This past weekend I went bouldering at Squamish with Alex. We headed out a bit late and got there after dark. Since Squamish is incredibly popular, the main campsite was full by the time we arrived. We decided to camp about a mile away, where there were open sites.

We woke up around 8 and headed over to the boulders. First we started at the boulders closest to the main campground, where we initially thought we had been shut down by a V0. After realizing we were starting in the wrong place, I got a taste of a fact that would become a recurring theme: finding the correct beta on real boulders is much more difficult than it is indoors. For me this might have been the single most significant difference.

We spent most of the day moving between different sections of boulders. From memory, we went in this order:

- Thighmaster area. We started on a V2 with a left arete and basically no feet. Neither of us could make the first move. Then we moved on, to try 3 problems on a different boulder. There was a V4 with a layback we could both follow for about 3 feet, a fun V1 with a nice mantel, and a very dynamic V3, which Alex sent but I couldn't make the jump. Then we moved over a bit, where we both sent something that was either V0 or V1, and a V2 with a very distinct right arete. Near that was a scary V3 which started under an overhang with a right hand jam, had a long move to a juggy hold on the corner, and ended with a mantel. Alex sent after falling on me once, but I had neither the reach nor the jamming experience to make the first move. Instead I did the easy V0 next to it.

- Viper area. There was one boulder with two V2's and a V1. One of the V2's had excellent holds and easy moves, so that and the V1 went easily for both us and a couple people who borrowed our pads. The other V2, though, took me probably 12 tries to learn the beta, and another 10 to send. It started out on the left prow of the boulder, and began with a left hand bump to a good sloper, and a largish right hand move to a small crimp on a ledge. Then a left bump to an arete, a left heel hook in a divot, and another left bump up the arete while using a slight kneebar on the left. After setting the right foot on a good hold, there's a right hand bump slightly left to a decent pinch. After that, a left hand slap up the arete to a very rough sloper, still using the kneebar. This sloper was the toughest hold for me, and my left wrist currently has the scabs to prove it. After weighting that hand, there was a left foot shift to get some opposition. Finally there was a largish move to the best jug of the day, and an easy mantel. This was my favorite problem of the day, possibly because of the elation after finally grabbing the jug on my final try. Somewhere in the midst of my flailing on this, we did a nearby slopey V3. We may have started on the second move, though. Again, routes seem less distinct outdoors. After these, we worked on a V2 slab problem for a while. This one had a couple decent crimps for hands, but foot holds were virtually non-existant. We made it several moves in, but were shut down by a big move off crimps and terrible feet. This is where I started to realize I had lost quite a bit of skin, and started to dislike touching things.

- Superfly or Lip Smack. I want to say we tried something here before moving on, but I can't remember. I think Alex may have done a V3 here? I feel like I'm missing one of those.

- Easy Chair. We decided to take it easy here, and did a fun 4-foot-high V1 which just went left along a nice overhung rail. The guidebook suggested losing the foot "for fun." I was able to get about 2 feet in without it. After that we moved to another V1, which was somewhat difficult to protect, but mostly just involved using a nice right-hand arete. As we left, we saw about 12 photographers taking pictures of someone climbing. We hoped it was something significant, but it turned out to be a photography class.

On Sunday we went over to Murrin Provincial Park, which seemed to be a very popular place for locals to hang out. I had initially intended to take some video of us climbing, but my camera had died the previous night while taking pictures of the chief. We first did part of a V0 on the traverse boulder, but cut it short because we didn't feel like highballing. Next Alex did the long V3 traverse along the boulder and another route. I tried the traverse, but there were at least 2 sections I wasn't able to get past. This boulder was pretty interesting because of the proximity to a popular path, where several people stopped to watch or ask questions. Finally we went to try a Top 100 V2, which was indeed very exciting, and slightly scary. The route starts on a nice pair of jugs under an overhang, and the first move is fairly dynamic up to the edge. The hold is a pretty good jug, but after considering the condition of my fingers, the words I would choose to describe it are "sharp" and "crystaline." After that move, there is a nice rail to use for a mantel. I was able to do everything after the first move, but for the start I never got past slapping the hold. If I'm being perfectly honest, I think I eventually could have gotten it, but just didn't want touch things anymore. This was a very fun and aesthetic problem; I can see why it was top 100.

After bouldering, we decided to hike up the back side of the chief. It turned out to be a very short trail, but it was quite steep, with lots of stairs and few switchbacks. At the top we got a view of Howe Sound, Squamish, and Mount Garibaldi.