[00:00:00] Greg: I'm an Amanita [00:00:02] Sean: I beg your pardon?. [00:00:03] Greg: People climb for different reasons. Biology only meant us. To be around here for so long, [00:00:09] Sean: We probably outlived that. [00:00:10] Greg: We're like past that. So, and just, yeah, just instantly. Okay. This is, I've gotta do this the rest of my life. [00:00:19] Sean: Hey folks. Welcome to another icebox session. My name is Sean Cassidy and we are in conversation with Nova Scotia Rock climbers. [00:00:26] Today's guest is not actually from Nova Scotia, but he does spend a lot of time here. I sat down with Greg Qs last fall in the Icebox after a day of climbing at main face. We talked about his connection. Into the sport that began in his forties and is now consuming his early retirement years on what seems to be a perpetual road trip. [00:00:45] Shortly after we talked in the fall, he was on his way to Kalymnos and Greece and at the moment he's just wrapping up a nice climbing trip to Newfoundland and is on his way back to Mexico to finish the winter sport climbing. Greg is a certified Mountain guide president of Ascent, new Brunswick, passionate route developer and all round. [00:01:03] Nice guy. Please sit back and enjoy this chill conversation. We had in the icebox. [00:01:12] We have a special guest today, a visitor from New Brunswick, the one and only Mr. Greg Hughes. Welcome. [00:01:19] Greg: Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here. [00:01:22] Sean: I would say an honorary Nova Scotia climber. You, you climb here more often than I do these days. It seems. [00:01:29] Greg: Spent a lot of time in Cape Clear and also spent a lot of time. [00:01:35] Climbing ice. Fun day region, Cape Chignecto to Cap D'Or. [00:01:41] Sean: that's probably how you first like, yeah. You started climbing here is through the ice climbing, right? [00:01:46] Greg: It would be, yeah. [00:01:47] Sean: Yeah, [00:01:47] Greg: yeah. And Moose River as well. [00:01:50] Sean: Oh yeah. Yeah. [00:01:51] Greg: That's inland. [00:01:52] Sean: Yeah, I think I've been up there. What pulled you into the ice climbing originally? [00:01:57] Was that, was it other people or you just came. Like, was it Max or, or Roger, maybe. [00:02:03] Greg: It was probably Max Fisher and Roger's Guidebook, the late Roger Fage, fantastic guy. [00:02:14] Sean: Mm-hmm. [00:02:14] Greg: And passionate Ice climber. And of course he and Matt Peck put up, sirens on [00:02:21] Sean: Oh, yes. [00:02:22] Greg: Yeah. Over Cape Split. So, [00:02:25] Sean: which you are gonna guide myself and maybe Rich [00:02:28] Greg: gonna take you and rich up. [00:02:29] Sean: Yep. [00:02:29] Greg: Yeah, that would be my pleasure [00:02:31] Sean: this winter if you're around. [00:02:32] Greg: Can't wait to get back there. Uh, it's been a few years since I, since I did that climb, but yeah, so that's, that's kind of the early forays into Nova Scotia climbing and I, not long after I started climbing, I found out about. Cape Clear. [00:02:51] Sean: Mm-hmm. [00:02:51] Greg: And 'cause there was a number of New Brunswick climbers that went there. John Bowles. Yeah. John Bowles. Chris Hennigar. [00:02:58] Sean: Yeah. [00:02:59] Greg: Uh uh, Alexis Barbe. [00:03:01] Sean: Yeah. [00:03:03] Greg: and they wrote Trip reports, Corey Richardson and Thomas Anderson, who was out in Squamish. Now, uh, they also went in there, put up roots, did trips, made trip reports, and. [00:03:16] Sean: Yeah, those were good. I remember those reports. [00:03:18] Greg: Yeah. [00:03:18] Sean: And I climbed, I climbed up there with John Bowles and Chris. [00:03:21] Greg: Oh, you did? [00:03:22] Sean: Uh, for some of those [00:03:23] Greg: nice [00:03:24] Sean: roots on the sunset wall. Sunset, [00:03:25] Greg: sunset wall. Yeah. [00:03:26] Sean: Yeah, [00:03:27] Greg: yeah. Probably never been repeated. [00:03:29] Sean: Uh, yeah. They're a bit, uh, loose and janky. [00:03:33] Greg: Yeah. [00:03:33] Sean: Janky, maybe. [00:03:34] Greg: Mm-hmm. [00:03:35] Sean: Sharp. [00:03:36] Greg: Yes, [00:03:36] Sean: man. It's sharp up there. [00:03:38] Greg: Yeah. What draws you to Cape Clear then? it's the. Where it is, you know, it's just like kind of the ultimate adventure for this area. multi-pitch wilderness. The rock quality is not great, and that is a little bit of a problem, but in some ways it's also, it also adds to the challenge and the mystique. [00:04:07] Yeah. But yeah, it's a, it's a fantastic place. And I, I'm gonna keep going back like for a while. [00:04:13] Sean: Yeah. How many trips have you done out there to date, do you think? [00:04:17] Greg: Oh boy. Let's see. I would say like close to a dozen. [00:04:23] Sean: Okay. [00:04:23] Greg: Yeah. And usually when I go, I like to spend up to a week there just because it's, you know, kind of a. [00:04:31] Ordeal to get there. For me, it's, you know, a little over six hours and it's nice to bring in the van because a little more comfortable, you know, camping, uh, situation. but, you know, taking the van there is not