Kids Climbing at Playground Crag in Squamish

This year, I have been posting indoor and outdoor kids climbing trips on BCMC. Usually, it’s just one or two families that join on these trips, and I expected the same for the kids climbing trip in Squamish that I posted for September 7. Surprisingly, five families signed up for this event, and I was looking forward to this trip. 

We met at the Apron parking lot around 9 am. We had five kids (ages 5 to 11) and seven adults. As we got together, I heard the best introduction “Hi, I am Moji. Just like Emoji without an E.” It was going to be a fun trip. After a brief chat, we drove to Crumpit Woods. 

Playground Crag

Crumpit Woods has three crags, and two of them, Playground Crag and The Courtyard, has some easier climbs. Playground Crag was developed by Tess Egan and her husband Jason Robinson in 2015. It is perfect for families, as it has a short approach from the parking lot and a good number of easy climbs. 

As we arrived at the Playground Crag, there was already a group of three climbers. They were just finishing an easier route and making their way right to the more challenging climbs. Soon, we had the ropes up on most of the easier climbs at the crag. I secured myself on top of one of the routes and for most of the day, I was the official photographer for this trip.

Parsa

He is nine years old and is Bahareh and Moji’s son. Kavya first climbed with Parsa in 2017 at Murrin Park. I think they played in the dirt “finding coal” more than they climbed. Both of them were exhausted by late afternoon and had dozed off as soon as we hit the road.

We recently went on a backcountry camping trip together, and Kavya was excited to meet Parsa again. It was fun to see Parsa’s progress in climbing over the last couple of years.

Diba 

In August, we did the Tunnel Bluffs hike with Afshin and his eight-year-old daughter Diba. At 11 km, it was a relatively long hike for the kids, but having each other’s company helped them get through the hike. 

We planned to get together again, and I was glad Afshin and Diba could join this trip. Diba was relatively new to climbing and was a bit scared being lowered on a route. Despite her fear, she continued to climb and repeat some of the routes. 

Geneva

Scott’s daughter Geneva, at eleven, was the eldest in the group. I met Scott on the Markhor Needle Traverse trip, and we talked about organizing a climbing trip with kids.

Geneva is a strong climber, and all the kids looked up to her. On some of the harder climbs, she would go up first. Others would get inspired and then follow her. 

Geneva’s ability to coach the kids when they got stuck on a route was admirable.

Towards the end of the day, Geneva went up “No Tag Backs” (5.10a). The overhang section was the crux and was really challenging. She ended up going up a bit right and then back left of the route. This was probably a 5.8/5.9 variation of the route. It was impressive. 

Ayelet

Jonathan’s daughter Ayelet (5) was the youngest climber in the group. We were supposed to climb together at Dennet Bluffs in August, but Ayelet was sick, and Jonathan had to cancel.

Jonathan described Ayelet as ‘sometimes fearless and sometimes scared.’ It was pretty accurate. She would run up a route and then get scared when it was time to come down. Sometimes, she would get scared halfway up the route, but she still wanted to finish the climb.

Kavya

She started climbing indoors when she was three, and her first outdoor climb was in Squamish when she was five. Among all the activities, climbing is her favourite. This year, we had made two trips to Dennet Bluffs and climbed once in Squamish during our camping weekend in Whistler.

Our last attempt to climb at Playground Crag in 2018 didn’t go well as Kavya got car sick and threw up twice. So now, she gets anxious anytime we are driving to Squamish. But this time, she didn’t have anything to eat till we reached the crag, and it went well. Another tip I received from a parent, place the car seat in the center so that she can see the road ahead and might not get car sick.

The day before the trip Kavya got two wasp bites on her hand. I was skeptical if we will be able to make it, but thankfully Kavya was feeling better by next day.

Kavya had a good time climbing and making some new friends.

She also ended up doing the 5.8/5.9 variation of the route that Geneva did. 

Over the last few years, I had really enjoyed taking kids outdoor climbing. Hopefully, the kids will have fun and maybe make climbing part of their life. I will leave you with one of my favourite picture/quote from Base 5 Indoor Climbing Gym – 

Resources:

Playground Crag Information – The Crag | Squamish Climbing Forum

Glossary of climbing terms.

If you are in Lower Mainland, check out British Columbia Mountaineering Club for trips and courses.

Disclosure: I am a member of BCMC. I am not affiliated with any of the other individuals or organizations.

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