Sherri

Yeah...I get around. My partner last weekend had driven up that morning; we figured the route was a good one to warm up on(and a chance for me to take pics of the bottom pitches that I had missed the first time around). You guys looked great on Rutabaga. Thanks for making the cc.com connection here. Love meeting folks face-to-face.

Trip: Squamish, BC - Europa Date: 7/25/2009 Trip Report: Looking for something in the shade to escape July's sultry heatwave, we decided to check out the "new" Europa route and see for ourselves if it was worth the $14,000 spent to clean it last year. The first pitch is a 5.7 blocky corner system with some exciting layback moves. The second(crux)pitch, 5.8, starts with a short but pumpy handcrack/lieback. Fun! Looking down at P2 from the comfy tree belay: Another 5.7 pitch begins with pulling around some overhanging blocks which eventually get you to a couple finger crack/face moves. No picture of this section as I was enjoying the lovely view from the belay: The start of the fourth pitch(5.5) is a surreal tree ladder that looks like a scene prop from a Hobbit movie. My lucky partner got this lead: This is followed by a dirty chimney/gully that brings you to the base of P5, which is a 5.6 45m pitch of similar character(except without the fun Hobbit tree ) Things change dramatically at the base of P6, 5.7, which kicks off with a 9-bolt ladder. My partner led the ladder, with some considerable effort, and set up belay at the top of it so that I could top-rope the enticing looking line to the left of the bolt ladder. We wondered if this went at a reasonable grade.(Answer: No!) Some sketchy, strenuous face moves past one bolt delivered me at the bottom of an shallow handcrack in an awkward corner. I struggled and sweated my way up it, wishing I had tried the bolt ladder after all. Found out later that this line was part of a route called The Gauntlet, 10d, I think. After that off-route grovel, I was glad to finish our 5.7 pitch on the nice steep hand/fist crack section which landed us in the base of a neat chimney. Pitch 7, 5.6, climbs this chimney, which you can do in various ways if chimneys are not your game. Go around the outside of it on the left, stem up the middle, or go deep inside and do a combo of squeeze chimney/face moves. There were three of us in our party and we each did it differently. A nice bit of scenery as you exit the chimney: My partner enjoying the "alpine" ambience of the belay station at the top: Me, dirty, happy, and bit bedraggled after hauling the gear and pack up the last chimney: We gave the route three :tup: . It took the better part of a day(we had shade until about 3pm) and proved more interesting and challenging than we initially expected, given the moderate/easy ratings of the pitches. (I wouldn't send newbies up this, as there is still plenty of loose stuff waiting to work its way out and gear placements are not trivial.) While it doesn't hold a candle to the classics, Europa was fun in it's own way, giving us something of a different, faux-alpine, character to do in lieu of joining the cattle lines snaking up the routes of comparable grades on the Apron. Thanks to those who put the vision, hard work and money into it. Gear Notes: 60m rope.Standard rack, though doubles of #2 come in handy for the 5.8 crux crack and a couple extra slings might be helpful for the bolt ladder, especially if you keep going to finish the pitch. Mosquito repellant for the start is a good idea. Option for rappelling the route w/one 60m from 1st rap station atop P4. Approach Notes: Europa is in the Dihedrals. Park in the climbers lot on the left side of the roundabout before the Chief Campground. Hike through the boulders, up and leftward along the base toward Millenium Falcon.(15mins?) The start is to the left of Arrowroot. The descent trail is well marked with reflectors and eventually joins the main Chief trail. Europa topo: http://www.ubc-voc.com/wiki/Europa

So how is Europa? Is it getting enough traffic to be clean, enjoyable? We had a great time on Europa. It is still a long way from being "clean," but the dirt and loose rock kept us on our toes and added to the alpine/adventure feel of the whole thing. I've got a couple pics from it that I'll post up sometime.

[img:center]http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XNueStDVX8c/SoHbS5xFsDI/AAAAAAAAFTk/NKz6qPoh7UA/s512/IMG_0195.JPG[/img] We were up there that same week(I recognize the long-weekend traffic in the background) and did "Europa", next door to MF. What a hot and muggy week. Sucked the energy and made the rock feel almost slimy...you guys did AWESOME to bag such a classic climb in such steamy conditions. Great TR!

True dat. View changes quite a bit depending on where your lounge chair is parked.

