Jason Munns doesn’t like sitting on his couch much and had no intentions of doing that during the long weekend.
The Penticton resident loves climbing the rocks at Skaha Bluffs. He’s there three times a week and was there again last weekend for the Skaha Climbing Festival, which was part of the 100 Years of Celebration of Adventure in the province.
Friday to Sunday rock climbing enthusiasts were able to participate in various clinics and watch climbing competitions. There were also guest speakers, film festivals and the band Delhi 2 Dublin, which received positive feedback.
“I thought it was good,” said Munns, who with a group of friends were climbing one of the rocks on Monday morning. “I think it was a success. Lots of people showed up and it was good. It gets more people up there. The competition itself I thought was awesome.”
While three-time Olympian Steve Omischl was among the speakers, Munns enjoyed listening to renowned climber Beth Rodden, Will Stanhope and local Howie Richardson.
“She is probably one of the hardest women climbers in the world,” he said. “She has some good stories. Showed video on some really hard stuff. It’s inspiring and amazing. They are just at another level.”
Andrea Rahman came from the Lower Mainland because she had never climbed at Skaha before. She had heard that the climbing is great and that attracted her.
“I wanted to check out other areas in B.C.,” she said. “They (Skaha Bluffs) are awesome. I really like them, have some great rock here. Went to Red Tail and did 10 routes there. A lot of variety. The height of the walls is really impressive.”
Rahman also enjoyed both evenings of guest speakers.
With the weekend mostly being a success, festival co-ordinator Lyndie Hill said her group will discuss the events future. If it returns, it will have to be under a different name since this year was part of the B.C. Parks celebrations. Hill said it will come down to sponsorship.
“We’re hoping that they will kick in a bit next year to make it happen,” she said of the sponsors. “The Cleland Theatre, the speakers were really good. Everybody enjoyed that. It was just such a beautiful venue.”
A crowd of 400 came to watch Delhi 2 Dublin on Saturday evening at Skaha Lake Park.
Exceeding expectations were the competitions, which attracted 55 climbers. Also successful were the clinics. There were eight beginners clinics filled, as well as two intermediate to advanced clinics. Clinics (60 people) were filled by 9 a.m. Saturday morning for the next day.
“It was spectacular viewing from what I heard,” said Hill of the final competition. “Families, climbers and non climbers went to watch.”