cheap. So, yeah, I like to spend some time, not just weekend trip or a couple days here and there. [00:04:53] Not like you folks around the Halifax area where it's a little, it's a, I guess it's a [00:04:58] Sean: little, it's still a, it's still a journey, man. Yeah. I don't know. [00:05:01] Greg: Four hours? [00:05:02] Sean: Yeah, a solid four. [00:05:04] Greg: Okay. Yeah, for [00:05:06] Sean: me it's [00:05:06] Greg: like six. It's six and a half. [00:05:08] Sean: Are there other new Brunswickers joining you on these forays recently? I haven't heard as much activity from others. [00:05:15] Greg: There have been, Caleb Menowitz actually put up a route. Oh, okay. I recognize that name. He's done a lot of development in New Brunswick, especially at Red Rock. He was kind of spearheaded the, the development at Red Rock. [00:05:32] Sean: Oh, nice. [00:05:33] Greg: Yeah. Yeah. I'm an Anita. [00:05:36] Sean: I beg your pardon? [00:05:38] Greg: One of you're a [00:05:38] Sean: what? [00:05:39] Greg: I think that was one of your favorite routes at the creek Wall. [00:05:42] Sean: Oh, okay. Was that that 11 A maybe? [00:05:44] Greg: it's great at 10 Sea. [00:05:46] Sean: Okay. [00:05:46] Greg: But I mean, it's like, [00:05:47] Sean: I, I must have found it hard. [00:05:48] Greg: Sustained 10 Sea. Yeah, there's. There's not a lot of rests on it, or [00:05:54] Sean: not not lot. I'm an am. [00:05:56] Greg: I'm an am. I'm an Anita. Anita's a mushroom. [00:05:58] Sean: Yeah. [00:05:58] Greg: And the, the whole wall is, the theme is [00:06:01] Sean: mushroom theme [00:06:01] Greg: is, uh, wild mushrooms. [00:06:03] Sean: Yeah. We don't need to go through all the names. [00:06:06] Greg: No. There's a couple that kind of go, [00:06:08] Sean: could be edited, [00:06:09] Greg: got, uh, redacted or some little bit of some problems with, so, yeah. [00:06:15] Sean: Yeah. And you've been up there with, revolving roster of Nova Scotia climbers as well. [00:06:22] Greg: Yeah. [00:06:22] Sean: You know. [00:06:23] Greg: Yeah. [00:06:25] it's been a bunch. will Sarty, Nathan Benjamin, Henry Morrow. [00:06:30] Graham [00:06:32] Sean: Dexter. [00:06:32] Greg: Graham Dexter's been up there. Yeah. So climbing with them, putting up roots with those guys. [00:06:40] Sean: Emily Ket, you, you put up [00:06:41] Greg: that route with Emily? Yes. We, her, we put up, price of mission together. Was that called Price of admission? [00:06:48] Sean: Why did you call it Price of admission? [00:06:49] Greg: Oh, well, let's skip that part. [00:06:51] Uh, yeah. [00:06:53] Sean: This is gonna get you in trouble if you go too far down this road. [00:06:56] Greg: Do you really wanna know the story? [00:06:58] Sean: I don't. [00:07:00] Greg: So. We had this four pitch line. [00:07:05] Sean: Yep. [00:07:06] Greg: And there was this Yeah. Kind of nice traversing pitch in the, in the middle of the route. pitch three that went across this section of rock that had some cracks in it. [00:07:21] And the rock quality was actually pretty good. So, which [00:07:24] Sean: is weird for up there. [00:07:25] Greg: Which is weird for up there. Yeah. So naturally I thought, well, we could, we could have this pitch be tread and albeit somewhat run out, uh, I did put one bolt, but the, the pitch was tread. I think you needed, you know, half a dozen pieces maybe Okay. [00:07:47] To protect it reasonably well. And so we put it up like that. It. I saw a few senses. I don't think it saw a lot. And I just, after going to portrayal and seeing how things were developed down there, uh, I started to see the light a little bit on, you know, making a four pitch route that had three pitches of bolts. [00:08:21] It didn't make a lot of sense to have one pitch of tra. [00:08:25] Sean: Stuck in the middle. [00:08:26] Greg: The idea for the name was, you know, the price of admission to climb the whole route is to bring a track rack with you, or, you know, and [00:08:34] Sean: yeah, [00:08:36] Greg: it seemed like, [00:08:36] Sean: which, which, when you, when I heard the name of that, I thought, oh, that's cool. [00:08:40] Like Craig's really respecting the traditional history, blah, blah, blah, and then whoop. We're bolting it all. [00:08:47] Greg: But you know, I, some people may call this a weak argument, but I will say that you're more than welcome to go up there with a rack and climb pitch three. That's [00:08:56] Sean: fine. I'll, I'll clip those bolts. I have no pride anymore. [00:09:00] So, we were proposing a, a name change together or we were searching, you know, [00:09:07] Greg: and what [00:09:07] Sean: were the, [00:09:08] Greg: uh, what were [00:09:09] Sean: the ideas? Uh, it's, it's now called, it's not the price of admission. It's now called Free Pass. Free Pass. [00:09:17] Greg: That's a good one. [00:09:18] Sean: Which is fine by me. It sounds really cool. Is that the one that goes up the dike? [00:09:22] Greg: Yes. Or [00:09:22] Sean: something? Yeah. [00:09:23] Greg: Yes. Yeah. And this summer would've been a great time to climb it because it would've