Brief trip report:

The first recorded rock climbs on The Chief date back to the late 1950s, but it wasn’t until 1961 that Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper finally completed the Grand Wall after an epic 40-day siege. Since then, the Grand Wall has become the route on The Chief. It offers everything: perfect granite, a stunning setting, airy runout slabs, stellar cracks, strenuous laybacks, delicate face climbing, and numerous variations.

I first climbed the Grand Wall in May 2007 with my friend Ross. Seven years later, in June 2014, I returned with friends Tobias, Jessica, and Geoff (climbing as two rope teams). In 2016, I was back again with John Plotz—only to find the route felt harder the third time around, which was humbling. Most recently, in 2025, I climbed it with Nate Beckwith on a road trip from Colorado. This time, I led most of the route, and—apart from Perry’s Layback, which still gets me—the climbing felt more relaxed than in the past.

The description below is based on my original 2007 trip report, now updated with additional photos, notes, and an improved route overlay from my subsequent climbs.

A few pieces of advice for the route:

Start early or late to avoid crowds.

2007: We started at 10:49 a.m. and had the route to ourselves.

2014: Arrived at 8 a.m., along with two other parties; delays at the Split Pillar and Sword cost us hours. We could have started at 11 a.m. and finished at the same time.

2016: On route by 7 a.m., first party up; three more followed later.

2025: Fourth party in a conga line of a dozen, but thankfully everyone ahead moved efficiently.

Gear beta: No #4 cam necessary. Bring at least two #3 cams—three if you’d rather not walk them on the Split Pillar (the pitch that eats the most wide gear).

Photos:

Below is a pitch-by-pitch description of the Grand Wall, with photos from my 2007, 2014, 2016, and 2025 climbs.

2007

Begin approach: 10:49 am
Begin Pitch 1: 11:24 am
Begin Pitch 2: 11:50 am
Begin Pitch 3: 12:15 pm
Begin Pitch 4: 12:40 pm
Begin Pitch 5: 1:06 pm
Begin Pitch 6: 2:02 pm
Begin Pitch 7: 2:54 pm
Begin Pitch 8: 4:03 pm
Begin Pitch 9: 4:42 pm
Begin Pitch 10: 5:12 pm
Begin descent: 5:36 pm
Arrive back at car: 6:35 pm
Car-to-car time: 7 hours 46 minutes

2025

Begin approach: 5:37 am
Begin Pitch 1: 6:05 am
Begin Pitch 2: 6:39 am
Begin Pitch 3: 7:13 am (waited a bit to give room to party ahead)
Begin Pitch 4: 7:31 am
Begin Pitch 5: 8:05 am
Begin Pitch 6: 8:38 am (waited a bit to give room to party ahead)
Begin Pitch 7: 9:22 am
Begin Pitch 8: 10:18 am
Begin Pitch 9: 10:55 am
Begin Pitch 10: 11:40 am
Begin descent: 12:10 pm
Arrive back at car: 1:22 pm
Car-to-car time: 7 hours 45 minutes

easy if you stick to the trail

2007 notes:
We slept in until 8am, and spent a leisurely morning reading in lawn chairs in the sun outside a local coffee shop. It was sunny, but the air temperature was cool, and we knew the sun wouldn't hit the route until around 1pm. By mid-morning the caffeine began to kick in and off we headed to tackle the Grand Wall. There were 2 parties ahead of us on the route. One party was already at the top of the Split Pillar when we began to organize our gear – must have been a cold start for them!

2007 start time: 10:49 am
2025 start time: 5:37 am

(no photos)

Apron Strings I

5.10b

2007 notes:
There are several variations of the first half of the route up to the Split Pillar. We chose to link up Apron Strings (a fun 2-pitch 10b) and Merci Me (a 2-pitch 5.8 on a dike) and traverse under a roof to the base of the Split Pillar.

The first pitch of Apron Strings is a rather pumpy laybacking start on a stellar 10b crack/flake.

2007 start time: 11:24 am
2025 start time: 6:05 am

(no photos)

Apron Strings II

5.10b

2007 notes:
The second pitch of Apron Strings is another 10b crack up to a tree belay, quite cruiser now that we were warmed up.

