Most of our days in Squamish have been pretty chill. Cragging, biking, half-day multi pitch routes, and so on. But, ever since we got here I have had an urge to go big and see how my body feels with a full-day effort. I came up with the idea to do Angel’s Crest (5.10b, 13 pitches) then run down from the top of the Chief and do Rock On (5.10a, 5 pitches) and continue up Squamish Buttress (5.10c, 7 pitches).
I couldn’t find a partner who was down for the whole thing, but I did find two partners who were each down for half. Wiley happened to be camped next to us for a week or so, and I talked him into meeting to start Angel’s Crest at about 6:00. We were on the route at 6:30, just barely ahead of another party, and we never saw them again.
The goal wasn’t to move fast. The goal was to just have a big day out and really thrash the body to see how it held up. But, Jen was super clear that she didn’t want to have to take out the headlamps for the second half that she was going to be on, so we at least had to be reasonably efficient about things. I linked a few pitches, but most had to be broken out normally.
Angel’s Crest took 5 hours and 4 minutes at a having-fun pace, and after we had a snack and finished off the water, Wiley and I hiked down and I met Jen at the van. This is where I messed up. What I should have done was pound down a couple liters of water along with electrolytes while I ate my mid-day sandwich. What I actually did was drink a glass of juice, refill my 1/2 liter bike bottle that I had clipped to my harness, and start off again. This meant that my hydration total would be 1.5 liters for the whole day. What an idiot.
The hike up to Rock On was extremely hot and very humid. By the time we got to the base of the route my water was half empty. We caught another party almost immediately, and they were kind enough to let us pass on the big ledge on top of the 2nd pitch. Near the top of the crux is where the lack of hydration starting being an issue. My right arm cramped badly while I was trying to pull the steep section, and I was barely able to down-climb to a rest to let it relax before trying again. I was hoping that was going to be a one-time thing, but I was wrong.
Jen and I had a little snack, coiled the rope, and started the short hike to the start of Squamish Buttress. Most of this route is super easy, but it culminates in an excellent 5.10c pitch at the very top. This would be the 25th pitch of the day for me, and the point where my body finally threw in the towel. I was about two body lengths from the top of the pitch when my right arm once again cramped up badly. This time there was no saving it, and I took on a piece before pulling a few aid moves to finish it off. Jen followed, and would have likely sent if not for a stuck stopper. Sorry Jen. After one more pitch, we were both on top.
Time for the second block, also keeping it pretty chill, was 6 hours and 4 minutes. My knees were quite sore on the hike down, and the 45 minute jog from the first lap turned into well over an hour of slowly gimping my way down the trail. We were back at the van just as the sun set. No headlamps need. Total time for the entire day from car to car to car was just under 15 and 1/2 hours. It was exactly the kind of test that I wanted.
In the end I did 26 guidebook pitches and about 3500 ft of climbing (as close as I can guess) stopping for three snack breaks in 15 1/2 hours, and I felt great. I still had plenty of energy and stoke when I got back to the van as the sun set. My knees hurt a lot, but that’s pretty standard for me. The biggest issue was my arm cramping up. I’m writing that off to really stupid hydration decisions, and hopefully that’s all it was. The one thing I’m confident of is that it feels really good to go big every once in a while.