been so dry. Typically, there's some moisture on the first pitch. Yeah. [00:09:31] Sean: So you've done probably most of the routes at Cape Claire. I'm guessing maybe with the exception of the Sunset wall stuff. [00:09:38] What's your favorite, what's your favorite route on the main wall, would you say? The head wall. [00:09:43] Greg: Better than a movie and it goes at 11 DI think that's, I think that's the nicest route on the wall. [00:09:49] Sean: One of the first lines up the head wall. That was Jonathan Graham. And Becky Craig, right. They originally created that 11 a I think, didn't they? [00:09:59] Greg: Probably, yeah. [00:09:59] Sean: Probably. Yeah. Yeah. Classic. [00:10:01] Greg: Yeah. I think [00:10:02] Sean: Nova Scotia reading. [00:10:03] Greg: The only person that I know that's sent it like the crux pitch is I think Henry. Oh, I know Nathan has, he's done all the moves. I don't think he has sent that pitch. Um, and Henry said. I think Henry said 11 C. [00:10:24] Sean: Okay. Yeah. He wanted it to be a little soft, I think, or a little, little, uh, sand baggy. [00:10:28] Greg: I think so. [00:10:29] Sean: Yeah. [00:10:29] Greg: Yeah. I, I still haven't sent it, so. Mm. Maybe once I do, if I do, you'll [00:10:36] Sean: know better. Yeah. [00:10:38] Greg: Be able to say, [00:10:39] Sean: I need to get up there and try that. [00:10:40] Greg: Yeah. [00:10:40] Sean: And maybe I can send it. I [00:10:41] Greg: think you'd like it. [00:10:42] Sean: Yeah. Sounds cool. [00:10:43] Greg: Yeah. [00:10:44] Sean: So, um, bringing things back to the mainland, the, the reason you are here in the icebox. [00:10:50] And hanging out with me for a couple days, which has been super fun. The reason you're here is for the second annual main face rendezvous, [00:10:59] Greg: right. [00:11:00] Sean: I think that we just came home from, uh, a few hours ago. [00:11:03] Greg: Right. [00:11:04] Sean: tell us, tell us about the Rendezvous. [00:11:06] Greg: Yeah. Uh, so happened at Main Face, which is I believe one of Nova Scotia's best. [00:11:17] Traditional Craigs. [00:11:18] Sean: Yeah, [00:11:19] Greg: if not the best, Craig on the mainland. And, you know, it makes total sense that it is. I arrived Friday, climbed with Nathan Friday afternoon, got to sample, you know, some of the classics there. And like, wonderful rock, fantastic exposure and position, you know, above the lake. Yeah, great spot. So yeah, gathering of the community for Nova Scotians to come and hang out and spend the day climbing together. And, uh, I was happy to join. [00:11:58] Sean: Yeah, it was, well you. It was great to have you there and in fact, you were a special guest speaker there as well. Not only ha are you appearing on the ice in the icebox episode, which is an honor. [00:12:09] Greg: Yeah. [00:12:09] Sean: Nate, but you, uh, you were invited to speak to the group, which was great to hear your it was billed as the seven Things Every Climber Should Know, I think. [00:12:20] Greg: Correct. [00:12:21] Sean: And I, that shocked me to the, to realize there were seven things. I thought there were like two or three. So that was very educational. [00:12:28] Thank you. Of those, seven, what's the most important thing for people to know? [00:12:33] Greg: I think things like being able to, for example, transferring the belay over to another person. If you need to not necessarily escape the belay, but pass it off to someone else and do it in such a manner that the climber is not put in any jeopardy. [00:12:51] I think that's important. And so the repelling strategies, the idea there was to give people other options if they get in a situation where they can't repel as they normally would, like for example, the, the Rene Repel, where one of your strands of your rope coming out of the rappel anchor is damaged and you've only got one good strand. [00:13:17] So how you going? That [00:13:18] Sean: was a really cool one. Yeah. [00:13:20] Greg: Yeah. It's, it's, it's really important to know. From learn that from teaching rescue courses. [00:13:26] Sean: But you were saying that, I mean that's, it's tough to it. It would be difficult to describe that on this audio podcast, but So essentially it's a technique. If you have half of your rope, somewhere along there, you've got a core shot or something and you don't trust it to repel as a double line, you basically tie a bite in one side of it, [00:13:48] Greg: right? [00:13:48] Sean: And you repel on the. Other rope. The good side of the rope. [00:13:53] Greg: Correct. [00:13:53] Sean: And as you weight that rope, that that knot, that bite that you tied off sort of jams into the repel anchors, correct. I think. Right. So you're repel. Yeah. Which is great if you have a damaged rope. But you were saying you actually do that as a normal method yourself, whether your ropes good or not. [00:14:13] Why? Why do you do that? [00:14:14] Greg: I really enjoy the simplicity involved in repelling on a single strand with a gri, and that probably came about from learning how to sign me repel with