Horne Lake bolted routes

Drinking from the "Water Spout"

Waterspout (5.11c): 60 feet of stemming and crimping up a silvery groove with distant but safe clips to make the insecure climbing even more exciting.

When you climb at Horne Lake if you know the area majority of the routes are overhanging with the warm up route being a 5.11. So when I saw a route that was not overhanging straight up an open book and having to negotiate a small overhang near the start of the 20m route, I thought I can do this route it looks like my type of rute. Not too much of a overhang I could last! and get into the stradeling grovel above, and grovel my way to the top..sounds easy. It took some time before I got back up there to actually attempt it but I did, and while Im gearing up two guys come down to have a drink from the water spout (water comming out from the base of my climb).

I know one of them. Lou a climber that is working a 5.14a up in the overhanging section says "you giving the water spout a go!"

"yes"

so his friend says "on top rope"

"No"

"Leading it!" he says

"yes" they are starting to make me feel uneasy so I reasured them the 5.11 a grade was in my grade "No" more like 5.11c I was to be corrected.

I start up the first section up some blocky ledges to the slightly tufad face below the overhang knowing this is the crux..just get through the crux..just get through the crux is what is ringing in my head. I negotiate the "crux" with not to much difficulty and one fall above the lip of the overhang. The stemming above this section is on friction and minimal finger holds randomly spaced out, many times I got to the point in saying aloud ok thats it Im comming down, but at those moments I would regain my confidence with a good foot smear..or back...with lots of palming and high foot smearing. After taking a couple of falls I started to get the hang of the route and and enjoyed the feeling of always feeling like I was going to pop right out and fly. Right at the top of the route there is a welcomed rest on a hand jam as you exit left to clip the bolts.

This route is a classic, its even been said, its the best sport route ever of numorous climbers, I must say I would definitly say its one of my top 5 routes and best route in Canada so far.

Nanaimo River

After being on Vancouver Island four months I managed to get the whole family down to a climbing area called the Dark Side on Nanaimo river. The walk in to the dark side is not long you start above the goerge and traverse along the top for a while then the path takes you down between some cracks and suddenly you are walking in a crack between two rock faces, they start pretty small and as you make your way down the faces on either side get bigger.

We went down to an area where we climbed the sausage factory, this is a 5.8. It comprises of chimney between a spire and a wall even my son got to give it a try and do some real chimney style climbing. Then I went on to get get on a route on the right called Nose Boogie its a mixed route trad and bolts, on the middle of the pitch the route negotiates a thin crack using trad gear, a real nice route but the route I was stocked I did was aother mixed route Naked in the Dark 5.11a also mixed and about 14m. you start on small edges and pockets to reach some sloping ledges pulling up using small footholds you gain an un dercling and and move into a groove and then do a mind testing right exit after placing a number 7 nut or you can put in a cam. Swing out right on some sloping edge crack to reach the anchors. After not having climbed some time I was impressed with the lead. When I came down some other climbers told me they had seen many people take a whipper from the last section sending them plumiting back down to almost the start of the route.

After the climbing in the shade and the temperatures being around 28' we decided to swim in the river on the way out.