.C., where she spends time rock climbing and creating climbing-related illustrations. We touched base with her at the end of the summer. When did you move to Squamish? I’ve only recently relocated to Squamish in June 2020. My husband and I were halfway through a year-long rock climbing trip in our self-converted van when COVID hit. We ended up coming up to Squamish when the borders started to close and decided…