In search of world-class winter climbing

Does a world class winter climbing venue actually exist? Still not convinced it does.
Winter is when I have vacation time each year, so Kyle and myself set off on our annual search for the best winter climbing venues.

First stop this year was Leonidio, Greece, which was supposed to be the "best winter climbing venue in Europe". Greece got hit with “Storm Sophia” this winter, which brought epic rain and cold weather to most of the country. As a result, our sunny climbing vacation to Leonidio, Greece was rather washed out as many of the (good) rocks were seeping and weather was cold/wet. Luckily we were able to find some dry stuff to climb and milked the sunny days for all they were worth. We also timed our trip with X-mas holidays, thus witnessing the craziest climbing crowds I’ve ever seen, made worse by limited dry rock. Very hard to complain though as we were in beautiful Greece. And wet rocks really aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, especially after watching local farmers nearly in tears whilst desperately trying to move water out of their flooded fields.

Rain brings rainbows :)

Regardless of rain, this trip was a delight. Leonidio is a beautiful and friendly town surrounded by mountains, red cliffs, small farms and sea. Greek food is my absolute favourite and was undoubtedly a trip highlight. The way life in small-town Greece just makes sense to me, they literally live and eat off the land. They farm oregano, goat, chicken, fish, honey, almonds, oranges, olives, olive oil, fresh vegetables, and all of their meals end up being delightful combinations of all of the above. Goats wander through the roads in giant herds with dogs and sheep herders close behind, oregano grows wild on the hillsides and fills the air with a strong herbal scent, sounds of goat bells, roosters and locals zipping around in scooters create the soundtrack for the daytime. Everything is just simpler in small town Greece. Weather and climbing became less and less significant as we grew to appreciate the beauty of where we were. Its not all about the climbing after all.

Leonidio, Greece

Our little yellow car "Kitronis Legolas" stood out from the white rental crowds

Leonidio town square with the giant red cliffs that guard the town from weather and invaders.  

Elona Monestary

Elona Monastery 

Our home for our trip with beautiful sea and cliff vistas

Wandering around the amazing Voidokilia Beach on an icy cold New Years Day

Voidokilia Beach all to ourselves

We ate like kings!

Yes we did do some climbing! In fact we had incredible weather to start our trip, but still many of the best crags were soaked. The climbing was good, but honestly it was also shit at times. I would do one of the best routes I've ever climbed and one of the worst in the same day. The character of the climbing varied from grey slabs to steep tufas and it was more bouldery than expected. We spent the first week adapting to the rock, and I soon found a mini-project that I left my draws on. Weather then made a permanent turn for the worst and it got cold/rainy for the rest of our trip. We bailed out from Leonidio to check out beaches on the other side of the peninsula where the weather was a bit better, and hoped to return to better weather in Leonidio. Instead, we returned to worse conditions and I threw my neck out. Our friend Greg Williamson then arrived with his two kids and hanging out with them was a welcome distraction to the weather. He is such a great guy and his daughters are both incredibly sweet and talented. Gracey is an absolutely gifted climber and Mackenzie is a super talented musician, already making money as an artist.

Greg Williamson crushing rigs at Hada Cave

Gracey Williamson following in the footsteps of her dad

Like father like daughter :)

I still had many memorable sends and onsight battle's this trip. The most memorable route was undoubtedly “Charaktis” 5.13+, the route I left draws on earlier in our trip. I didn’t return to it for 2 weeks due to weather/my neck/travelling. We finally had enough of wet rock and decided to return to the climb to get my draws down and bail to Spain. I didn’t have high expectations of sending, but to my surprise I fell super high on the route first go. I worked out better beta and on my next try something really clicked. I've been struggling with the way I talk to myself when I climb ever since I got really sick a couple years ago. I continue to expect disappointment as it had become "my pattern", but I am healthy now, not sick and in the best shape of my life. This last try I changed the negative talk and said “YES” every single move right to the top, leaving no room for negativity to consume me. SO simple yet so effective. It's like I "YES'd" myself right out of that cycle and have since slipped into a trance of living in the YES and appreciating each moment, not fearing the next. This was a memorable send because I feel like it was the end of a long streak of injury/health setbacks that have put me into that cycle of negativity. Psyched to break the cycle! 