gris. I just wanted to keep on doing that. And less gear is better. [00:14:34] Sean: So does that mean you don't even bring up an A TC because you just I try [00:14:37] Greg: not to. [00:14:38] Sean: Yeah. [00:14:39] Greg: It's one of those things that you Yeah, I know. It's risky. Yeah. [00:14:42] Sean: Yeah. [00:14:43] Greg: So far it has not been a problem. [00:14:47] Sean: So you, you mentioned noles. Is this why like, clearly you're up on rescue techniques and rope management and bling repelling. And, you know, getting at a situation. So it was at Knowles, is that where you got your training for that? [00:15:02] Greg: Yes, yes. So I started working for them in 2009 and the, the last course I worked was in 2019. [00:15:11] Sean: So 2009 you started doing that, and when did you retire from being a teacher? [00:15:18] Greg: So that would be 2020. [00:15:20] Sean: Okay. So you're doing that during the summers then, [00:15:23] Greg: I guess? [00:15:23] Sean: Yes. [00:15:23] Greg: Okay. And it was, you know, it was great because. Go get to see the mountains. [00:15:29] Sean: Yeah. [00:15:29] Greg: I, in, in the summer, like, Idaho, Wyoming, I worked a couple courses in the Yukon. It was, it was really, and of course you're, you're getting paid to do that. Mm. So it, it was, it was, it was great. [00:15:46] Sean: Nice. I really [00:15:46] Greg: enjoyed it. [00:15:47] Sean: And it kind of lines up with your passion of teaching and educating and. [00:15:50] Greg: Yeah. [00:15:51] Sean: Sharing that. [00:15:51] Greg: Yeah. [00:15:52] Sean: Which you still do. Like, you're still, well you, you did your seven, seven tips today. [00:15:58] Yes. [00:15:58] Sean: Yeah. The tip that struck me the most was actually your last, your last one, which I, you know, it's not a technical question, but it was, I think it was asking yourself, why do you climb or reminding yourself? [00:16:12] Why do you climb? Yeah. Tell, tell us why that's important. [00:16:17] Greg: So I think, you know. People climb for different reasons, but I think the reason why this question is important is because climbing is a great activity and it's something that we can do our entire lives. So it, I think the, I. The activity should be sustainable. [00:16:41] So it should be something that you want to keep on doing over and over and make it like part of your lifestyle. So if you're, the reason why you're climbing is because you are seeking adventure. You want to be in the company of good people and develop friendships and, and experience like. The joy of moving over rock. [00:17:09] All these things are going to make you wanna keep doing it. So it's gonna sustain you as a climber for decades late into your life. And I think that's just great for people. So. I think [00:17:25] Sean: it's So you're encourage, you encourage people to remind themselves or, or, or understand why they do it. [00:17:30] Greg: Exactly. [00:17:30] Sean: Because I mean, if to, um, be devil's advocate a little bit, I mean, you and I are in the same, have the same vision of wanting to maintain this kind of sport as long as we can in our, and this lifestyle, in how we live our lives. [00:17:46] But, you know, I have known quite a number of people that were super passionate about climbing. They loved it and then they, they stopped and they just went on to something else. And I don't, just because I wanna keep it in my life doesn't mean other people have to have a, you know what I mean? [00:18:05] Greg: Like Right. [00:18:06] Absolutely. And you know, it doesn't have to be for everybody, for their whole life, but I think asking people to examine why they're doing it might make them. Seek out those other things that are gonna bring, make for a more richer experience for them as climbers. [00:18:29] Sean: That's cool. [00:18:30] Greg: And make it something that they will just want to keep on doing. [00:18:34] And it'll just make them into, you know, better people. [00:18:37] Sean: Yeah. You think people are climbing for the wrong reasons sometimes and they don't know it? Is that what you're hinting at? [00:18:42] Greg: Yeah, I think people, you know, sometimes it's, you know, it's easy to get caught up in grade chasing and, I, I, I hesitate to say climbing for the wrong reasons because, you know, it can still be good and there's nothing wrong with setting a goal, in terms of like a grade and working towards it and achieving it. [00:19:07] That's, that's awesome. But I think there's just more to it than that. [00:19:13] Sean: Mm-hmm. And we were talking earlier today 'cause you and I are, have a, have a similar vintage [00:19:18] Greg: mm-hmm. [00:19:19] Sean: And I think we both agreed that one of our prime objectives is to be able to climb tomorrow. [00:19:25] Greg: Right. [00:19:26] Sean: And the next day. Yeah. [00:19:29] Greg: Yeah. [00:19:30] Sean: How, how do you, uh, how do you ensure that's the case? [00:19:35] Greg: So, I, I, maintaining a relatively conservative outlook in terms of what I'm gonna take on. For objectives and mostly that applies to, you