- People really will get attached to absolutely anything.
When you misplace something dear to you, it’s always hard. It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant the thing might objectively be.
Heck, it might be nothing more than an old rock — like in this Canadian case.
Portable is a small hunk of rock that has, for a long time, sat at a popular rock-climbing spot in Squamish, British Columbia. It has become something of a mascot for the local community with its convenient shape and location.
A few months ago, however, Portable vanished. Since last fall, there has been nothing but a Portable-shaped depression in the ground.
Nobody was crazy enough to go looking for the rock, but its disappearance was still lamented among Squamish climbers.
Recently, however, Portable was spotted in California. It seems weird, but a Canadian climber went down to the location and confirmed that this was, indeed, Portable.
Only, he was sporting a pair of googly eyes and a Canadian-themed beanie.
Now, Portable is on its way back home to Canada. And don’t ask how they can be so sure this is the same rock — climbers just know.
Meet Portable
Now, who or what is Portable? Portable is a granite rock, or perhaps a mini boulder, and he’s very much loved.
The roughly 60-pound stone has sat at the base of the Superfly boulder in Squamish, British Columbia, for years and years. During its time there, it has become an icon among the region’s rock climbers.
That’s partially due to Portable’s ideal shape. According to climbers, the hunk of stone has been ideal for practicing grips and climbing balance.
“Us climbers are pretty weird creatures, and we definitely approach the woods with some love for nature, maybe a little bit too far at times,” Ethan Salvo, a 23-year-old rock climber, told CBC.
“I think Portable became loved just as a fun, silly challenge.”
Portable, Where Are You?
Last September, tragedy struck the Squamish climbing community. Portable suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Nobody knew what had happened, but people made some educated guesses. Local rock climbers figured a visiting climber must’ve picked the stone up as a souvenir.
“It is kind of silly for this small rock that means so much to everyone in the community to just vanish,” mused Salvo.
Locals made calls on social media for help locating Portable, but it was to no avail. After all, it might’ve been sitting in someone’s living room, never to see the outside world again.
‘It Looked Like Home’
Then came January 20. Salvo was down in Bishop, California, on a climbing trip when he received a message through social media.
It said that Portable had been found.
Not only that, but the stone was very close. Its location was supposedly at the Iron Man bouldering spot — only 20 minutes’ drive from where Salvo was camping.
Initially, Salvo said he believed the picture to be an AI-generated hoax. Yet, it was so close, and he couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.
So, Salvo drove over to Iron Man. Sure enough, he found the described rock, but it looked a bit off.
Someone had glued a pair of googly eyes on the stone and placed a big red beanie over it. Salvo pulled the beanie off and immediately recognized Squamish’s most famous rock.
“The minute I saw the shape, I knew it was it,” said Salvo.
“It just looked like home. It felt like home. It weighed like home.”
On the Way Home
Currently, Portable is in the back of Salvo’s Subaru Outback. The two will stay together until Salvo heads back north to return the stone.
“Right now, I’m planning on being back there at the middle of February, and figured it would be fun to rally a bunch of people to walk it back into the forest,” he said.
Salvo stated that nobody will likely ever know who stole Portable. That said, he can understand why somebody would’ve done so.
“Rock climbers are weird. We have a weird connection to the environment around us,” summarized Salvo.
Yet, people on social media, many of whom aren’t even rock climbers, are out for blood. For his part, Salvo isn’t on board with a witch hunt.
“A lot of people on the internet right now that are extremely upset over the whole thing who don’t even live anywhere close to Squamish, let alone climb there or have any connection to it. Not to say that their opinion doesn’t count, but it’s one of those things where I feel like it’s just really easy for people to get super riled up,” Salvo said.
He’s not taking his chances that the rock gets re-stolen, though. That’s why he’s tucked Portable safely away from prying eyes.
“He’s … in a layer of blankets for the past couple days. Currently increasing my gas mileage a little bit, making it worse and staying hidden,” he said.
Soon enough, Portable will be back home. That sure is a strange adventure for a hunk of stone.