Top 100 5.8 Trad Climb Squamish - Octopus Garden in the Shade 

Nice to see people enjoying my route nearly 42 years later. I discovered the cliff on a bushwhacking hike with my friend Marty Young fleeing the crowds down on the lower cliffs, on May 16th, 1982. This was the first line that stood out to me and I scrambled to the top of the flake that first day. Trees grew right to the cliff and it was buried in a thick layer of moss. After a couple of days cleaning, I returned with Dean Hart to make the first ascent of “Octopus’s Garden in the Shade." For the rest of May, I was tied up teaching for BC Federation of Mountain Clubs, and a telemark ski decent of Washington’s (3,285 m) Mount Baker but returned in June over a number of days mostly with Dave Jones, fresh from the American Medical Research Expedition to Everest (AAJ, 1982 Vol. 24 pp. 53-68). Dave also set to work hacking away at a couple of lines either side of Octopus’s Garden in the Shade and Call Any Vegetable. They would become “Edible Panties” (5.7) and “Root Canal” (5.9) On the 29th, I pressed Chris Guest into belaying duty and lead Solstice Crack (5.8) and Unearthly Delights (5.9). In mid July, after many more days of hand-destroying labour, the local Vancouver climbing crowd (much smaller then) were invited to a sort of "christening" party at the crag. Good times! It's also been interesting to watch the area develop. We also hacked the first steep trail to Octopus's Garden and cleared more bush over the next year or so. To see the wide trails, stairways and the establishment of the park ... well, we never dreamed of such things in 1982!

Trad climbers are built different. You flew up this route dude! Watching this while eating breakfast lmao, good way to start the day