Chipotle 5.12d at Twin Caves

Crazy tufas at Twin Caves

Fighting the pump on the spoon fed flash of Chipotle 5.12d, props to Greg.

Amazing rock at Mars sector, that one day it was dry....

Kyle doing it for the gram at a very wet Vlychada

Gracey Williamson dances up rocks at Hada

Knee bar no hands on the send of Charaktis 5.13+

A perfect finish to our first trip to Leonidio, and most certainly not our last. We enjoyed our last two days in Leonidio, not climbing, but soaking up every ounce of Greek culture that we could before leaving. Also known as eating copious amounts of baklava, feta, lamb, eggplant, etc.. lol. We have just arrived in Chulilla Spain and how long we stay depends on weather but this place is magic!
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I wanted to offer some advice for planning a trip to Leonidio, Greece that can hopefully help other folks plan their own trip... our trip there was from end of December to mid January

LEONIDIO CLIMBING TRIP TIPS

Climbing Season:

Personally, I would not describe Leonidio as a “winter destination”. It is doable in the winter as it is located in one of the warmest parts of Greece. with some sunny crags. In the future, I would go in spring or late summer to late fall. In December through February the rocks tend to seep and they also get a fair amount of rain fall in Leonidio. There have been winters where it is drier but based on what I was told by locals, it is like rolling the dice. If you do plan a trip in the winter, your main spots to climb would be Twin Caves, Theos Cave, Limeri, Kamares, Hot Rocks, Hada (right side), Skiadianiko, and Mars (all of which were still quite wet during our trip) and a few others.

Climbing style:

Many of the routes in the 5-6c range are slabby/facey grey rock, Mars being an exception. 6c+ and up climbing tends to have more tufa features. There is a good variety of styles and grades in Leonidio: steep, face, slab, tufas, blobs, crimps, pockets, etc. A lot of the climbing we did had very defined boulder problems but there were endurance based routes as well. The bolting was interesting, very well bolted most of the time, but often there were squeeze jobs (routes really close to each other), an awkward anchor clip, or an uncharacteristic run-out.  The climbs weren’t as long as expected and you could get by with a 70m rope on most of the climbing, especially as extensions often had mid-anchors. Most extensions were wet for us though.

Cliff Aspect:

There are many cliffs in the sun, shade or both. The best cliff in Leonidio is hands down Elona which is high in the mountain and in the shade all day, as is Nifada. Both these cliffs were mostly un-climbable for our entire trip due to seepage. Twin Caves is another classic cliff (albeit crazy busy) and has all day sun. The other best cliffs offer a bit of both sun and shade.

Driving, Approaches and Accessibility:

Leonidio is very accessible from Athens, just a 3.5hr drive. Having a car to get around is a necessity, especially a small car as roads are super narrow in town; and if you have never driven in a Greek town you will quickly discover how narrow. Many people fold in their side view mirrors for driving/parking in town, and often you will have to reverse and pull aside to let another car through. If you chose to not rent a car, you will be very limited to where you can climb. Climbing approaches can vary from a flat 2 minutes to a steep 45 minutes. The bases of many of the climbing areas were not very accessible for families with small kids as they would sit high on a terrace, or slippery slab. There would also be rock fall from the top of the cliff as goats often knock rocks off. 
Helmets are HIGHLY recommended while belaying or walking around the base.