PM sent re vest. Thanks! I think my partner's vest stayed behind to keep my red metolius company--it's stuck near the top of Wet Dream. This is its first time spending the night outside in the cold. If you can unstick it, please give it a good home. :kisss:

We checked this one out yesterday...it sure packs a lot of punch for a such short climb!(Approach shoes??? ) We saw Argus there putting the finishing touches on it and, thanks to his suggestion, we also had a fun romp up "Peanuts to Serve You", a 60ft 5.9 only few minutes further up the trail. Thanks again for all the cleaning! :kisss:

The Squamish Access Society certainly goes the extra mile. Nice suggestion about a knotted line, CBS.

+1!!!! I love mine so much that if I'm leading with someone else's rack, I bring my set(assuming that the other person hasn't yet discovered their magical powers)

I hadn't seen those photos before--pretty wild to think it came so close to looking that way again...

Thanks for the background, Richard. The splitter section looked sweet(only saw cobwebs there), but the moss and plant debris around the base gave us some difficulty identifying the start.

To escape the Toxic Shock crowd yesterday, we scurried around the corner to "Happy Puppy" 5.9 and "Who Put the Purr in My Pussy" 5.8 and were well rewarded with two fun climbs. The chimney section of "Happy Puppy" was so sparkly clean! Must have been recently scrubbed? Thanks to whoever put in the hard work. The finish is dirty but don't let that stop you from checking out this fine line. "Who Put the Purr in My Pussy" was in decent shape. It looks dirtier than it really is. We didn't encounter any loose rock(the guidebook warns of loose flakes near the top). Both climbs share a rap station(slings w/biners around a tree). Anyone been on "Behind the Eightball" (200 ft past Toxic Shock")recently? From the ground, this one looked pretty grimy.

I'm with ya on the snakey year. Watch your step on the Pearly Gates trail. They're not shy.

Brian, I've never met you or your wife, but your love and concern for her has always been tenable thru your posts. I am very sorry to hear of her passing. My heart goes out to you as you take these first steps forward without her by your side.

Nice one, CBS. Good on ya for dusting off some old lines and reminding us that there's good stuff out there for those willing to look for it.

Rockfall got 'em all.

Holy smokes, Sobo! Must have been quite the scare for the little guy("flambee'd fried oatmeal"? What was he thinking?! Tell him to save the fancy stuff for the Hell's Kitchen tryouts. ) Glad that everybody and the rest of the house made it through ok. Love to you all and good wishes for a non-eventful weekend. :kisss:

That marmot is not wearing a helmet.

If you go, tell GM I want my skin back. I'm pretty sure I left a fair bit of it on that last pitch. Hope weather works out for you!

The folks I'm thinking of tugged only AFTER I had gone off belay(all were new partners that I have not climbed with again, though they weren't all noobs). Someone apparently taught them that tugging was a good way to communicate/confirm signals. Surprised the hell out of me the first time, as it never crossed my mind that someone would pull on a leader when they could not see if this would endanger them in some way, whether on or off belay. Just thought it was good to bring up here, as strange things do happen.

Oh, it happens. Some people are seriously tug-happy. Their intentions may be good, but I find it annoying at best and dangerous at worst. For instance, I've had followers tug on me to confirm that they've taken me off belay, had 'em tug when they thought I must not realize I've been taken off belay because I hadn't started pulling up the rope yet(perhaps I'm still building the anchor), etc. As mentioned by Toast, if we cannot verbally communicate, a lot can be said for paying attention to the movement of the rope. When unsure, err on the side of safety(ie-if I'm following and I'm not sure my leader called off belay and the rope is being pulled but not necessarily quickly, I'll keep my belay device on until I have no doubt that they are in fact pulling the rope, rather than simply scurrying up an easy section).

I prefer that my follower NOT tug on the rope once I have completed a pitch and tugged or yelled to tell them so. Even though I am off belay(and, presumably secure), I could be in the middle of completing my belay station or adjusting my anchor or taking off my shoes, etc etc. I don't want to be pulled off balance unexpectedly during this process, or have the rope tugged just as I am attaching the belay device and have it popped out of my hand. Since it's just a personal preference--not necessarily the way the next person wants it done-- I try to remember to mention this before I leave the ground and then everybody's happy. :kisss:

R&D in 8 pitches! Those kids must have felt like they climbed Everest by the end of the day. Way to get the progeny out there for a fun, safe time, Bug.

Thanks, Trang! Good to know about the forecast based on your experience. :tup:I'm still waiting for my Saturday partner to confirm....(I'm set for Sun/Mon). I may still head up for Sat on my own since forecast is good...but if Tues is dry I'd love to hang around a bit if you're there and available. I need to catch up on my Squamish cracks. You've got a few trips on me! Canadug--I can give you a shout if I'm up there w/o partner for Saturday, if you like. I'll be checking my PM's tomorrow morning after I arrive tomorrow night.