Mike Foley does Midnight Way (9a+)

Mike Foley has repeated Connor Herson’s Midnight Way (9a+) in Squamish, an extension of Spirit Quest (9a), which he FA’d in 2021. (c) Ben Harnden

Can you tell us more about the special day and what went into completing it?
A lot of things were not lined up well on the day. It was raining on and off all day. I almost didn’t make the drive to Squamish from Vancouver because it was raining so much in the morning. It was very warm and humid all day. On my previous session on the route I had blown a hole in my shoes so I just wore a pair of older shoes I only use for training in the gym. I didn’t feel amazing on the send go and felt like I was getting pumped easily. However, managed to recover well on the route and locked in where I needed to and got it done.

Not sure on the total number of sessions but feels like a lot. It’s an extensions to Spirit Quest (9a) which I FA’d in 2021. Didn’t climb on the wall at all for a few years following that then really started trying the route last fall before the season ended. It was a nice motivator for winter training having this route in the back of my mind.

Interestingly, this time last year, I was just starting to climb again after a major shoulder injury that required surgery following a bike crash. I couldn’t even hang from a bar with one arm. Cool to see the progress over the last year!

What are your summer plans?
No big plans for the rest of the season. Just trying to get out climbing as much as possible locally and take advantage of feeling fit.