The Apocalypse Cave

It's been an amazing summer of route development at The Apocalypse Cave and I'm super excited about the quality of the climbs the wall has produced so far.  With a few weeks remaining in the season, here is the first run of the topo.  There are currently 8 completed routes and 1 project.  I anticipate the wall will have over 20 routes eventually.

The Apocalypse Cave is a free climbing area.  Do not climb these routes with ice tools!  The wall is located in the Middle Grotto of Grotto Mountain, the same canyon as The Playground and Silent Auction multi-pitch.  The tallest climbs are roughly 25m high and a 60m rope is required.

Approach information: Park at the Ratsnest cave parking.  This is a large dirt unsigned turnoff of Hwy 1A.  If approaching from Exshaw, once the speed limit hits 80km/h, the road goes uphill and over a bend.  The parking is the third pullout on the right when driving downhill, about 2km past the turnoff for Gap Lake.  The majority of the approach is the same as for The Playground.

Follow the Ratsnest cave trail for approximately 5 minutes up a steep hill.  The climber's trail forks left partway up the steep hill (see photo).  There are many forks and it can be hard to find the proper one.  It usually has a cairn and should quickly turn into a power line road.  After about 40 minutes, just before the road goes downhill into the mine site, the trail leads up into the tress and into the Middle Grotto canyon.  Follow the canyon and the trails along it's banks to a fork just before the Playground.  The right fork leads to the Playground, take the left fork for Apocalypse Cave or Silent Auction.  The trail re-enters the canyon to a fork in the drainage.  Take the right drainage but do not follow it, instead look for an orange flagged trail that leads to the base of the wall.  Approach time is approximately 70 minutes.  The wall gets sun from late morning until early evening.

Enjoy!

Acephale Over the Years

No place feels more like going home to me than hiking up to Acephale.  I spent 7 seasons climbing almost exclusively there.  I learned and grew so much as a climber by projecting routes at Acephale.  It's where I sent my first 12c, 12d, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d.  Yes, that's every single grade from 12c to 14d.  The first route I ever bolted is also at Acephale.

People ask me all the time about my training regime.  In short, it involves projecting at Acephale through days that are too wet, too hot, too cold, too sore, too little skin, too tired, too whatever.  I definitely attribute most of my success to climbing there.  To show for it, of the 86 currently established routes, I've done 82 of them.

Right now, the Bow Valley is experiencing the driest rock climbing season I've ever seen.  I can't believe June Monsoon has come and gone with barely a couple days of rain.  Combined with the lack of snow melt this year, the crags have managed to avoid any seepage at all.  I haven't lived in Alberta super long but I imagine this has to be a season like no other.  Even the epically wet Kinder Surprise Project doesn't have a single wet hold right now.

After spending very little time at Acephale last year, I find myself drawn back to it's humbling walls yet again and I've realized how much I miss climbing there.  Acephale will always hold a special place in my heart and probably will always be my favorite place to climb.  This is a collection of photos taken over the years.

Pulling the upper crux of Existence Mundane. Photo Tim Mooney.

 This is what the walls typically look like at this time of year.  Not the case this year.

 Josh Muller and I plowing the approach trail in 2013.  No need to those shenanigans this year!

Sheena Stares cruising up a very wet Jingus Americanus, 5.12d in typical June Acephale conditions.

The 2013 floods put a damper on things, turning a once beautiful trail into this mess.  

A proud effort from a few motivated individuals turned this into the trail that is enjoyed today.

 Establishing the new parking lot and approach trail following the 2013 floods.

 

Working the crux of Leviathan, my very first 5.14.  Photo Nick Straub.

Video of one of my (failed) redpoint attempts of Bunda de Fora.

Leaving off with a photo addressing buckets as Acephale increases in popularity.

Sorry to throw you under the bus buddy.

Acephale Upper Wall Topos 2015

The new guidebook is scheduled to come out this August. For now enjoy these topos current as of April 2015.

Rethinking the Bucket System

Last year's stash at The Lookout, growing at an alarming pace.

Is this the image we want to portray?

It’s hard to believe amid today’s snowfall, but the Spring climbing season is slowly getting started in the Bow Valley. Climbers are venturing out to the crags and getting ready to move their climbing gear from their closet to storage in their crag buckets. Now is a good time to rethink the bucket system which has been standard operating procedure in the Bow Valley for as long as I've climbed here.

For those unfamiliar with Bow Valley climbing, our approaches are extreme. One to two hour hikes with 400 to 800 meters of elevation gain and sections of 4^th class climbing are standard. I've traveled to many places around the world to rock climb and I haven’t seen anywhere with approaches like the Bow Valley. Nothing even comes close. To increase the difficulty further, the trails tend to be buried in snow and ice in the spring and winter.

To help ease the suffering, climbers tend to stash gear at the crags, typically a rope and set of draws.  Most crags have rats that will eat climbing gear overnight so rat proof paint buckets are standard. Gear is also left hanging on the first bolt of some climbs. The unlucky routes that have their first bolt hijacked tend to fall into obscurity. In the past, only climbers who regularly visited a crag would leave gear, and usually only at a single crag. Climbing wasn't as mainstream and stashed gear stayed at an acceptable limit.

Getting ready for a burn on Leviathan 5.14a in 2009 with the rope nest in the background.

In recent years, climbing has had an enormous increase in popularity, more so indoors, but outdoor traffic has seen a noticeable increase as well. Seeing the standard practice from seasoned climbers, new climbers don’t think twice and promptly visit the hardware store to pick up a bucket of their own and hike it up the next day. 

