It鈥檚 a celebration of the dirty and under-appreciated work that goes into scrubbing Squamish鈥檚 rocks. Hosted by the 撸奶社区Access Society, the Golden Scrub Brush Awards aim to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating new climbs in the area.
On聽Nov. 22, more than 100 people are expected to show up to the Cliffside Pub for the awards ceremony. This is the first time that an organized event will be held to recognize the efforts of people who work to establish new climbs in Squamish.
There are several different categories for which contributors can be nominated, including best new multi-pitch, best new crag or area, and best contributing boulderer.
Cleaning a new route is a laborious task, as the removal of dirt and vegetation is often from the side of the cliff while dangling from a rope. The volunteers sometimes affix permanent hardware to allow the route to be climbed safely.
鈥淓ach pitch represents between 20 and 30 hours of volunteer hard labour of removing the vertical rainforest jungle from the rock,鈥� said event organizer Chris Small.
鈥淥ften the amount of time, energy and money these individuals contribute to the community climbing resource is overlooked within the climbing community.鈥澛�
During the past five years, 撸奶社区has experienced an influx of new routes. Small called it the second golden age of route development 鈥� the first being the initial surge of new routes in the mid-80s with the widespread adoption of free-climbing.
Since 2009, the number of routes in 撸奶社区has grown approximately by a third. This year, there were at least 103 new climbing pitches established in Squamish.
鈥淭he Golden Scrub Brushes are a way for the climbing community to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work of the route developers, foster and promote continued enthusiasm for new routing, and have a super-good party,鈥� said Small.
Harry Young, who has been dubbed 鈥淒irty Harry鈥� because he is so often out cleaning new routes, is being nominated for (among others) best hard 11+ new traditional route. It is Route 59 at the Top Shelf area on Slahany.
鈥淭he event makes people aware of what鈥檚 going on and sense of community. Cleaning routes and climbing them are a lot of fun,鈥� said Young.
Cleaning a new route is often scruffy business as it requires navigating mossy slabs and dirt-filled cracks. The award ceremony and after party is aptly themed 鈥渄irty鈥� digger.
鈥淭he party is what it鈥檚 about,鈥� added Young.
Proceeds from the event will go to the bolt-replacement fund to retrofit climbing hardware nearing the end of its lifespan.
