Europa update?
Europa update?
Rather than enter the fray of discussing the merits/pitfalls of this endeavour, I would simply like to know what the status of the climb is...
Are we clean or still under construction?
Thanks
and maybe keep any other opinions/comments as to the value of the project to one of the other threads devoted to the subject?
Are we clean or still under construction?
Thanks
and maybe keep any other opinions/comments as to the value of the project to one of the other threads devoted to the subject?
Europa Update
Per Jeff Mottershead 4/24:
Surrounding climbs are also mostly-to-completely clean
Hello,
Europa is cleaned. I'd been going fairly hard for the last couple months, cleaning most nights, and from the Sunday before last to the next Sunday I did nine cleaning trips, and the route is now ready to go.
During this last rush to finish, I think there was a feeling of "it's never going to be done" and a lot of the regular volunteers weren't getting out. Madeleine Martin-Preney, who is 19 and weighs well under 100 lbs took up the slack left by everyone else and ended up doing about 1/4 of the remaining work. She hasn't been around long enough to make a name for herself, but I'm confident you'll hear about her in the future. About fifty people have helped out, but the following also deserve mention, as each has done at least 100 hours of work up there: Matthew Carroll, Stephen Mullen, Christian Veenstra and Natalie Stafl.
The cleaning proceeded smoothly until Friday night, where a huge wind picked up. I was really having a hard time staying warm and motivated up there. I came down at about 8:00 AM and discovered a lot of trees broken, including three live ones that had snapped off about 15 feet up and blown across the trail. Seeing these made me feel like less of a pansy for getting tossed around and frozen. I took a nap in the van, went back to Vancouver and picked up Madeleine, who had just finished writing one of these Saturday exams that UBC is now tormenting people with. We ate and then went back up, cleaning from evening till dawn. After another nap in the van, we went up again and removed most of the fixed lines and lowered the air compressor to the ground. Madeleine was fairly late for her ride to go back home for a wedding by the time we got the compressor down, so I drove her back to Vancouver, picked up Matthew and headed back to Squamish. Matthew disassembled the compressor and packed most of it and all of the ropes back to the van while I jugged up, taking all the pitons and fixed lines with me. When we got done, it was 4:00 am. We were pretty excited to be done, so we foolishly decided to do a celebratory climb after work on Monday. We were both much too beat up and tired be climbing anything, even if it was really easy. We decided to swing leads. After I did one pitch, Matthew led the crux of the whole route, moved up a system of ledges and then started up a corner that was much, much easier than what he already climbed, which itself was pretty easy. Almost exclusively to being too tired to have his head in the game, Matthew fell off the corner. His pro held, but not before he bounced off some fairly angular ledges. The fall was short, but the pointedness of what he landed on made sure that it hurt anyways.
At that point it became a rescue operation as opposed to a climb. Matthew set up an anchor and I climbed up to him and traversed over to the station at the top of Rutabaga and belayed Matthew over, and from there we rapped off. Matthew went to the hospital the next day. There weren't any broken bones, but there was some blood in his urine. If that doesn't stop, they'll need to ultrasound his kidneys. I expect, though, that things will clot up by themselves, because there wasn't much blood and he's not feeling too bad.
That wasn't really how I wanted my first time climbing it since finishing cleaning to go, but such is life. Matthew has been taking it with a sense of humor too, which is good--being injured is way better than being injured and being in a foul mood. I'm going to get on it again with a non-broken partner this weekend. I'm sure it will go a lot better when we're not exhausted and sore and when we're not racing the sunset.
The word that it's finished is out, and I expect that it will be a popular climb very soon, if it isn't starting to be already.
Surrounding climbs are also mostly-to-completely clean
Hello,
Europa is cleaned. I'd been going fairly hard for the last couple months, cleaning most nights, and from the Sunday before last to the next Sunday I did nine cleaning trips, and the route is now ready to go.
During this last rush to finish, I think there was a feeling of "it's never going to be done" and a lot of the regular volunteers weren't getting out. Madeleine Martin-Preney, who is 19 and weighs well under 100 lbs took up the slack left by everyone else and ended up doing about 1/4 of the remaining work. She hasn't been around long enough to make a name for herself, but I'm confident you'll hear about her in the future. About fifty people have helped out, but the following also deserve mention, as each has done at least 100 hours of work up there: Matthew Carroll, Stephen Mullen, Christian Veenstra and Natalie Stafl.
