The Big Black Dog Comes to Squamish!

We have been in Squamish for just over a week now and wow- Squamish is awesome!

One of my best friends, Charlotte, came up with her dog Huckleberry for a quick visit to climb, catch up, and enjoy Squamish.  Huckleberry is a Labradane (half Labrador, half Great Dane), and up until yesterday I had only heard stories, stalked him on Instagram, and regularly read “his” blog (www.thebigblackdogblog.com).  I must say that Huckleberry exceeded my expectations- not just in size (he is a mini-horse), but also in temperament. When Charlotte told me her 1 year old Labradane was super mellow I was skeptical, but apparently the Great Dane in him really brings out a wonderful mellow and relaxed disposition that is glaringly absent in 1 year old Labradors. 

Charlotte, Mark, and I (and Huckleberry) climbed in the Smoke Bluffs for the two days she was here.  The Smoke Bluffs are super fun, and a quick walk from our apartment.  I am so thankful that she drove up here, dog in tow, and spent a couple of days with us. 

Picture by Charlotte

Picture by Charlotte

A rarity!  Picture by Charlotte

Huckleberry watches, very concerned and confused about this whole climbing thing. Picture by Charlotte

Last night (Tuesday) we had the first of many Doco (rhymes with Taco) Tuesdays to come.  We made tacos and then watched a documentary.  This idea compliments of Drew, who also brought over some TimBits from Tim Horton’s for us to try.  They are essentially doughnut holes, but they are definitely not called doughnut holes!  Anyway, Doco Tuesday was a success. 

 

The setup for doco viewing.

Today, Mark and I did a long day of moderate climbing up the Chief (the biggest hunk of granite in Squamish).  We linked up Banana Peel (5.7, 8 pitches) to Boomstick Crack (5.7, 2 pitches), to The Butt Light (5.9, 8 pitches). The climbing was super fun, the conditions were perfect, and I had packed a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie that we ate at the top.  Mark and I are recently into strawberry rhubarb pie and eating a piece after 18 pitches of climbing made it that much better.  The Butt Light is a newer route and I wanted to link to a blog post about the route by one of the first ascentionists, Sonnie Trotter, about all the work that went into putting up the route.  http://sonnietrotter.com/2010/07/28/a-long-story-for-the-readers/ 

As per a suggestion from one of our many readers (hah! Just kidding), I will try and better explain some of the rock climbing terms that I throw out.  So to start out- the grade of a climb (the difficulty) ranges from 5.0-5.15 with 5.0 being the easiest, and 5.15c being the grade that only Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra (two of the strongest climbers out there) have climbed.  As a side note, if you are bored, there is a spoof of Taylor Swift’s Trouble song with Adam Ondra that is pretty entertaining.

Aside from all that, life in Squamish is good- I am sampling the Canadian selection of candy (Bigfoot sour feet), we are slowly furnishing the place with the free “art” (maps from the visitor center), and free Craigslist items, and we are psyched on our mini dishwasher.  It is literally a 2 ft. x 2 ft. little box, but it is a whole lot of awesome. 

Since I have started talking about our dishwasher I figure it is time to wrap this post up!  Also, please excuse the run on sentences.  Usually Mark gives these posts a healthy edit after I write them, but he is out bouldering and I can only poach internet from the local bar for so long.

xoxo

Lauren and Mark