2007 start time: 11:50 am
2025 start time: 6:39 am

Merci Me I

5.8

2007 notes:
From the top of Apron Strings, we climbed the first 1.5 pitches of Merci Me, splitting off halfway through the second pitch to traverse rightwards towards the Split Pillar. Merci Me follows a runout bolted 5.8 dike with several face holds.

2007 start time: 12:15 pm
2025 start time: 7:13 am

(no photos)

Merci Me II

5.9

2007 notes:
The first half of this pitch followed the bolted dike of Merci Me, and then split off to the right to traverse to a chain anchor at the base of the obvious roof. This traverse was conveniently wet and slimy at the crux reachy 5.9 move right before the anchor.

2007 start time: 12:40 pm
2025 start time: 7:31 am

(no photos)

5.10b + A0 bolt ladder

2007 notes:
From the chain anchor, we traversed down and right through some flakes, and then had to do some pulling/standing in slings on a short bolt ladder to the belay at a tree at the base of the Split Pillar. This was a fun airy traverse pitch, and good practice on my A0 aiding techniques.

2007 start time: 1:06 pm
2025 start time: 8:05 am

(no photos)

Split Pillar

5.10b

2007 notes:
The heart of The Grand Wall route begins with The Split Pillar, continues onto The Sword, and then to Perry’s Layback. The fame of these pitches is well deserved.

The Split Pillar is an amazing right-facing layback. Super pumpy! Ross didn’t even break a sweat though….

2007 start time: 2:02 pm
2025 start time: 8:38 am

(no photos)

The Sword

5.11a + A0 bolt ladder

2007 notes:
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the steep granite of The Sword looms above. This was another pumpy pitch. We linked this with some more A0 bolt laddering to the base of Perry’s Layback.

2007 start time: 2:54 pm
2025 start time: 9:22 am

(no photos)

Perry's Layback

5.11a

2007 notes:
And just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any more pumpy, another right facing layback appears, named after Perry Beckham who first freed this pitch in 1980 (with his ex-wife belaying, Perry drilled eight Rawls into the rock below a wide horizontal crack to protect the route and then freed the pitch, Perry’s Layback was born). There is a cool much-needed no-hands airy rest at the top of the layback, by leaning against the block at the top. The pitch ends at the flat ledge above.

2007 start time: 4:03 pm
2025 start time: 10:18 am

(no photos)

5.10b

2007 notes:
From the flat ledge, there are a couple of variations to the next pitch. We climbed up and right on face holds and past a reachy 10b crux to the belay. It looks like it might be wet in the photo, but the pitch was almost all dry (overall, the entire route was pretty dry, with only a couple of seeping sections).

2007 start time: 4:42 pm
2025 start time: 10:55 am

5.10c

2007 notes:
The final pitch below Bellygood Ledge begins with some tree-climbing (wouldn't be Squamish without a bit of tree-climbing on a route!), and then follows a 10c undercling and overcling to the top. A pretty short and fun pitch.

2007 start time: 5:12 pm
2025 start time: 11:40 am

Via Bellygood Ledge

2007 notes:
For those with time/energy/desire, you can continue to climb a few more pitches upwards via Roman Chimneys or the Upper Black Dike, or (like most people), you can end the route here and traverse to the trail via Bellygood Ledge. This is what we chose to do since, at least to me, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and a campfire was looking mighty appealing. Bellygood Ledge is an amazing feature cutting across the rock. It’s pretty exposed (a 50-ft section is a 2-foot ledge with sheer vertical walls on either side, protected by a bolt at either end), so a good idea to stay roped up until you reach the trail at the end.

2007 start time for descent: 5:36 pm
2007 back at car: 6:35 pm

Back to the car at 6:35 pm (2007), a little under 8 hours since we left it. What a Grand adventure! Thanks Ross for being psyched to climb it again!

