Bruce on Planet Caravan: Squamish, BC

ruce had spent many months scrubbing and preparing this long, difficult route on the granite of the monolithic Squamish icon, the Chief.  He spent many rainy winter days hanging from ropes, digging dirt out of cracks and scrubbing layers of moss off the vertical cliff.

Bruce's fixed ropes were still hanged from the wall, so I ascended them with my camera as Bruce climbed.  I was able to take photos of him from above while he padded up the fresh granite, both of us high above the rainforest, still in the morning shadow of the Chief.

I like the hushed concentration and the wild sense of balance in this photo.  Despite the clanking of gear and the shouts of other climbers, there are still long moments where a climber can feel alone.

Bruce on Planet Caravan: Squamish, BC, 2002