The cleaning proceeded smoothly until Friday night, where a huge wind picked up. I was really having a hard time staying warm and motivated up there. I came down at about 8:00 AM and discovered a lot of trees broken, including three live ones that had snapped off about 15 feet up and blown across the trail. Seeing these made me feel like less of a pansy for getting tossed around and frozen. I took a nap in the van, went back to Vancouver and picked up Madeleine, who had just finished writing one of these Saturday exams that UBC is now tormenting people with. We ate and then went back up, cleaning from evening till dawn. After another nap in the van, we went up again and removed most of the fixed lines and lowered the air compressor to the ground. Madeleine was fairly late for her ride to go back home for a wedding by the time we got the compressor down, so I drove her back to Vancouver, picked up Matthew and headed back to Squamish. Matthew disassembled the compressor and packed most of it and all of the ropes back to the van while I jugged up, taking all the pitons and fixed lines with me. When we got done, it was 4:00 am. We were pretty excited to be done, so we foolishly decided to do a celebratory climb after work on Monday. We were both much too beat up and tired be climbing anything, even if it was really easy. We decided to swing leads. After I did one pitch, Matthew led the crux of the whole route, moved up a system of ledges and then started up a corner that was much, much easier than what he already climbed, which itself was pretty easy. Almost exclusively to being too tired to have his head in the game, Matthew fell off the corner. His pro held, but not before he bounced off some fairly angular ledges. The fall was short, but the pointedness of what he landed on made sure that it hurt anyways.
At that point it became a rescue operation as opposed to a climb. Matthew set up an anchor and I climbed up to him and traversed over to the station at the top of Rutabaga and belayed Matthew over, and from there we rapped off. Matthew went to the hospital the next day. There weren't any broken bones, but there was some blood in his urine. If that doesn't stop, they'll need to ultrasound his kidneys. I expect, though, that things will clot up by themselves, because there wasn't much blood and he's not feeling too bad.
That wasn't really how I wanted my first time climbing it since finishing cleaning to go, but such is life. Matthew has been taking it with a sense of humor too, which is good--being injured is way better than being injured and being in a foul mood. I'm going to get on it again with a non-broken partner this weekend. I'm sure it will go a lot better when we're not exhausted and sore and when we're not racing the sunset.
The word that it's finished is out, and I expect that it will be a popular climb very soon, if it isn't starting to be already.
Full route description and topo now available on the VOC wiki:
http://www.ubc-voc.com/wiki/Europa
I'm basically fine; a bit sore and stiff still, that's all. Otherwise, just laughing at myself for managing to fall off such an easy move.
Matthew
http://www.ubc-voc.com/wiki/Europa
I'm basically fine; a bit sore and stiff still, that's all. Otherwise, just laughing at myself for managing to fall off such an easy move.
Matthew
woohooo! Exciting times - lemme grab my rope! (or wait till a weekday... although I guess word is still just getting out)
Thanks for all the hard work to Jeff and all those who helped, you've left behind what will truly be a treasure of Squamish for decades to come, long after all the blow hards have climbed it and shrugged, "yeah, I guess it's a good route", enticing new climbers to the adventure of leading and multipitching.
Thanks for all the hard work to Jeff and all those who helped, you've left behind what will truly be a treasure of Squamish for decades to come, long after all the blow hards have climbed it and shrugged, "yeah, I guess it's a good route", enticing new climbers to the adventure of leading and multipitching.
Just a reminder that Europa/Crap Crags passes right through the heart of the falcon closure area (south of black dyke, north of freeway mar 31 to july 31 above 4 pitches in height- remember). Saw two parties on there yesterday who looked to be topping out.
Pretty sure this route passes right through the nesting grounds (as opposed to simply the closure area) and so should be avoided until august.
Pretty sure this route passes right through the nesting grounds (as opposed to simply the closure area) and so should be avoided until august.
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Will Stanhope
- I'm New Here
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:34 am
The falcon closure doesn't start the same time each year. It starts when then notice them nesting and post a notice.
From the BC parks website: "There are no route closures at this time."
They also post at the Chief parking lot.
The notices in the outhouses saying that the closure is in effect are inaccurate, they have been there for a year.
From the BC parks website: "There are no route closures at this time."
They also post at the Chief parking lot.
The notices in the outhouses saying that the closure is in effect are inaccurate, they have been there for a year.
Falcons
Also of note is that when the falcon closures do come into effect (which they have not as yet) the first four pitches of the Europa can still be climbed. There is a rap route from the top of pitch 4 so that you can rap back down to the ground on a single 60m rope.
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