2025 start time for descent: 12:10 pm
2025 back at car: 1:22 pm
Car-to-car time: 7 hours 40 minutes

Brief trip report:



Photos:

Below are pitch-by-pitch photos.

easy if you stick to the trail

5.10c

5.11a/b

5.10b

5.11b

5.11b

5.11a

5.10c/d

5.11a

5.11a

5.10c

5.10d

Via Bellygood Ledge

Brief trip report (2015):

I'd had my eye on the 12-pitch Sunset Strip since I became aware of its existence in late 2013 (I think the route was established around this time, or perhaps the previous season). The route uses sections of other climbs, Sticky Fingers, Millennium Falcon, Crap Crags, and The Gauntlet, with about 70% new terrain to create a very direct and interesting line up the Chief. Most of the pitches are rated in the 5.10 range. I climbed the route with Jon Pobst in May 2015. We found the climbing to be more mellow than expected (not quite the "very sustained 5.10" in the online route description and the pitches were so short it didn't feel like a 12 pitch route), but it is an excellent route and we had a fun day on the textured Squamish granite.

Below are some photos from our climb. For more route beta and a great route topo, see http://squamishclimbingsource.com/sunset-strip/.

Brief trip report (2019):

Four years later I climbed this route again with Braden Downey, as part of an 18-pitch link-up with Upper Black Dyke and two more pitches to top out on the First Summit of The Chief. Scroll down this page to see that trip report....

Photo descriptions:

a. Western Dihedrals from the parking lot below the Grand Wall. Sunset Strip runs up the center of the photo.
b. Looking up from the base of the route. 12 pitches of 5.10ish climbing ahead!
c. Jon leading off Pitch 2, a fun 10a layback.
d. Jon leading off Pitch 4, a 10c off-fingers splitter crack. We agreed that this section of climbing seemed to be the crux section of the route, harder than the supposed 10d cruxes on a couple of the other pitches.
e. Looking up Pitch 5, a 5.9 box corner. I led this pitch. Fun climbing.
f. Jon nearing the top of Pitch 7, which has a fun 10a undercling near the top of the pitch.
g. Looking down at climbers (my friends Jess and Geoff actually!) on Pitch 10. This was a splitter hand/fist crack. I walked my #4 through the first 20 feet or so until the first bolt.
h. Jon starting off Pitch 11, which traverses right along underclings and face holds. There is a 10d crux move right before the anchor but it didn't seem too hard. This pitch is very well bolted and the exposure is great.
i. Jon in the 5.9 chimney of Pitch 12. Jon cruised on upward. This pitch was perhaps the most difficult pitch on the route for me.
j. Picturesque Squamish as seen from high on the Chief.
k. We finished off the day by doing laps on the first pitch of Exasperator, a classic finger crack test piece.
l. Shadow climbing on Exasperator.

Brief trip report:

An 18-pitch link-up of 5.9-5.10 climbing to top out on the First Summit of the Chief! What a day. I had a blast climbing with Braden.

Photo descriptions:

a. Sunset Strip Pitch 1.
b. Sunset Strip Pitch 2.
c. Sunset Strip Pitch 3.
d. Sunset Strip Pitch 4.
e. Sunset Strip Pitch 4. (Photo by Braden.)
f. Picturesque Squamish as seen from high on the Chief.
g. Sunset Strip Pitch 5.
h. Sunset Strip Pitch 6.
i. Pitch 7. (Note that we went up the chimney of the Millennium Falcon route on this pitch; the actual pitch of Sunset Strip is to the left of the chimney.)
j. Sunset Strip Pitch 8.
k. Sunset Strip Pitch 9.
l. Pitches 10-12. We did a direct finish via Europa, which goes up this crack and chimney system. Sunset Strip cuts right here for Pitches 10-12. Both Braden and I had climbed the finishing pitches to Sunset Strip before, so we decided to check out this more direct finish, which avoids the slightly daunting final chimney pitch of Sunset Strip.
m. Topping out. This is the finish of Europa.
n. Traversing an exposed section on Bellygood Ledge on the way to the Upper Black Dyke.
o. Pitch 13: Upper Black Dyke Pitch 1.
p. Pitch 14: Upper Black Dyke Pitch 2.
q. We linked Pitches 1-3 by doing some simulclimbing, using a Rollnblock and a running belay for safety. This is a really quick and safe way to link pitches on a route.
r. Pitch 15: Upper Black Dyke Pitch 3.
s. Pitch 16: Upper Black Dyke Pitch 4.
t. Steph topping out on Upper Black Dyke Pitch 4. (Photo by Braden.)
u. Pitch 17: Mr. Ciechanowski (10a) on The Penthouse. A way to get in another pitch rather than hike to the summit.
v. Pitch 18: Ladies First (10a) on The Raven's Castle, which tops out on the First Peak. This photo shows Braden at the crux, while a chipmunk munches away.
w. People on top.
x. Braden at the top of our 18-pitch adventure. What a day!