Accommodation and Food:

There are many different apartments, rooms and studios are available for rent in Leonidio, Plaka (5mins from Leonidio) and Poulithra (10mins from Leonidio), all of which are good base camps for your stay. Greek food is amazing! Eat what the server says is fresh that day, or take their recommendations on traditional meals, these were always the best culinary experiences for us. Highlights are Kalamata olives, thyme honey, baklava, fresh oregano, feta cheese, yogurt, eggplant dishes, lamb/souvlaki, pork belly, octopus, rooster, whole fish, mountain greens, ouzo. Best restaurant was hands down Myrtoons in Poulithra, it is right on the ocean with amazing service and food.

Culture:

We found that they really appreciated when you tried to speak Greek but many people in Leonidio can speak English and are happy to. I still think it is polite to learn how to greet someone and say your please and thank you’s!

Hello/good bye=Yassas

Please/You’re welcome= Parakalo

Thank You= Efkhareesto

Yes= Nay

No=Ohee

English= Aggleeka

I don’t understand (Greek)= Then Katalaveno (Aleneeka)

Greeks take a “siesta” from 3pm-5pm so you will notice most stores will close then (except coffee shops). They also eat dinner a lot later than North Americans (8:30pm earliest). The town has adapted to tourists though and many restaurants (“Tavernas”) open earlier now. Sunday is a day of rest/religion so many things will be closed as well.

Guide book:

Two books are available. The Leonidio book is the one I would recommend as it is more current for Leonidio in particular. You can purchase it at Pangika cooperative in town. If you plan to travel around Greece and check out other areas then I would get the Greece guide book by Aris (does not include Kalymnos, you need a separate book for there). You can get this book at a place called “Walk 4 Fun” in town and a couple specialty shops.

Hope this helps!
Stay tuned for updates on beautiful Chulilla, Spain :)

Revisiting the RRG

It had been many many years since we climbed in the famous Red River Gorge, Kentucky. This place has always held a special place in my heart as it is essentially where I learned how to sport climb, and definitely where I fell in love with it. I remember crying my way up my first 5.9's back in the day like it was yesterday. Kyle and I would each try to get to the top, usually only making it part way before having a complete melt down. Then the other person would try to get a bolt or two further, have their meltdown, and we would do this until eventually one of us got to the top. Soon we realized that if you climb harder, the falls we feared were generally cleaner. Before long we were sending our first 5.10's and 11's. Motivated to improve, we trained in the gym for 6 months straight after that first trip to the RRG and returned after a month long bouldering trip to Bishop California. It was this trip to the Red that I discovered my potential in this sport. Inspired by watching women like Whitney Boland and Jen Vennon crushing 5.13+, I started to try harder. A friend convinced me to try a 5.12d called Tuna Town, I was intimidated as I had never been on a 12+ before, but shockingly flashed the route and almost every other 5.12+ I touched for 2 weeks. Eventually I worked my way up to 5.13+ with quick sends of Kaleidoscope and White Mans Overbite. I'll never forget working on Kaleidoscope with Daila Ojeda and Whitney Boland, it was a dream come true to climb with two of my climbing heroes.

Me waaaay back on my second ever 5.13c-- White Mans Overbite

We returned years later after dappling in the world of trad climbing for a while. My trip goal was to climb a 5.13c sport and 5.13c trad route. I managed a quick send Angry Birds 5.13c and a not so quick send of the trad test piece: Sacred Geometry 5.13b/c. I badly injured my neck and ankle after falling on Sacred Geometery and barely squeaked away with the send on the last day/last try. I wasn't going to do that last go either, but Kyle convinced me. I'd already had 3 tries that day, it was below zero, now in the shade, and I was in horrible pain. I balled my eyes out as I lowered from my 3rd attempt as I thought it was over, but Kyle insisted that I go again right away. I then sent the route while sobbing, and soon the tears of failure and neck pain had turned to tears of joy. An emotional battle I will never forget. After that trip we took a long break from the southeast as we got spoiled by the weather in the west, and feared the crowds in the RRG.

The classic traditional testpiece-- Sacred Geometry 5.13b 

Finally this fall we returned!!!

