Dates I've climbed this route:
- Date: June 11, 2006 (Sat) Partner: Jason Cullum
Pitch difficulties: Banana Peel: 8 pitches: 5.4, 5th, 5.5, 5.7, 5.4, 5.7, 5.4, 5.4; Boomstick Crack: 2 pitches: 5.7, 5.5; Ultimate Everything: 10 pitches: 10a, 5.7, 5.9, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.7, 5.9, 5.6, 10b or 5.9 A0
Brief trip report:
With the rain of BC, I had not been able to do much climbing in nearby Squamish, so the first decent weekend my friend and I made the 2 hour drive to the Chief, with plans to climb the Ultimate Everything, a 20-pitch link-up the left of the Chief. The route began with the slabby gear route called Banana Peel (5.6) on the Apron, then jumped onto the fun 2-pitch Broomstick Crack (5.7), and then followed a trail to the beginning of the final 10 pitches to the summit. These pitches ranged from 5.7 to 5.9, and were a mix of gear and bolts. A couple of the pitches were pretty wet still, making climbing interesting. The final pitch had an 11b move that we aided (ie. pulled on a draw) to get past, although given fresh fingers, a few tries, a bit of thought, and no heavy pack, I think I could do this move clean. Next objective up the Chief: the Grand Wall....
Interesting note: When I read this trip report several years later, I had to smile, because in my last statement I was joking at the idea of climbing the Grand Wall anytime soon. But I ended up climbing it just a year later, thanks to a superstar partner who led the whole thing.
Photo descriptions:
a. Starting up Banana Peel at dawn. This photo makes it look way steeper than it actually is.
b. Slabs!
c. Boomstick Crack.
d. Hiking between top of Apron and base of Ultimate Everything.
e. Jason leading the 2nd pitch of Ultimate Everything (5.7 wet gully).
f. Beginning the 4th pitch of Ultimate Everything.
g. Bolted dike of 7th pitch of Ultimate Everything.
h. Pretty view from the top of the Second Peak.