We crossed the border to Canada early evening but we had plenty of time with the late sunset to drive slow and take in the scenery. We were heading to Squamish – a quaint, but established little town 3.5 hours north of Seattle, WA. The town is located at the base of the Stawamus Chief, officially known as Stawamus Chief Mountain – but locally known simply as The Chief. Squamish is also located on the gorgeous Howe Sound – an ideal spot for wind surfing and kite surfing. The area is rich with natural resources and makes for an outdoor playground for visitors and locals alike. In fact, there’s so much to do here that the town claims it’s the ‘outdoor recreation capitol of Canada’. We agree.

In the time we’ve been here we’ve checked out some of the sport climbing destinations like the Cheakamus walls, Brohm Lake, etc. The style of climbing is powerful, technical and often cryptic with it’s sequences and holds. It was a real change up from our last destination – the Red River Gorge. The styles of the two locations couldn’t be more different. This is one of the great things about climbing – the techniques vary greatly from location to location.

Our friends came up a few days after our arrival and this past week has be spent exploring the boulders found at the base of the Chief and deep in the old-growth forest found there. The light within the trees is spectacular and makes photos seem surreal in their ambience, saturation of color and texture. It’s been really fun shooting in this magical place. Check out some images from the Squamish Logger’s Festival, too – it was an unexpected event that was happening right next to our camping area.