My goals this time were not as big. Honestly I have been so plagued by injuries and health issues over the last few years to set goals other than to stay healthy and have fun. Also, I generally do not perform well on the rocks after a long guiding season. Getting smarter with age you could say. The weather was pretty harsh during our month there, cold and rainy, but didn't bother me as I enjoyed being bored after such a busy season guiding and running On the Rocks. We took it slow and steady, discovering all the new-to-us crags of Miller Fork. I did have a small goal in mind, but tried not to fixate on it. I wanted to flash/onsight 5.13a again and after a couple heart breaking attempts, I did finally bag one at the end of the trip. Though this was a motivating accomplishment, I was more excited about my send of The Legend, an absolutely stellar and bouldery 5.13. This was memorable because I remembered being so intimidated by the style of this route back in the day. My style is much more diverse now and though I may be older and a little weaker/injury prone; I am wiser, with many more tricks up my sleeve. I didn't try anything hard (for me) this trip, but I am incredibly motivated to return to the Red with bigger goals. This place is magic.

Jany Mitges warms up at a classic crag-- The Infirmary

Jany Mitges on the ultra classic "Last Rights" 5.12b in Miller Fork

Locking in 'The Abyss' 5.12d, another Miller Fork classic.

Great hike to check out Creation Falls and this incredible rock bridge forming over the river.

Standing on an amazing natural rock bridge--Rock Bridge Trail in Daniel Boone National Forest.
Thanks Arc'teryx for keeping me warm all fall!

Tom Addison on one of my favourite routes of the trip, Foaming at the Mouth 5.13a

I actually write this blog post from Leonidio, Greece! We've been here for 2 weeks now and loving it despite some major disappointments. The crowds and weather are so brutal right now, and the crags are unseasonably wet to boot. These three things combined equals waiting in line for shitty/wet routes, plus waaay more rest days than climbing days. Luckily the culture and beauty of this country make up for the lack of climbing occurring. Fingers crossed it'll improve, stay tuned. I will be sure to post useful info for anyone considering travelling here...like the facts that nobody tells you, such as the best crags here are un-climbable Jan-Feb (especially this year, worst weather in history). If you are planning a trip here this winter, I would highly suggest reconsidering! They are having the wettest season ever and not hopeful stuff will dry. It's a real bummer but life is good! NOT COMPLAINING.

Really enjoying writing on here again, as I'm feeling rather tired of the Instagram filled world we live in now. It doesn't feel as genuine or authentic to me. The expressions: "Do it for the gram!" or "Insta-likes" really sum up what I am talking about. I dislike chasing "likes" and the fact that you can even buy "likes" blows my mind. I worry about the youth of today and the impact "like" chasing has on them. I prefer the honesty and useful information I can place in a blog post, it's opposite of "insta", rather reflective. Blogs are a way for people to express themselves without that need for "instapproval" people desperately seek now. I will love in years from now to look back on my life through these stories. An extra bonus is that some of my stories could help others plan a trip or perhaps be inspired by words and not just a picture flashing across your screen as you swipe. #bringbacktheblog ;-)

Much love to all, spread love in all that you do, and do what fills your heart with joy.
Les

SHAPESHIFTING

Rewind to a little over one year ago.....

