Sport Climbing in Skaha

On July 26th and 27th, we went sport climbing in the Skaha Bluffs. It’s really fun there! The gneiss rock is solid featuring a lot of small ledges and it’s well protected with bolts, so it’s kind of similar to climbing in the gym. The only downside was the heat (>37°C) and the lack of shade and wind. We tried to climb early in the morning and late in the evening, but it didn’t help so much. Because of that, it wasn’t possible to do hard routes and push yourself to the limit. But at least we did a couple of routes up to 5.10b. I also tried leading a slabby 11b, but at the second crux move, I was a bit too short to clip the next bolt and my feet started to hurt as hell in the sun, so I chickened out. Then, I top-roped it and sent it on the first attempt. After climbing, we simply had to cool down in Skaha Lake, which has a nice sandy beach.

Afterwards, we drove to Madden Lake recreation site. It was the worst gravel road! Seriously, the holes were so deep (and the bumps so high), I was sure the car would bottom out at least 2 times, but thanks to Philipp’s driving skills, it didn’t. Phew!