MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Summer 2018

34 MLCM SUMMER 2018 one had done before. “If you’re not climbing a first ascent, you’re just jacking it,” he once proclaimed in a popular climbing film. By 2002, Hevy’s name was on a number of routes strewn across California, Utah and Colorado, but after landing in Squamish he began to put down roots (and routes) with new partner Erica and her son Ethan. Living out of a repurposed shipping container dubbed “The Techno Box,” Hevy adapted to family life and was able to retain a firm grip on the dial-at-11 lifestyle he enjoyed. Climbing remained a constant, alongside music festivals, extreme hula hooping and slacklining, with the occasional naked pudding- wrestling match tossed in for good measure. As Ethan grew, Hevy and Erica shifted away from the late-night shenanigans and put that energy into community building. Hevy put the first public slacklines in at Nexen Beach, an arduous task involving hours of digging to moor the driftwood anchor poles. This culminated in Hevy Fest, Squamish’s first slacklining festival that attracted beginners and experts alike and helped establish the town as a renowned slackline destination. After that success, Hevy’s new routing instincts kicked back in as he and Erica stormed the overgrown but immaculate granite crags of the Squamish Smoke Bluffs, scrubbing grime, trundling loose rocks and meticulously cleaning holds to establish new routes for all skill levels. Most Squamish climbers, especially visiting ones, will never understand how much effort has gone into the climbs they enjoy. Tools and equipment costs can run as high as $100 per route and hours of sweat equity (not to mention all of the laundry). Community builders like Hevy are celebrated by those in the know, but by and large, none of this concerns Hevy too much, he’d be out there digging new routes and bagging first ascents anyhow. “It’s like breathing for me,” Hevy says. “It’s my first wife.” The good news for Squamish is it doesn’t look like there’s a divorce in Hevy’s future anytime soon. This culminated in Hevy Fest, Squamish’s first slacklining festival that helped establish the town as a renowned slackline destination. TOP Hevy Duty in full regalia. TREVOR MCDONALD. BOTTOM The rad old days. COURTESY OF ALLEN STEVENSON