know, how difficult. And so it, so in that case it's, you know, how difficult is the route? Is this something that I have climbed before? Are there things on it that would be, you know, objective hazards for me that could cause me to have an injury? [00:20:06] And those things I'm using gonna shy away from. Or at the very least, approach it with caution, which usually means, you know, someone else is gonna go first and I'm gonna follow. Mm-hmm. Or, or I'm gonna tear it instead. And just like doing things that, making decisions that are going to result in me probably having a greater chance of staying relatively healthy. [00:20:31] Sometimes you're gonna, you're gonna get hurt, doesn't matter what you do. [00:20:33] Sean: Mm-hmm. [00:20:34] Greg: But it's making decisions that are gonna keep you, for the most part, from being injured so that then you can't climb. [00:20:42] Sean: How much of that is an age thing? Because I feel like, I mean, for me, I know recovery from certain things takes longer and the reality is I'm not made of rubber anymore. [00:20:54] You know, I could, I could bounce off the ground. Yeah. Pretty easily. A few decades ago. Is that that's, that's part of it. It's [00:21:03] Greg: definitely really [00:21:04] Sean: for us, [00:21:04] Greg: it's a huge, huge part of it. You know, like biology only meant us for to to be around here for so long, and we [00:21:13] Sean: probably outlive that. [00:21:15] Greg: We're like past that. [00:21:15] So we have [00:21:17] Sean: to, this is bonus, bonus hour, bonus [00:21:19] Greg: time. Yeah. So you have to think about things like that. You know, we don't have the resiliency that we did when we were younger. So that's, that's important to remember. [00:21:28] Sean: Yeah. And you told me this, uh, yesterday. I think that you started climbing, you found climbing later in your life compared to a lot of, a lot of folks. [00:21:40] for me, I stumbled on it when I was around 18. And I was listening to a podcast the other day about, you know, if you're gonna achieve the top levels in the sport, particularly the competition world, like you're, you're done for, unless you start at the time you're seven or something. Like, right. Like that. [00:21:58] Right. And I think you mentioned you came at it somewhere around 40. [00:22:01] Greg: Yeah. [00:22:03] Sean: what, uh, how, why did, all of a sudden you stumbled into this sport, which like we can get into the, how it's really formed your lifestyle, but it's captured your. Your spirit for the last number of years? [00:22:17] Greg: I think it mostly related to my job. [00:22:21] I was a high school teacher and got a different teaching assignment and it was outdoor education, and part of the curriculum is rock climbing and my background was very limited, so I started. Teaching myself the technical aspects from this was early two thousands, so there's not a lot of information online. [00:22:56] It was mostly through books. Uh, but that only went so, so far. Uh, so that's when how I got involved with Noel's. They had a, a course for outdoor professionals, so I took that 30 day course. Just entirely in the field, in the North Cascades. [00:23:15] Sean: And you fell in love with it [00:23:16] Greg: and just, yeah, just instantly. Okay. [00:23:19] This is, I've gotta do this the rest of my life. And I think, you know, at that time, recognizing my age, knowing that I've only got so much time where my body's going to be, I'm gonna be able to do certain, certain things with. What I've got and, and also, you know, taking into consideration things like recovery and injuries and things like that. [00:23:43] So I was, that just directed the, the level of the passion, you know, it made me even more focused and like, you know, you, you've got a limited window left, so. [00:23:53] Sean: Yeah. And this is exciting, so let's jump on it. [00:23:55] Greg: Yeah. Make the best of it. don't, [00:23:58] Sean: I can relate. That's cool. [00:23:59] Greg: Don't waste any more time. [00:24:00] Sean: Yeah. Not that you were wasting time. [00:24:02] Greg: Yeah. And, and. It's, you know, everything happens for a reason. and I'm still, I'm like happy that I'm okay with discovering it then. And, but yeah, I, I am and I'm still trying to make up for lost time. [00:24:18] Sean: You are, but it's, uh, I wonder if it's, um, in some ways there's probably advantages to coming into something later in life. [00:24:27] I'll, so, and I'll, I've done this too much on the silly podcast, but I'll mention surfing 'cause I came into surfing Uhhmm. Well, not that long ago, like mid to late forties. [00:24:37] Greg: Mm-hmm. [00:24:39] Sean: And I'm so excited about it. [00:24:40] Greg: Yeah. [00:24:40] Sean: It's so exciting. And maybe discovering these kind of things, whatever it might be later in our life, is actually awesome. [00:24:48] Right. To just, it's a bad thing. Just get so stoked and, yeah. That's wicked. So you are, You're kind of living the, the dream of the, um, a lot of climbers. You are on the road a lot, you spend winters