Living the best adventure life, since 1958
August 22, 2021
~ submitted by Quinn Park
Quick trip cragging, 5 of us playing on some of the classic routes at Darkside, and trying some new ones!
It was fun to get out and play on the ropes. Even in the hot August weather, it was good conditions thanks to the shade and being so close to the river.
Photos by Jes Garceau
August 19, 2020
~ submitted by Quinn Park
A quiet Wednesday evening led to us check out the crags. Most folks did not climb and were just there to check out the scenery.
With not a tonne of time (and a healthy portion of it spent on showing folks the tour of my favourite conglomerate crag on the south island) we only were able to get ropes on “The Roof Is On Fire 5.10a” and “Salamander 5.7.” Both were fun routes.
~ submitted by Quinn Park
November 24, 2019
Lovely vistas of a waterfall or two, flora, and good views of Saltspring on the ascent plus with a lunch on the summit – not much to look at up there aside from a large cell tower.
The return route back featured a lovely ocean side views – not a bad day out!
About 15 km long – via Blue trail, pink trail to the summer, return on the yellow trail.
~ submitted by Quinn Park
May 4th, 2019
East Sooke Park is an amazing place that folks go to learn. They learn to hike, they learn to rock climb, slackline, they learn to navigate, and they learn about west coast beach ecosystems.
On this trip, on this corner of Vancouver Island, I tasked myself with learning to lead a trip. And it began before the trip with the logistics of organizing IMR members and non-members alike interested in the trip. On the morning of the hike, nervousness struck – what would I forget? First-aid kit? Sunscreen? Water? Did I forget to email anyone?
How funny the nervousness is. Is it pointless as nothing pertinent was left behind? Or is it a beast that helped me not to forget anything?
~ submitted by Quinn Park
March 5th, 2019
With rock season rapidly approaching, we needed a quick refresher in rappelling before running full on into it.
Fleming beach offers great views, and we each got a few rappels in – It’s safe to say everyone was proficient and we all learned a thing or two from each other in terms of tips & tricks, and getting rappels to be safe, quick and efficient!
The sun was beginning to set as we were wrapping up, and with nightfall approaching (and everyone with their headlamp!) we even got a couple pitches each in.
Bottom line is that it never hurts to review rappelling skills!
June 5, 2018
For quite a while I have been itching to start leading climbing trips (on the south island) with the Island Mountain Ramblers. On Tuesday June 5th I didn’t get as many members out as I was hoping for, but my climbing partner Danton (Who I convinced to join the Ramblers) was excited to join me on the trip! Danton and I spent most of our time on Dirt Stamp Wall, which is my favourite wall at Glen Lake. We hopped on various climbs including Wax On, 8 Litre Buckets, Stop Waxing Off, and Just A Bit Of Crack. There was a sprinkling of rain which added to the excitement.
We had enough time and light to also practice escaping the belay (An important rescue technique for multipitch), ascending using prussiks, and Danton taught me about trad anchors.
All in all, a great time, and I will start organizing these trips more regularly so more Ramblers can enjoy climbing outdoors. Climb on!