preview of (re)new route at Shannon

[Optimally-Primed]

From the top of the climb, a 2-min walk leads to some amazing pools immediately above Shannon Falls. I was working on a trail yesterday when I accidentally cut my wrist... deep gash. Might have gnarled tendons... 5h in the ER. Got budged by a Squamish local climber in with a knife stab wound. Seems like the ER was the place to be last night... He and I may be out of commission for a bit.

[c-plus]

Dang Jer, that sounds nasty. Hope you heal up quickly enough. Let me know if you need a hand (no pun intended!)...

[Optimally-Primed]

so folks...

turns out the saw completely severed my epb tendon. that's the one below the thumb that pops up when you extend you thumb away from your fingers. it required emergency surgery to repair the damage before. the bottom line is that i'm...
-on t3s,
-typing with one hand,
-out of commission for 8 weeks, and
-putting out this call for action

forked flume is over 90% done. having it open for the climbing season would be amazing. would anyone (who has done route development before) be willing to pitch in a few hours to help finish it off?

"Ask not what your Squamish can do for you... Ask what you can do for your Squamish."

here's an opportunity to help

[squamish climber]

Jeremy,

Wow, sorry to hear about the route/trail cleaning induced injury. I second the sending of best wishes for a quick and complete recovery.

It goes without saying that your efforts to create great routes that benefit all those that climb at Squamish are much appreciated. Don't worry I'm sure there will be some volunteers to complete the job at Forked Flume. Klahanie Crack and Local Boys are already a top tick list routes for visiting climbers. Your new additions are going to really enhance this crag. -- thanks

[Optimally-Primed]

The obvious arch just right of Klahane Crack is now open. It's called Split Decision and weighs in at 5.9 or 10a. Gear to 1" + 4 bolts. Chain anchor.

[Optimally-Primed]

Thanks to a ton of help from Aaron Kristiansen, Luke Cormier, Jia Condon, John Anderson, and (Dirty) Harry Young, Forked Flume is nearly ready to be opened. A few more days of work...

In the meantime, here's a topo of the area. The Local Boys slab area is open for business. A piece of red tat is on the first bolt of Split Decision. If you head up there, please take this down. I would but I'm out of commission.

[slopr]

Looks like some real nice rock!- thanks for all the hard work and awesome routes, can't wait for the multipitch to open up!

[Optimally-Primed]

Yup, Split Decision and Dirty Dickey are both slow to dry. Give them 3-4 days after a solid rain. Pretty much summer/fall routes.

At least two parties have decided to try Forked Flume despite the "not done" status and red flagging on the first bolt. I don't take issue withe people climbing the first pitch. But I assure you that by "not done", I mean "still dirty". Most of the dirt on p1 is out of sight from the base of the climb. You've been warned!

[t-bone]

My wife and I visited this area today and after some light rain while we were on Klahanie crack, the skies cleared up for a great afternoon.

Great work on Split Decision...it makes an excellent addition to the crag. It was a bit wet in the middle section but completely climbable. If you are still looking for feedback on the grade, I would suggest 5.9, since I found there to be good rests and the friction quite good. As a comparison, I climbed Mr. Black (at Mosquito) on Sunday and found it harder than Split Decision - in fact I would suggest 10a for Mr. Black.

Also climbed all 3 pitches of Local Boys (had climbed p1 a few years ago). Definitely a must-do classic, better get on it quick before the summer temps rise. The route certainly isn't over-bolted but there is one whenever you really need it. As much as I'd like to claim an 11a slab on-sight, I have to agree with McLane's new rating of 10d. In fact, I found the physical crux of the route to be just before the 2nd bolt of p1 - seemed pretty tough for 10b. P2 is definintely the money pitch and (for me) was more difficult from a mental perspective since it was quite sustained. P3 is runout but not as bad I as feared...if you've climbed the 1st two pitches clean then it shouldn't be a problem.

I cannot imagine bolting this route on lead (I'm assuming this is how it was done)....

We didn't get on Forked Flume since we had to get back to Whistler to pick our son at daycare.

[slaphappy]

lung time lurker, first time poster...

Have been following the progress of these new and retro routes at Shannon and am very excited to get on them during my upcoming trip to Squampton in a couple of weeks. Was especially hoping to check out Forked Flume, is it ready, or will it be in the next couple of weeks? That climb looks very nice and would be a perfect multipitch to bring my wife up, especially with the multiple options on each pitch (she can follow at the lower grade if she wants)... keep up the good work

[damien]

lung time lurker, first time poster...

Have been following the progress of these new and retro routes at Shannon and am very excited to get on them during my upcoming trip to Squampton in a couple of weeks. Was especially hoping to check out Forked Flume, is it ready, or will it be in the next couple of weeks? That climb looks very nice and would be a perfect multipitch to bring my wife up, especially with the multiple options on each pitch (she can follow at the lower grade if she wants)... keep up the good work

Check out Skywalker in the New Routes forum. It is all done.