July 21, 2025

Sandy:

Backstory

A Much-Needed Breather: Grad School, Black Bears & the Curious Case of Bird Terrorism

This trip wasn’t just a climbing getaway—it was a much-needed pressure valve before life launches into full-send academic mode. Rick is wrapping up the last course of his Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering this fall, and I’m gearing up for the second stage of my PhD: the proposal defense in Machine Learning and Cybersecurity. We were both juggling deadlines, deliverables, and way too many tabs open—mentally and in Chrome. So yeah, we needed this.

The year started off strong (read: hectic) for me with a focused sprint to finish a major conference paper, which I poured months of effort into. The result? A clear, well-argued, and technically solid submission that was accepted to The Fifth Intelligent Cybersecurity Conference in Florida (May 19–22, 2025). My presentation was sharp, polished, and rehearsed to the point where it flowed like a mini-lecture. The visuals were crisp and easy to follow—even from the back of the room—and the feedback? Phenomenal. Several professors and conference committee members appreciated the clarity, and a few undergrads said it felt like a class they wanted to attend. It was a proud moment, and it confirmed that our research has strong traction in the broader community.

Now, I’m knee-deep in a journal paper that we aim to submit before my proposal defense. Alongside that, I need to draft about 80% of the dissertation to send to my committee. And as if that weren’t enough, I’m working on several exciting ideas at work that could turn into patent filings. It’s been intense, but fulfilling.

So by the time we packed up and drove out, both Rick and I were completely cooked and ready for some healing pitches of moderate climbing.

The original plan included a run up Sunset Strip, which I’d been training for all spring at Smith Rock. But after a couple of warm-up days in Squamish, we discovered that the entire route had been closed since July 2 due to peregrine falcon nesting (closure map here). Interestingly, we noticed a couple of climbing ticks logged for Sunset Strip on July 5 and July 15.

An ornithologist friend of ours jokingly refers to that kind of thing as bird terrorism—logging ticks during active closures and unintentionally disturbing nesting falcons. It gave us a chuckle, but also a gentle reminder: even the birds need their peace and quiet. So we rerouted our plans and leaned into what Squamish does best: beautiful, moderate trad.

We had a blast climbing 5.8s and 5.9s, exploring fun offwidths, and checking out some new-to-us crags around Smoke Bluffs. We had a cozy Airbnb for four nights and fell into a rhythm: climb in the morning, chill through the hot afternoons with lunch and naps, then climb again in the evening.

On one of those evenings, we even had a rather close encounter with a black bear near the trail while hiking out from Funarama Wall at 8 p.m. It was a mutual respect situation—we didn’t mess with it, and it didn’t mess with us.

Then on day six, out of nowhere, we got a text from our friend Arjun—one of the most capable all-around climbers I know. He’d been reading through old trip reports and realized we might be in town. We linked up, and the stoke went up a notch.

Together, we climbed in the Tunnel Rock and Penny Lane areas. Rick got on his first 5.11+ trad lead with Crime of the Century—a proud effort full of focused jams, controlled breathing, and the kind of internal dialogue only granite cracks can inspire. It was a serious endeavor, and he gave it everything it deserved. Arjun stepped up for his first 5.11a trad attempt on Partners in Crime, moving with quiet confidence. Of course, it helps when that’s six grades below his sport climbing ability—but even then, gear climbing has a way of humbling everyone. These are burly, technical lines that demand precision, and it was a treat to watch them both style their way up.

Itinerary

📅 July 20, 2025
Whistler hike day turned into a gentle rescue mission—Rick was sidelined by a migraine (courtesy of a sugary pastry + latte combo). Morning was spent in recovery mode until Tiger Balm and a strategic massage saved the day. Rick dubbed me “the healer.” 🧘‍♂️✨

📅 July 21, 2025

• Morning: St. Vitus’s Dance with SVD Direct (5.10a)
• Evening: The Zip (5.10a) to round out a full and flowing day

📅 July 22, 2025

• Cragger (5.7)
• Appmaster (5.10a S)
• Trippy Squirrel (5.8)
• Free and Easy (5.10b)
• Move on Up (5.8)
• First Class (5.9-)
• Funarama (5.9)