Brief trip report:

Only in Squamish can you climb 18 pitches and get back to the car by mid-afternoon, already planning the next day's lap of the Chief. This was a fun link-up starting just off the trail at the base of the Apron and ending on the First Peak of the Chief. It was a beautiful and warm spring day, and there were at least a dozen other parties doing some combination of Apron + Squamish Buttress. This was my first time climbing with Shauna, a gal from Calgary who I had run into on occasion at various crags, but had never climbed with. It was nice to finally share a rope. We had a blast! Plus, it was fun to climb Diedre again, which had been one of my first mulitpitch climbs, 13 years previous.

This climb reminded us of how much fun it is to climb to the top of the Chief. So the next day, a Sunday, we decided to step it up a notch and climb Angel's Crest to the Second Peak. What a fun weekend!

There were a couple of bummers to the otherwise great day: on Pitch 1, the trigger wire on my ultralight #2 cam snapped and when we arrived back to the parking lot I discovered a big dent in the back of my hatchback. The moral of the story: duct tape only fixes 50% of your problems.

Below are some photos from the day.

Photo descriptions:

a. Rambles Pitch 1.
b. Rambles Pitch 2.
c. Rambles Pitch 4 (crux move of Rambles).
d. Diedre Pitch 1.
e. Diedre Pitch 3.
f. Diedre Pitch 4.
g. Diedre Pitch 5.
h. Diedre Pitch 6.
i. Me leading Boomstick Crack, a nice way to link the top of the Apron and the base of Squamish Buttress. (Photo by Shauna.)
j. Slabby arete on Pitch 1 (10a variation) of Squamish Buttress. I've climbed this way 3 times now and it has yet to feel 10a.....
k. Butt Lite Pitch 1. (This photo is of the party ahead of us.)
l. Me leading Butt Lite Pitch 1. (Photo by Shauna.)
m. Looking down just above the crux start of Butt Lite Pitch 1.
n. Butt Lite Pitch 2.
o. Shauna descending the cables on the backside of the First Peak.

Brief trip report:

This link-up is a fun way to the summit of the First Peak of the Chief, involving 4 pitches of 5.10 climbing and 5 pitches of moderate (5.6-5.9) climbing. We were happy to find Rock On mostly dry, as this route is notorious for being wet in the spring.

Photo descriptions:

a. Pitch 1 of Rock On.
b. Crux 10c pitch of Rock On Direct.
c. Crux 10c pitch of Squamish Buttress.
d. Welcome to the top of the First Peak!

Brief trip report:

This link-up is a fun way to the summit of the First Peak of the Chief, involving a lot of moderate (5.7-5.9) climbing with lots of variety with the occasional challenging (5.10) section. Cindy and I had a great day.

Photo descriptions:

a. Awesome crack on Pitch 3 of St. Vitus' Dance.
b. The South Arete route ends with mellow slab. We found it not so mellow. Turns out we got on the last pitch of No Saints Left by mistake (I think the actual last pitch of the South Arete is to the left of this).
c. Unique flake feature on Karen's Math.
d. Memorial Crack.
e. The stellar 10c pitch on Squamish Buttress.
f. On top of the First Peak.

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.