mm-hmm. Down south. You're going to Greece next week to climb. I guess, I guess you've already answered the question, like you're doing that because you wanna do that when, when you have the time you have. [00:25:17] But tell us how you're structuring. Tell us how you're structuring your life now to really. Build it around climbing. [00:25:25] Greg: So the things I love about climbing are of, of course just climbing itself, but I also really enjoy route development. I also like to be involved in our local climbing organization. So that for me is a set New Brunswick. [00:25:48] So I, I've been involved with the set New Brunswick. Since it started in 2014, and then the, all the different disciplines of climbing with maybe the exception of bouldering. [00:26:02] Sean: Come on now. [00:26:03] Greg: You'll get, you'll get bouldering getting back to those, you know, tendons that [00:26:08] Sean: Yeah, [00:26:09] Greg: we have to be careful about [00:26:10] Sean: it. Yeah. [00:26:10] You gotta, you need the open hand grip. You can't, you can't print things. [00:26:15] Greg: Um, so there are just so many different facets. To climbing. I also do guiding, so I'm still teaching, maybe not as much as I did after I retired from teaching, but, um, still do it and enjoy it. And yeah, so to answer your question, I, I structure my life in such a way that there's variety, it's. [00:26:39] Similar theme. It's all about climbing, but there's variety and there's many different disciplines that make it [00:26:46] Sean: keep, keep it fresh and [00:26:47] Greg: keep it fresh and interesting. Yeah. And then of course there's all the people you meet. I mean, there's, you know, you're meeting new people all the time, but at the same time, maintaining relationships, friendships of fellow climbers. [00:27:00] Sean: So yeah, it's an interesting group. [00:27:03] Greg: It is. [00:27:03] Sean: Hey, [00:27:04] Greg: it is true. [00:27:04] Sean: It's a special group. [00:27:05] Greg: Yeah, it's definitely, yeah. Yeah. [00:27:08] Sean: And kind of, um, universal. I was talking to Samantha Peverill mm-hmm. On a, on a earlier episode, and she described it as kind of a tribe. [00:27:18] Greg: Yeah. [00:27:18] Sean: And it's easy to connect with that tribe where whatever continent you are on. [00:27:23] Greg: Exactly. [00:27:24] Sean: Right. And it's, it feels pretty cool that way in your, so. You, you, you sort of chased the summer despite being a ice climber. You've been chasing the summer the last few years, right? You spent, [00:27:37] Greg: yeah. [00:27:38] Sean: Yeah. In Mexico, [00:27:39] Greg: the last three winters, predominantly in Mexico, uh, last winter was the first one that I did not return home at all the, the two previous. [00:27:51] I did come home for a bit to, uh, to do a little bit of ice climbing and I. That's my plan this year is to come [00:27:59] Sean: back. You miss the ice? Yeah. [00:28:00] Greg: Yeah, [00:28:01] Sean: yeah, yeah. And you're living out of your van when you're down there, is that [00:28:05] Greg: right? Uh, no. There's so many hostels that you can stay at in Petra. I have never tented or a camp there. [00:28:15] It's always been under, under a roof. Uh, yeah, there's, there's, there's just so many. Reasonably priced, so why not? [00:28:26] Sean: Cool? [00:28:26] Greg: Yeah. [00:28:27] Sean: Yeah. And before that, I thought I had the impression you were spending a lot of time in Red Rocks. [00:28:31] Greg: Yes. Yes. And that was in my van. [00:28:34] Sean: Right? Okay. [00:28:35] Greg: Yeah. So, yeah. [00:28:36] Sean: Fan. Your sprinter van, right? [00:28:38] Big. I [00:28:39] Greg: wish [00:28:39] Sean: tricked out. Sprinter van. No, no. [00:28:45] Greg: Ford. Econ line. [00:28:46] Sean: Ford Econ Line. [00:28:48] Greg: Yeah. No, it, it does the job. [00:28:50] Sean: That's pretty badass. Um, so you're involved with Ascent in Brunswick. You were the, what do you guys call it? You're, you're the chair of that group? Or president? Or [00:28:58] Greg: president? [00:28:59] Sean: President. That seems to be functioning well. You have a solid membership. [00:29:04] Greg: We do. We have over 200 members, you know, for the last bunch of years. I would say at least 10. Our membership is, is well over 200 every year. [00:29:16] Sean: And what, what is, what are the main mandates of that organization that makes it. Seems so relevant to that many climbers. So [00:29:24] Greg: num number one is acquire and preserve access to climbing areas. [00:29:27] Sean: Yeah. [00:29:28] Greg: Uh, which of course is like usually the, the main goal of any LCO and [00:29:34] Sean: LCO. What [00:29:35] Greg: local climbing organization, of [00:29:36] Sean: course, LCO, [00:29:37] Greg: um, promote responsible CRI climbing practices is our second goal. And then I would say after that it's fostering. Community relations, doing things to try and promote the community within. [00:29:54] And even, you know, the, like for, for example, we have and a little bit outside the community because we have lots of Nova