It's October and we are on our way to the famous Indian Creek in Utah, for our first time ever. We borrowed 2 extra trad racks from friends, packed our entire life into our trailer and truck, rented out our place and hit the road. About two hours into the drive we realized that we couldn't enter the US for three more weeks or we would exceed Canadian time restrictions, FUCK. We then re-routed the entire trip plan as we didn't have a home to go back to, and decided to drive across the country to visit my brother in Calgary. We were about 2 hrs outside of Thunder bay (middle of nowhere) and our trailer ("Trilly") nearly died, the trailer bed actually split in half and was fishtailing down the highway. Another long delay but thankfully Trilly survived. Visiting my bro and his lovely family made the disappointment of a slightly botched trip easier to swallow. After a good visit we then drove south to Oregon's Trout Creek and Smith Rock, two places we always wanted to see. And despite feeling haggard from a hard season of guiding and running On the Rocks Climbing Guides, I was so in love with Oregon's mountainous setting and unique rock features to notice. We climbed for a couple weeks and loved camping by the river at Trout Creek. Trilly the trailer loved it so much that she decided to break her door off so that we would be "stranded" in Trout Creek for another week and a half while waiting for trailer parts to arrive. Weather sucked but we got to visit super nice friends in Bend that showed us around this really cool city. Two thumbs up to Oregon, good vibes and beautiful scenery! All of these delays meant that the Creek season was fast coming to a close and alas another year goes by in which trip plans to the Creek get mysteriously botched. I don't believe I will ever go there.

Broken Trilly

Smith Rock State Park, Oregon

Views from the hike up to Trout Creek, Oregon.

Crazy crack columns at Trout Creek!

Trilly got sick of the weather in Oregon too, fixed herself up, and we hauled ass south to sun. I had a rather out of character lack of motivation to climb and all the signs were pointing to taking some time off... something I never do. So we drove to Joshua Tree, my happy place, to hang with friends and family while basking in the magical energy of Joshua Tree National Park. Climbing motivation eventually returned after a few weeks and I set sights on a "mini-project" before we headed home; Equinox 5.12+ was my project of choice. I'd tried this famous finger crack once many years ago and got my ass handed to me on it (I knew nothing about crack climbing at the time). I was confident to return with new tricks up my sleeve and after cruising the classic finger crack Vector 5.11c as a warm up, I knew I was ready. Equinox... still nails hard, but it felt like I understood the language now and had a good chance of putting it together quickly. While rehearsing the upper half of the climb repeatedly, I mildly strained something in my calf. Not too concerned, we shifted gears to take a break from slabs and went to Bishop, California for a week. I pushed through the pain like an idiot, blinded by the need to send. I came unbelievably close to doing it on my first day back, but got over-excited and blew it. I was disappointed but happy as I still had a few days left before we headed home. 

The striking finger crack that is Vector 5.11c in JTNP

Fun with favourite friends in LA

California sunsets

Rehearsing the Equinox 5.12+, a dreamy JTree test piece.

Kyle screws on his Trad head

An unforgettable moment with my spirit guide, a young Desert Fox

Next day my calf was sore and I stupidly (in hindsight) still went climbing. Like a perfect storm, I slipped while down-climbing a rock formation and tore the crap out of my calf muscle. What I didn't know then, as I screamed in pain each time I had to weight my foot while down-climbing 20 feet of chimney in 40km/h winds, is that my life would never be the same again.

I sat with my foot up for 7 weeks at home, as per doctors orders and on my first day back on the rocks (in Bishop, California) I re-tweaked it worse than before. I was officially out for the duration of my climbing season. I consulted a really nice doctor in Bishop that offered some great rehab advice (Mike Gable of Eastern Sierra PT ) and we drove to Nevada and rented an apartment in Mesquite. We couldn't go home as our house was rented out, so this was an affordable option with good weather, friends and steep low-ball bouldering with short flat approaches (Moes Valley was the only hope I had to climb at some point). There was the added bonus of living close to the Eureka Casino (walking distance from our apartment) so Kyle can use his poker skillz. Honestly I couldn't be upset about this unforeseen winter of resting; the year prior I was bed ridden in pain for months with a chronic illness I have called 'Interstitial Cystitis'. It came out of remission with a vengeance and I honestly thought the life as I knew it was over, no more climbing/guiding. That life changing experience put all things into perspective for me. This injury was a small road block in the grand scheme of things, I was just so happy to not be suffering any more and still able to work. I have food, a home, a loving family and I am hopeful that my illness is going back into remission due to life changes I've made and stuck to.

