Picture this: you’ve made your way to Lighthouse Park’s Juniper Point, where Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia. As sunlight sparkles on the ocean, the scene is mesmerizing.

Suddenly, ghost-white fingers appear on the lip of the rocky outcropping where you perch, quickly followed by a shock of curly hair.

Don’t freak. It’s just local climber Will Stanhope working out.

Chalk coats his hands, the better to grip ledges and cracks. “The west wind dries out the rocks here faster than just about anywhere else around,” the 26-year-old observed to the Georgia Straight during a recent encounter in the West Vancouver park.

As someone who regularly seeks out more challenging routes in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park in Squamish and on El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park, it may seem odd that Stanhope can also be found searching for handholds and footholds on Lighthouse’s modest cliffs, which, by comparison, rank with schoolyard playgrounds.

“I’m not super high-performance- oriented,” he confided. “Doing easy routes is good for tougher climbs too. When you learn to relax on easy stuff, it translates into more confident climbing on harder routes. It takes a lot of practice to be relaxed.”

Stanhope estimated that he has put in well over 10,000 hours of practice time since he began climbing at age nine. His love of rock got started when his father, Robert, and a friend read about climbing in Squamish “and dragged me along. I was hooked as soon as I started. Climbing was like this hidden world I never knew existed.”

He described this realm as unique, saying that those who dwell there do so purely out of a passion to master both technical and mental challenges. “People see images of me hanging on the face of a hairball route and think I happened upon mental control at birth. That ability only comes from practice and slowly pushing the limits. It’s a long, slow process to make sure you don’t get in over your head. There’s a lesson you learn very quickly in climbing: don’t go up unless you know how to get down.”

Peter Croft, one of Canada’s premier rock climbers and mountaineers, who got his start on Vancouver Island, characterized Stanhope as “the next wave” in climbing. Croft’s star burned as brightly in his youth as Stanhope’s does today. Reached at his home in Bishop, California, in the Sierra Nevada, the 53-year-old told the Straight that Stanhope doesn’t play media games for sponsorship. “He’s one of a small group of climbers I’ve met like that over the years. He’s like a kid who can’t believe he’s getting away with such cool stuff. He definitely reminds me of myself as a teenager: blowing it and learning from blowing it.”

Croft described Stanhope as incredibly strong and motivated. “He’s super low-key, not looking to self-promote at all, a climber’s climber who doesn’t play to the crowd. He’s doing it for all the right reasons: hanging out with your buddies. It’s about the adventure rather than running around beating your chest.”

During the rainy season, rock-climbing in the Lower Mainland has its drawbacks—hence the growing popularity of indoor climbing centres. Recently, the Straight met up with Eric Furlotte, manager of the Cliffhanger, an indoor rock-climbing gym in Vancouver.

Furlotte said the sport itself drives its growth. “It’s an incredible exercise. Not many sports out there will give such a full-body workout. Plus, as kids, climbing comes naturally. As adults, climbing reawakens that innate spark. Then there’s the snowball effect of people watching competitions who want to try it for themselves. And being so close to Squamish makes this region a hotbed.”

As well, Furlotte made the point that not many other sports offer an outdoors experience indoors. “People want to stay in shape and be active but are bored with traditional methods like treadmills. That’s why we’re packed most evenings.”

Not far from Cliffhanger’s Industrial Avenue location, where a 4,740-square-foot expansion is slated for this year, the equally popular Hive bouldering centre is about to celebrate its first anniversary. (Bouldering is climbing without ropes on small rock faces, with a pad spread below to cushion falls.)

Care to give rock climbing a try? In summer, Stanhope offers guided outings in Squamish. In the meantime, head to Lighthouse Park and watch for chalky fingers to appear.