Quinn Mason completes Spirit Quest (9a)

Quinn Mason, with five 8b+’ under her belt and who was 25th in the SLC Boulder World Cup in May, has done Spirit Quest (9a)
in Squamish. ”I love granite. I love tech. This wall is truly paradise for me.” (c) Don Mason

What is your climbing background?
My parents are climbers, so I have been climbing my whole life. I grew up competing and taking climbing trips with my family during school breaks. While I compete, I’ve dedicated more time to climbing outside in the last year and it’s been really great.

How did you come up with the idea going for a 9a?
When trying Spirit Quest, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I was skipping from 8b+ to 9a. Over the last year, I’ve climbed several 8b+ routes, and they felt like a fun challenge that I could complete relatively fast. I had known for a while that I wanted to try Spirit Quest because the line is stunning, and Squamish is becoming a bit of a home crag for me, so my time on the route wouldn’t be as limited as on previous trips.

How was the process taking it down and how many sessions were needed?
I would guess that I spent maybe 15 or fewer sessions on Spirit Quest. The initial process of trying the route was very peaceful; I spent most sessions just doing the moves and taking breaks between attempts without trying to make any links. I wanted to be patient, and I didn’t have much intention of doing the route this season because I didn’t think I’d have too many days on it. But two weeks before I sent, and a few days before I almost left Squamish, I linked from the fifth bolt to the top, which is all of the hard climbing. Once I realized I could do it, the nerves really set in, but I was able to rearrange plans, and learning how to relax on the route again was really rewarding.