Scotia members of Ascent New Brunswick. So we, we want to support very cool the Nova Scotia community as well. But the main focus is making sure that our climbing areas are. Are there for our climbers to enjoy? [00:30:20] like right now we're, we're definitely in a, in kind of a rough spot because we have, at the moment we do not have a access agreement with. Base gauge down, which means we cannot go climbing in Cochrane Lane or Sunnyside two. Pretty important. Craigs, you know, we're, we're in the process right now of renegotiating the agreement based on communications with the person, the contact person at the base, and it should be within either days or weeks. [00:30:54] Sean: Oh, nice. But that's been your main focus or your main issue to deal with? To resolve lately in terms of access [00:31:00] Greg: lately. Yeah. [00:31:00] Sean: Yeah, [00:31:01] Greg: yeah. Yeah. [00:31:02] Sean: And that's like, you guys have so many cliffs. [00:31:06] Greg: We [00:31:06] Sean: have a lot of climb areas it seems, you know, compared to when I was, when I first started climbing here, and you mentioned Wellsford, Cochrane Lane, like that, that was a place where Nova Scotia climbers a place we would travel to for weekend trips. [00:31:19] Right. Because it's a, it's a super cool, multi-tiered. Mm-hmm. Um. Cliff, you can, you can do mul, uh, some multi-pitch stuff there. [00:31:28] Greg: There's multi-pitch there. You like up, up to three pitches, [00:31:30] Sean: but it's quite high and it has all these different tiers with some great granite. So yeah, I think maintaining access to that cliff helps Nova Scotia climbers as well, like you say. [00:31:39] Yeah, and that's why [00:31:40] Greg: Yeah, exactly. Like we share [00:31:41] Sean: memberships [00:31:42] Greg: today, just, you know, walking around talking to Nova Scotia climbers, there was like lots that were asking me about. Welsford mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Set aside. Mm-hmm. And talking about how much they like climbing there and can't wait to go back. [00:31:57] Sean: Nice. And, and speaking of Cliff Access, the, the event today at the Main Face Rendezvous was on a piece of land owned by one of our climbing community members. [00:32:09] Greg: Right. [00:32:10] Sean: Adam Benjamin. He doesn't own the whole thing, but a good chunk of it. Yeah. And he's been really helping out, in maintaining access and, uh, developing trails and cleaning up the place, adding new roots. So super grateful for him. [00:32:23] Greg: What an ideal situation. [00:32:24] Sean: It's awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we gotta [00:32:28] Greg: Yeah. [00:32:28] Sean: Keep I happy. Yep, for sure. You talked about your passion for root development earlier. I had asked, Samantha, who was on the show previously, asking her if she had a question for you, and she brought up root development. [00:32:44] Greg: Okay. [00:32:44] Sean: And she, she wondered how, how we as climbers can recognize that effort and appreciate those individuals. [00:32:54] Greg: Um, I think just, just having a conversation like saying. To, to the root developer. I climbed your route the other day, and this is what I thought of it. It sucked. Well, yeah, it, it doesn't even have to be good. It's just like, I think [00:33:12] Sean: please don't do that again. [00:33:13] Greg: It's just nice to know that someone is getting on the route that you put up and experiencing it. [00:33:23] I think that just means something. So when you find that out that somebody did it, it's, it's like it means something to you and it, it kind of makes you feel like you're doing it for a good purpose. Because when I, when I develop roots, I'm, I'm definitely doing it for myself, but I think I'm doing it more for, for the benefit of other people because I just en I enjoy like I'm. [00:33:52] I like sharing, like I find something good. Yeah. I wanna like tell people about [00:33:55] Sean: it. Yeah, I like that. I like how you frame that because it's um, it's like, uh, 'cause I've done a bit of root development around here as well, and it's rewarding. It's like you're creating an experience [00:34:09] Greg: Exactly. [00:34:09] Sean: For, for other people. [00:34:11] And then. Like, you're, you're doing it. 'cause there's, there's a certain joy in opening up, there's an adventure and a discovery in finding new lines. That's quite satisfying as, as a root developed person. [00:34:21] Greg: Absolutely. [00:34:22] Sean: But it's, it is really neat to observe people that might be having great experiences on something that you help to open up. [00:34:29] Greg: Yeah. [00:34:30] Sean: It's uh, it's a good feeling. [00:34:32] Greg: It is. [00:34:33] Sean: Yeah. [00:34:34] Greg: Yeah. Think about all those people there today, you know, enjoying. The work that all those developers, the first ascension is put into those rock lines. [00:34:45] Sean: Like yeah, [00:34:47] Greg: that's, that's really, really something. [00:34:50] Sean: Yeah. But I guess on the other side, you know, to, to maybe