We constructed a bucket shelter at Acephale in 2013 to remove buckets crowding the base of the wall as a temporary measure while hoping to phase out buckets completely. Instead, the number of buckets has only grown.

Recent attitudes towards stashed gear have changed as well. It is now common for those who don't climb regularly to stash gear, climbers stash gear at multiple crags throughout the Bow Valley to not commit to a certain place, and some will leave multiple ropes at the same crag or multiple ropes at different walls within the same area. Climbers no longer try to keep stashed gear at a minimum and instead take the opposite extreme, with the goal to hike in and out carrying nothing but food and water for the day.  

I admit I've been guilty of many of these offenses, most notably at Acephale. At the time, I was climbing there 6 or 7 days a week, but I've come to realize the excessive nature and the problems it leads to. The way things used to be just isn't going to work anymore.

Adding even more to gear stashes is the fact that people abandon their gear when they are done with it, and the piles of abandoned gear alone is getting excessive, effectively turning crags into a trash bin. Left unchecked the piles of ropes and buckets will only keep growing. 

The gear stash at Planet X. I spent the majority of last summer here and I saw one of these ropes used one time. The owner promptly declared he probably wouldn't be back again until next year and hung his rope back up for storage.

Storing gear at the crag has the sole advantage of rewarding lazy climbers. Cleaning up the crags increases the visual appeal, makes a more enjoyable experience for everyone, creates a better first impression for new climbers to the crag, prolongs the lifespan of gear, leads to more sustainable climbing in the future, and helps promote the Bow Valley as a world class climbing destination.

Ask yourself: Do you want to contribute to the mess or help clean it up? Does carrying a few extra pounds of gear in and out really affect how you ultimately enjoy your day? I for one spent all of last season hiking all my gear in and out of the crag every day, including a 100m rope in and out of Echo Canyon. I see no reason to leave gear at the crag anymore and I actually feel increased enjoyment out of climbing days now.

The Upper Wall at Acephale, devoid of the bucket stashes and rope nests of old.

Interview with Gripped Canada's Climbing Magazine

I had a chance to chat with Brandon Pullan with Gripped Magazine and discussed first ascents, projecting hard routes, and what drives me as a climber.  Check out the link for the full interview! http://gripped.com/news/evan-hau-top-canadian-sport-climber-aims-high-in-2015/

Maximizing your Climbing Trip Potential

Many components come together to make a great climbing trip such as exploring new areas, new rock, and new cultures. Having great company, great food, and cooperating weather also contribute. Walking away with a badass tick list may not be the main focus of a successful road trip, but climbing at your best is a subject that inevitably comes up. Here are some tips to help climb at your best while on a trip. These are meant for moderate length trips of a few weeks to a month although they can be generalized to any duration.

Don’t Waste Daylight

If you're visiting a new area, make sure you get out and explore even if you don’t plan to climb. Use travel days and rest days to scope out approaches, crag conditions, and potential projects. This ensures that you spend climbing days actually climbing instead of getting lost on trails, staring confusingly at topos, or realizing the routes you had picked out are wet or just don’t look that inspiring in person. There’s plenty of time to drink beer and sit by the campfire after the sun goes down.

Checking out a new wall on a rainy rest day.  Upon realizing I was not at all inspired by this wall,

there was no need to hike up here with climbing gear and waste a climbing day.

Jump in the Deep End

Get on the hardest thing you intend to work on during the trip right away, the first day ideally. There will be plenty of time to get on the easier routes on your tick list as the trip goes on. This gives you enough time to work on and actually send your project or find more realistic projects if your initial goals were too ambitious. You can also use working burns on the project to get used to the rock and the climbing style without blowing potential onsight attempts of easier routes before you are ready. Hard climbs also better prepare you for climbing in the area because they force you to adapt to the climbing style more than easy climbs do.

Taking my own advice and epically trying to get the draws in on Cous Cous 5.14b first day at El Chorro.

Don’t Get Frustrated

This can be a tough one if you get on hard routes right away. Chances are, unless you're special or travel a lot, you will suck your first couple days. It doesn't matter how much you've trained for this trip or how in shape you feel, it takes most people a few climbing days to a week to get used to the rock, the nature of the climbs, the holds, the bolt spacing, and climbing outside if you've been mostly climbing in the gym. You may also be weary from travel and trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. Continue trying hard climbs and fight through the frustration of not climbing as well as you may have expected and before you know it, you will start performing well on the rock. 

Have Patience

Resist the urge to abandon working on the project and getting on easier routes too soon. It's hard to truly assess the feasibility of sending a route until after at least a few days of effort so hopefully you picked a fun route, and either way, working on a hard climb at your limit is the best way to get in shape to an area quickly.

By waiting until you gain confidence and have a feel for the area before attempting the easier routes, you give yourself a better chance to onsight or collect valuable flash beta if you have no intentions of onsighting. The experience from the hard climbs should allow you to take down easier routes faster and leave you even more time for the project.  

Success! Super psyched lowering down after sending Cous Cous.

Be Flexible

Try not to get too fixated on specific climbing schedules such as the classic 2 on 1 off. Many climbers waste beautiful days resting and go climbing on terrible days because that’s just how their climbing schedule works out.  Check the forecast, be flexible, and try to make sure you are getting out on the best days.

In summary, starting out on easy routes and working your way up can be a more enjoyable way to build up your climbing and confidence, but it will likely mean taking extra tries to send easier routes and not leaving enough time to take down your redpoint project.  If your objective is to build the best tick list you can, a better strategy is to start working on the hard routes immediately while saving easier routes for the tail end of the trip.  Hopefully these ideas work out for you on your next trip!