And I did get to climb near the end of our stay in Mesquite, after 8 weeks of rest. I could push it on steep stuff where I could avoid weighting my left foot. Moe's Valley is a beautiful little spot just outside of St George, Utah, and great place to escape Canadian winter. We really enjoyed our time there.

Kyle and I did a lot of hanging out in Moe's Valley, Utah

Rocking the right legged boulder circuit at Moe's Valley

Ian Achey flew a plane in to visit us and climb, no big deal.

We also enjoyed a few days in Bishop California at the end of our trip, on our way home. I was feeling almost like I could trust my left foot again and got hooked on this problem (pictured above) during our few days there, but didn't have the time or weather (86'F) to put it together. I was SO painfully close and that was the exact motivation recharge I needed.

Water Hazard V10

Hot spring mountain magic. One of the most pure and untainted places still left.

I did a lot of campus training this winter

Lovers in the best jacket ever - Arc'teryx Proton LT

ROCK RESPECT

About a week into my 8 weeks of sitting with my foot up and doing re-hab exercises in Mesquite, Nevada, I got an email from a guy named Khrisna Nacua. He was expressing concern about current issues at the crags in Canada and looking for ideas on how we could improve climbing education about etiquette, dangers, environmental impact, access, etc. I've had several folks express these concerns to me in the past, and this email in particular had interesting timing... here I was sitting with my foot up, bored, not using any of the skills I've acquired as a climbing guide, route developer, climber, writer, athlete, speaker. I see these concerning issues first hand when I'm guiding or climbing rocks and it's getting worse as the sport becomes more and more popular. People are transitioning to outdoor climbing without proper training and without education about outdoor etiquette and climbing access. We have to educate about sustainable recreation so we can protect and preserve the places we love to climb at. Believe it or not, I was once that young naïve climber too and I learned a lot about etiquette and safety "the hard way" before learning the right way. With more and more climbers transitioning outside these days, I fear the ramifications of hundreds of climbers that are "learning the hard way"at the crag. I needed to take the skills I've learned over many years of guiding and climbing all over the world, to help the climbing community and environment.

One of many current crag issues... TP, garbage, people taking dumps on the trails....

Then, like a lady possessed it came to me...

ROCK RESPECT

"Climbers Code of Respect"

Respect the Environment

Respect the Dangers

Respect Others

Respect Access

*Create a "Climbers Code of Respect" with access groups across Canada, bring everyone together to narrow down pertinent information and share with climbing gyms, guiding companies, crag kiosks, etc to get this out there to people. This was the biggest difference I could think of making with the resources, partnerships and skills I had.

Since that conversation, Khrisna and I launched a national Gym to Rock initiative called Rock Respect and now have support from industry leaders like Arc'teryx, La Sportiva, Sterling Rope, MEC, ACC, Gripped Magazine and access groups like Ontario Access Coalition, FQME, Climb Nova Scotia, Climbers Access Society of BC, etc. Read more about it at www.rockrespect.ca

Canadian access groups united with us to create a national "Climbers' Code of Respect" and this Climbers Code is now in poster form in over 90% of the climbing gyms in Canada, plus some outdoor retailers and soon MEC locations. It is also being used by top Canadian guiding companies like Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. I will continue to provide information for transitioning climbers and updating the website/FB/IG with new content and running slideshows at participating gyms in the spring and summer. We have and will continue to travel to festivals and events to spread the Rock Respect word. It has been great to see the climbing community come together for the greater good and to educate climbers about these important issues. 

Holding our final version of the Climbers' Code of Respect

Trail regeneration signs and porto-potty went in to Metcalfe Rock in hopes to make another small difference and lessen environmental impact.

One of the successful 'Gym to Rock Respect' presentations I ran at Rock Oasis.