Brief trip report (2014):
Angel's Crest is one of the 5-star classic moderate multipitch routes to the top of the Chief. First climbed by Fred Beckey et al in 1962, Angel's Crest is a fun and athletic adventure with a great position. This route has a lot of enjoyable moderate climbing on the crest interspersed with a few steep and cruxy sections, lush forests (how do the trees get so big on such a steep rock formation?), and comfortable belays. Despite being a group of three, we climbed relatively quickly (usually the second could tie in just shy of the middle mark, so rarely were both of the followers climbing for more than a few moves). After a late lunch of the south summit, we hiked back down towards the parking lot, taking a three hour detour to climb The Snake (6p, 5.9) sans crowds and making the day's total 19 or so pitches. Chief and a Half!

Brief trip report (2017):
In 2017, I climbed the upper half of Angel's Crest again, as part of a link-up with Borderline.

Brief trip report (2019 - May 12):
Climbing a route to the top of the Chief is my favorite way to spend a day in Squamish. On this particular weekend, Shauna and I climbed to the top of the Chief on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, we climbed to the top of the First Peak via Diedre + Squamish Buttress. On Sunday, we decided to step it up a notch and climb Angel's Crest to the Second Peak. Of the two climbs, Angel's Crest was the clear winner. Even though both Shauna and I had climbed this route before, the climbing was varied, entertaining, and interspersed with challenging sections. This route is definitely one I would climb again and again.

Brief trip report (2019 - May 19):
On my May 12 climb of Angel's Crest, I had been drooling over the legendary splitter handcrack of High Plains Drifter across the way. You can get to High Plains Drifter by traversing and root-pulling from the top of Pitch 10 of Angel's Crest. Alternatively, you can top out on Angel's Crest and then hike a few minutes along the edge and rap the route and climb back up. There is a bolted anchor at the top of each pitch, allowing one to toprope the first two pitches from above. So exactly a week later my friend Joe and I were back to climb Angel's Crest and cap off the adventure by lowering down onto High Plains Drifter. The relentless 65m endurofest was every bit as awesome as it is reputed to be. Next time, ground up!

Photo descriptions:

a. Pitch 1 tree option start. (Sometime between 2014 and 2019, the tree lost a lot of its branches, so this is no longer a preferred start option to the route.)
b. Jess starting up Pitch 2 Angel Crack, the crux 10c pitch of the route.
c. Pitch 2 Angel Crack.
d. Squamish forest climbing.
e. Pitch 8, 5.9 corner.
f. Pitch 9, The Acrophobes.
g. Old bolt on top of The Acrophobes.
h. A tower on the ridge. Wonder how often someone stops to climb to the top of this.
i. Pitch 12, 10a crack.
j. Pitch 13, 5.8 chimney finish.
k. On top of Second Peak.

Photo descriptions:

a. Pitch 1 tree option start. Sometime between 2014 and 2019, the tree lost a lot of its branches, so this is no longer a preferred start option to the route.
b. Pitch 1 5.7 groove start. We went this way when we discovered the tree was no longer easily climbable.
c. Pitch 2, Angel Crack, the crux 10c pitch of the route.
d. Shauna at the top of Pitch 2.
e. Pitch 3, 10a face to corner crack.
f. Pitch 5, 10a.
g. Pitch 7, 10a.
h. Pitch 8, 5.9 corner. (Photo by Shauna.)
i. The totem along the forest scramble up to The Acrophobes.
j. The Acrophobes, Pitch 9.
k. View of Squamish and Sound below.
l. Rappel anchor from top of The Acrophobes.
m. Pitch 11, the Whaleback.
n. Starting up Pitch 12.
o. Pitch 12, 10a crack. Burley lead by Shauna!
p. Belly crawl at start of Pitch 13, 5.8 chimney to top. (Photo by Shauna.)

Photo descriptions:

a. Pitch 1, 10b option. We split this into two pitches broken by an intermediate bolted anchor.
b. Pitch 1, 10b option. This is the second half of the pitch, just above the intermediate bolted anchor.
c. Pitch 2, Angel Crack. Always awesome climbing.
d. Approaching The Acrophobes.
e. Looking down while climbing Pitch 12. Typical Squamish foothold.
f. Looking down High Plains Drifter.
g. View of Angel's Crest from top of High Plains Drifter.
h. Pitch 1 of High Plains Drifter. 10d handcrack.
i. Looking down 1 of High Plains Drifter.
j. Start of Pitch 2 of High Plains Drifter.
k. Upper half of Pitch 2 of High Plains Drifter.
l. Exhilarating exposure on the 5.6 pitch back to the top.