answer Samantha's question, those individuals, they're sort of recognizing the guidebook, right? [00:34:58] Like people get their names attached to, to roots as fa by so and so, so in a way, we're, we're already acknowledging their efforts. Yeah. Catalog it that, so, and, and I don't even think, I don't even think anything extra has to be done for the developers. No. In a way, because the, the, the, the satisfaction that they're getting that you and I are getting from, like, just seeing people having fun on stuff that we [00:35:24] Greg: help [00:35:24] Sean: to create is kind of reward enough, really. [00:35:27] Yeah. [00:35:28] Greg: Yeah. I agree. Yeah. I guess sometimes you're, you're just not gonna know. If that particular climb is getting done. So when, if, if it's something that you, you're never gonna know about and then someone does share with you, you know, I did climb that. Yeah. [00:35:45] Sean: That's pretty cool. Yeah. [00:35:46] Greg: This is what I thought. [00:35:47] Sean: Yeah, that's a way you can do it. [00:35:50] Greg: Any, uh, [00:35:51] Sean: any standout moments in your climbing career, if you want to call that, anything that sticks out in your mind as like special moments you've had? On the rock or, or, uh, [00:36:04] Greg: with friends or, yeah, I guess, uh, a couple things come to mind. it's funny how the first thing that goes in my mind is like ice. [00:36:17] Sean: Oh, it's [00:36:17] Greg: ice climbing. It's like you've, we've talking about rock climbing mostly. There's something unique about ice climbing. I mean, there are similarities between ice climbing and rock climbing, but ice climbing is. It's a different beast, and, and it provides this different experience. And I think the, the experience that you have with the people that you're climbing with are a little bit richer and deeper and it, it, it's probably related to some of the suffering that goes involved. [00:36:51] So that's one thing that comes to mind. Like people are suffering with you and. It just, it seems to be more meaningful, uh, that, and, and like, uh, experiences in the mountains. Like while working for Knowles, we would take students climbing and like Alpine, Alpine climbing in the Wind River range is just fantastic. [00:37:13] So I, I have some really good memories of that. Doing, doing a climb there, 10 or 12 pitch route with. To students that were relatively new to climbing and just like seeing them grow as climbers and people, you know, because of this thing that they're doing is rewarding, meaningful, [00:37:40] Sean: you're sharing your knowledge and stoke with like getting other people kind of stoked into it and like it's like a light bulb moment almost, right? [00:37:50] Where [00:37:50] Greg: yeah, [00:37:50] Sean: people are seeing this. This activity is something that can be, so, yeah, life. Life enriching. [00:37:57] Greg: Yeah. And then some, I'm sure for some people, life changing. You know, like you, you hear about that like from time to time how climbing changes people's lives, gives them something. In some cases people, something to live for, you know? [00:38:16] Sean: Yeah. There's so much to it. [00:38:18] Greg: Yeah. [00:38:19] Sean: What's your future goals or what's, what's next for you? [00:38:23] Greg: Going to Greece, gonna climb some beautiful limestone roots there. And then when I return from that, heading back down to Mexico and I have mostly development goals, things to do down there. I also really enjoy like picking a project, like a, a route that needs attention, needs TLC, and then fixing that. [00:38:52] Did that, that a fair amount in the last couple years, and that is also really enjoyable. [00:38:58] Sean: Cool. Anything else you wanna say? [00:39:01] Greg: Um, no, I, I just, yeah, I really like. Coming here. Thanks for your hospitality. [00:39:07] Sean: Oh, it's been fun. It's [00:39:08] Greg: been, uh, yeah, it's been a great weekend. I'm [00:39:10] Sean: really enjoying it. Yeah. [00:39:11] Greg: Yeah. [00:39:11] Sean: On behalf of all the folks that have enjoyed your roots at Cape Clear, Potrero, new Brunswick, thank you from everybody for creating those experiences and yeah, [00:39:24] Greg: it's my pleasure. [00:39:25] Sean: And keep inspiring the rest of us. You're doing a great job. [00:39:31] Thanks again, Greg. It was great having that unfiltered chat with you. Too bad. Weather didn't cooperate for our plan to climb Siren song together, but hopefully next year. Big thanks to climb Nova Scotia for sponsoring the podcast and also for the support from East Peak Climbing Gym, unfiltered Brewing, and Seven Bays Bouldering Catch you all later. [00:39:54] Greg: And for another double IPAI think sounds good to me. Okay. [00:40:01] You could lay back it. Um, I [00:40:04] Sean: wouldn't, I hate laybacking. [00:40:06] Greg: Do you know about this new Rocky, the new walkie-talkie called the Rockie talkie, the new walkie-talkie called the Rockie Talkie, the new walkie-talkie called the Rockie Talkie, the new walkie-talkie called the Rockie Talkie.