DREAM JOB
Thankfully my calf healed just in time for guiding season. I had another great season, taught a fun variety of courses and rewarding guiding gigs that ranged from PCGI certification courses to youth team climbing adventures, and getting to work for the Canadian Adaptive Climbing Society (we donated a free guiding day to this great organization that provides outdoor adventure opportunities to people with a variety of barriers). My guides all did such an amazing job running courses and climbing experiences at Rattlesnake and Metcalfe Rock this summer, I am so proud of them and grateful for such a solid team of guides! Always grateful for the people, organizations and businesses that are so incredibly supportive of On the Rocks Climbing Guides. THANK YOU!

Climbing with the Boulderz Youth Team

Climbing with incredibly inspiring people - Canadian Adaptive Climbing 

FOCUS

Tearing my calf muscle this year and not being able to walk caused a complete shift in my climbing gaze. I've had a lot of time over the last couple years to really think about why the heck I am still trying to push my limits on the rocks, despite getting older, injured, and sick. As much as I've wanted to quit climbing after this frustrating 2 years of injuries and battles with a chronic illness, I have accepted that I need to give this 100% effort and "fail"... rather than not try at all.
The only real failure is not trying.
So what is the goal?
For once, crystal clear.
I want to match personal bests on the rocks and prove to myself that I still have it in me. I'm not obsessed with exact number specifics as grades are so incredibly subjective, but more an approximate "try hard level" in sport, trad and bouldering. I've always strove to be well rounded at all styles of climbing and I want to reach my top levels again. I also want to experience the art of "projecting" for once in my life. I have never dedicated more than 12 or so tries to a climb. Time to hunker down on a meaningful climb that suits my strengths and see what the heck I am still capable of.

Life is a balancing act. 

BALANCE
Also thanks to this injury, I discovered Pilates/private movement coaching. It not only helped me heal faster and prevent injury, it's also teaching me how to move properly, preventing repeat injuries and improving my climbing dramatically. Listening to the advice of a gifted Pilates coach- Donna Furnaval (owner of Therapeutic Pilates), I took a step back from climbing hard and training to re-program my movement patterns.  

After a few months of private coaching with two incredibly talented instructors (Donna of Therapeutic Pilates and Lisa Rennie of Active Life Conditioning), I curiously returned to local climbs I've struggled with in some way (reachy/hard/tweaky) because I wanted to see if I didn't like them because I wasn't engaging the proper muscles to hold body positions. I climbed all of these routes without much effort this year, many of them first try. Gopher Has Cratered 5.12b at Metcalfe was one that I've struggled with for years and it went down easily, followed with a first try repeat send of Vox Angelica 5.12c. I feel like a completely different climber in the way I move. This is the most positive transformation of my climbing career.

Zone of Extreme Beauty 5.12c, my return to slab after a long battle with a calf injury.

THE NOW

Exciting times ahead. 

Guiding season has come to an end after another perfect summer in southern Ontario. Made many great memories with friends and the usual shenanigans of climbing, sailing, SUP'ing, new routing.

Friends :)

THIS CAVE at the base of Lions Head IS SICK. 

SUP Bouldering at its finest.

New vertical addition to the home wall

Dave Zuly climbs one of our new routes 'Georgian Drive' a 5.11 sport route at a super top secret location on the escarpment. Just left of it is a super fun 5.12 I put up called 'Shark Week'. 

Naomi climbs You've Been Hibbed 5.11+ at Lions Head, while T-Mac belays.

First stop of our winter trip- Devils Lake Wisconsin for the Craggin' Classic. I taught a Womens' Trad Clinic for Arc'teryx, supported with La Sportiva swag. We then headed to the Red River Gorge, back to where my love for sport climbing began. Steep beautiful jugs, friendly sport climbing and a perfect place to get fitness back in preparation trip for........
European sport climbing vacation 2019!!!
Dreamy daayzzz ahead. 

If you somehow made it this far in my blog post, I hope it inspires you to chase your dreams and to not let life get you down. Keep perspective as to how good you really got it compared to many.

Share your gifts with the world

Do what you love

Love what you do

Spread love

&

BE YOU

Happy, healthy and running again yeeeooo!!!

Much love,

Les