They鈥檙e the often-unsung heroes behind the scenes of the climbing community.听
For every climber who ascends a Squamish rock face, there鈥檚 also a route maker ensuring there鈥檚 something to climb.
Over the weekend at The Knotty Burl the Squamish Access Society hosted the 2017 Golden Scrub Brush Awards, which pays homage to the 鈥渄iggers鈥� in town.
Creating a new climbing route can be a painstaking process.
Many pathways up the Stawamus Chief and other places can鈥檛 be climbed until lichen, moss and dirt are cleared from rocks, so it basically falls on a team of die-hard climbing enthusiasts to do this job.
Save for installing and maintaining bolts and anchors, the actual rocks themselves aren鈥檛 altered during the route-making process, which can take anywhere between weeks and years.
The president of the Squamish Access Society credited the diggers with helping grow the climbing community.
鈥淚 think we would be stagnant as a community 鈥� it鈥檚 a big job,鈥� said Chris Small, noting what things would be like without route makers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the people who are really passionate about climbing who tend to put up routes.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of an artistic endeavour,鈥� he said.
And it can be a painstaking one, too.
Small said in his experience, route-making can take one hour for each metre of surface that鈥檚 cleaned. For instance, a 30-metre pitch is a 30-hour job.听
And it can be costly. Each pitch 鈥� basically, a segment of climbing route 鈥� can cost about $120 when taking into account the cost of cleaning materials, as well as the price of adding bolts and an anchor, Small said.
He estimates that in the last 10 years, about 500 new routes have been created thanks to the tireless effort of these volunteers. There would be significantly less growth in routes if these enthusiasts didn鈥檛 put in the time, he added.
Furthermore, there鈥檚 often a need for ongoing maintenance for these routes, as they can become unclimbable within five years without any cleaning, Small said.
The prospect of new routes appears to play a significant part in making Squamish a world-class climbing destination.
For example, a winning route at the awards called 鈥淟ong Time, No See鈥� was packed to the point that lineups were forming at its base, Small said.听
Small said the route, which was charted out on the Apron of the Stawamus Chief, averages about 400 climbs a year.
鈥淚t took a lot of work and a lot of digging to get that cleaned out,鈥� said Small. 鈥淸Kris Wild] was working on that for over two years.鈥�
Wild, the creator of that route, nabbed the win in the best multi-pitch category.
There was a slew of other winners who were honoured at the ceremony as well.
The complete results are as follows. Any routes made in the last three years were eligible to be nominated for this year鈥檚 awards.
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Best trad single pitch
Rainbows and Unicorns, 5.8, Rainbows and Unicorns, Murrin, Chris Small, 2016
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Best sport route
Captain Hooked, 5.9. Neverland, Dave Southam and Jack Fieldhouse, 2017
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Best multipitch
Long Time, No See. 5.9. The Apron, Kris Wild, 2017
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Best retroscrub or refit (reviving an old route)
Jump to Light Speed, 10d, Shannon Falls, K. Wild, 2014. First Ascent. Weeping Wall 5.8, A1, Erik Lance, Dick Culbert, Einar
Hansen, 1967
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Best boulder problem
Be Still My Heart, V4, Jack Fieldhouse
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Best route name
I Regret Driving You to the Hospital, V5, North walls boulders, Miles Adamson, 2014
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Best new area
Playground/Courtyard听
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Lifetime achievement award
Jim Sandford 鈥� For his work building classic, world-class trails that still bring climbers to Squamish from around the globe.
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Community spirit award
Joe Wong 鈥� For his work organizing the Squamish Rampage bouldering competition and founding Climb and Conquer, a charity which teaches life skills to underprivileged youth through climbing.
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The awards were also a chance to fundraise for the Squamish Access Society, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that helps makes trails and climbing routes in the community.
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