Where’s
the
Remote
New Eight-Pitch
5.10a in B.C.’s
Marble Canyon
Story by Lisa Newhook and Brent Nixon
Brent and I went to Marble Canyon one weekend in April 2019
with the intention of bolting a new route on the lower wall. The
Goat had been established as a new 19 pitch 5.9, but not much else
was very accessible – or known in the area – that would attract
more traffic to this limestone face. We finished up the first day of
our weekend with an ascent of The Goat and quested off the next
day to find some unclimbed rock to claim as our own.
As we walked along the lower apron, we came across an arête
that looked enticing: perfect, compact grey limestone with no
signs of previous climbing exploits. We donned the heavy bolting
gear that we laboriously carried up to the bottom of the cliff, tied
into each end of the rope, and Brent set off into the unknown
while bolting on lead.
The first bolt sunk in like butter, forever embedded in the rock.
Brent continued on to the next stance, lined up the drill, and
fired away. When it came time to hammer in the second bolt, it
got stuck half way in and wouldn’t budge, so he tried again a little
higher to no avail – Brent’s hammer wasn’t heavy enough to do
the job. Now the rock was marred with two bolts that couldn’t be
used as any sort of safety.
After an expensive trip to Home Depot, we returned on
Victoria Day weekend to finish (read: fix) the job. With a bigger
hammer, we managed to convince one of the bolts to go in the
rock while the other bolt submitted under the forceful blows of
the new hammer and a cold chisel.
We finally had traction on the route, steadily forging on until
we had the first four pitches behind us. Knowing that only time
was between us and finishing our project, we started to think of a
name as we returned to the truck to enjoy a cold brew. All sweaty
and sticky, I reached into the cooler to grab a beer.
I cracked the can to an explosion of pink, frothy foam, which
alerted me that this was not the beer we had bought. After a sip,
my taste buds told me that indeed this was a tart ale, and not the
crisp, hoppy ale we were anticipating. Although confused (and
slightly dismayed), the name of our route – in honour of its name-
sake brew – became clear: Where’s the Remote? We hope you
enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the process.Lisa Newhook and Brent Nixon are climbers
based on the West Coast.ROUTE INFO
Approach: Park at the gravel pullout on
the lake side of the highway a few hundred
metres west of the Marble Canyon parking
lot and campsite. Cross the highway and
follow a well-defined trail behind a speed
limit sign for 15 minutes up to the wall
(turns into a scree-slope). Head climber’s
right along base of wall, 50 m down and
right, passing the start of Sisyphus to a
bolted arête behind a large tree.Opposite: On the
first ascent of
Where’s the RemotePhotosBrent^ Nixonoff the wall