Rock Climber Startled By Mountain Biker Descending Next To Him
Two sports that seem like they should not have much overlap in terms of terrain are climbing and mountain biking.
For obvious reasons, the Venn diagram has little to no cross-section between a sport consisting of climbing vertical rock faces and another that is primarily about riding dirt paths as quickly as possible.
In Squamish, though, there is more shared between the two than you might think. Check out this clip from Ollie Lowthorpe illustrating that below.
The rock that Ollie is riding here is one of Squamish's most popular 5.7 rock climbing routes called Banana Peel. It is not uncommon to see people in droves up on that route. The Apron, the spot on the Squamish Chief where this clip was taken, is mostly low-angle slabs by climbing standards with grades ranging from 5.6 to 5.10b.
For those who don't speak climber, that equates to ranging from nearly vertical to definitely vertical.
That being said, this slab would still be a monster to ride on a bike. Not only is that pitch enough to make you double-check your brake pads, it also is so long that once you drop you're going to the bottom one way or another.
This is definitely a feature better left to the professionals, but that doesn't mean it can't still be appreciated from afar.
Related: How Is This Possible? Pro Battles His Nerves Riding Down A Climbing Route
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