📅 July 23, 2025

• Octopus Garden in the Shade (5.8)
• Root Canal (5.8)
• Unearthly Delights (5.9)
• The Constant Gardener (5.8+)
• The Master Gleaner (5.7)
• Vertical Sinewave (5.10b)
  
• 📅 July 24, 2025
• Rainy Day Dream Away (5.10c)
• A Pitch in Time (5.10b)
• Afternoon e-biking adventure

📅 July 25, 2025

• Easy Shankin (5.8+)
• Easy Shankin 5.10 Variation (5.10c)
• Vertical Sinewave (5.10b)
• Arjun led Partners in Crime (5.11a) with style; Rick did two strong laps.
  I skipped it—it was blazing in full sun, and I wasn’t about to get barbecued on gear.

📅 July 26, 2025 – Crisp Temps, Big Routes

• Witch Doctor’s Apprentice (5.9)
• Up, Up and Away (5.9)
• Crime of the Century (5.11b/c)
  Perfectly cool weather until noon made for one of the best half-days of the trip. By the time Crime of the Century was done it was hot and sunny again and unfortunately I had to skip it.

Looking at our each trip’s total, it’s clear—50+ pitches in a week-long Squamish trip is totally doable with some planning, moderate ambition, and a good mix of weather, Cloudburst’s latte’s and Alice and Brohm’s icecreams.

Year	Month	Sandy’s pitches	Rick’s pitches
2023	July	52	55
2024	July	54	57
2024	Sept	15	18
2025	July	27	40

SVD Trip Report

Enjoy the pitch-by-pitch breakdown in the image captions! Pitch lengths and grades are as listed in the guidebook. Since we climbed Vector last year, we were already familiar with Pitch 1 and Pitch 5, which helped with efficiency and route-finding. I led most of Vector back then, so this time Rick took the sharp end and block-led SVD Direct.

For our previous climb of Vector, check out the trip report here:
👉 dashertonclimbs.com – Vector TR (5.10a)

P1&P2 (5.7, 5.10a, 70m) : Rick linked the first two pitches for efficiency—but paid the price in rope drag right before the 5.10a mantle (visible in the third pic). First pro visible in this picture is a .75 Totem, followed by a solid lineup of hand-sized gear. I remember this pitch felt a bit slick last year but it was fine this time.

P2 St. Vitus’s Direct, 5.10a: Once you reach the big flat ledge (end of P1), take a hard right and you’ll spot this crack—your gateway to P2. Trust me, it looks friendlier than it climbs. The wide-angle close-up shot makes it seem low-angle and casual… it’s not. This pitch felt stiffer than Vector variation of P4 (rated 5.10a or 10c). Thin crack, finicky gear, and footwork that’ll definitely keep you engaged. Just when you think you’re through it, a surprise mantle to the left adds one last puzzle—thankfully, it protects well with hand-sized pieces. You can spot Rick as a tiny blue dot belaying from the tree below.

P2 St. Vitus’s Direct, 5.10a: Closeup shot of the thin crack section. Steeper than it looks here.

P3 (5.9, 40m): The previous party started on this crack and then traversed right. We opted for the direct line on the right. Its an easy scramble to the first good pro.

P3 (5.9, 40m): Our direct line. This is great cruiser hand crack until the steeper part up top which is off width (OW). We had two #4s and both were useful. I thought the difficulty was almost the same as Vector P3 which was 50m long.

P3 (5.9, 40m): Left: upper OW section. Right: Lower OW section. Having two #4s certainly makes it mellow but as you can see crack size varies and should have options for #3. As the guide book suggests, save a #3 and other hand pieces for anchor.

P4 (5.9, possibly 35m): Interesting traverses to the right, then hand jams to a easy chimney.

P4 Upper

P4 Chimney

P4 Chimney closeup: Can be easily jammed with good pro.

P5&P6 Linked (Rick is making the 5.9 move, 70m): This pitch has only one 5.9 move and the rest is easy slab scramble to the top. Rap anchors are located to climber’s left when facing The Chief.