Brief trip report:

This is a great 13-pitch link-up, with half the pitches at the 5.10 level. It was a hot day, but we stayed mostly in the shade until we popped onto the South Summit at 3pm. Fun day!

Photo descriptions:

a. Looking up from base of route. A sort of grungy start to good stuff above.
b. The corner on the second half of Pitch 1.
c. 5.8 corner of Pitch 2.
d. Bolted 10d face on Pitch 3.
e. Finger crack above the face on on Pitch 3.
f. Looking up the offwidth.
g. Looking down the offwidth.
h. 10d face climbing on Pitch 6.
i. The end of the route at the top of Pitch 6. From here, you can either rap the route (2 ropes) or go left about 300 feet to join Angel's Crest and climb to the top of The Chief (which is what we did).
j. The grungy 5.8 between the end of Borderline and Angel's Crest. The climbing is pretty easy and it's actually not too dirty by Squamish off-route standards.
k. The offwidth variation on Pitch 8 of Angel's Crest. Someday I'd like to climb this pitch, but it would involve lugging a #6 up the route....
l. The standard 5.9 route on Pitch 8. Good climbing.
m. The Acrophobes (Pitch 9).
n. The Acrophobes (Pitch 9).
o. A 10a variation on Pitch 11.
p. The steep 10a crack on Pitch 12.
q. On top!

Brief trip report:

I'd climbed Milk Run+Upper Tantalus Wall in 2007 with Ross Peritore. This link-up ascended the lower half of the Milk Road route and then continued up right to Upper Tantalus Wall. The pitches up Milk Run corner had been particularly excellent, and I was always curious about the rest of the Milk Road route that continues up to the left. So for our second day of climbing in Squamish (we'd climbed Sunset Strip the previous day), Jon and I decided to climb Milk Road. Below are some photos from our climb. Jon and I found Milk Road to be a high-quality climb that involves a satisfying amount of sustained 5.10 crack climbing. We really enjoyed this route.

Photo descriptions:

a. Milk Road follows the best three pitches of Milk Run (the obvious left-facing corner in the photo) before following cracks above and a final dyke finish).
b. Looking up the route from the base. In this photo Jon is near the crux 11b (or A0) bolt-protected slab section of Pitch 1. He decided to attempt the moves free, and onsighted it. Impressive.
c. Jon leading off Pitch 2, which starts with some great climbing up an arching flake.
d. Pitch 2 finishes with an A0 (or 11d) bolted traverse.
e. Looking up the Milk Run corner which comprises Pitches 3 and 4 of Milk Road. The first pitch is 10b while the second is 10d or 11a depending on the source. Excellent climbing ahead!
f. Looking down during my lead up the first Milk Run Corner pitch.
g. Jon at the top of the first Milk Run Corner pitch.
h. Jon led the second Milk Run Corner pitch. The second corner pitch is a bit steeper than the first and even more excellent.
i. I led the "Changing Corners" Pitch 5. It was a bit dirty but I really enjoyed the steep and juggy climbing.
j. Looking up the "Crescent Tower" chimney of Pitch 7. I had gotten into the leading mode and led this one as well. This pitch features a variety of 5.10a climbing: chimney to hand crack to finger traverse.
k. The last real pitch of the route is an airy and delicate foot traverse along a dike ("Crescent Dike"). "Spooky fun" for the leader, "this is cool! fun" for the follower.

Brief trip report:

Chris and I combined New Life (a Top 100 climb) with the upper half of Parallel Passages (apparently the better pitches on the route, especially since the 2015 rockfall damaged the lower pitches) for a full day of climbing to the top of the North Walls. Every pitch is 5.10 or higher, with a fair bit of wide and burly climbing. Being on the shady North Walls, these routes are a great choice for a summer day. But it was an unusually humid day, so we were usually drenched in sweat by the time we finished each pitch. Still, it was an awesome day of climbing and I highly recommend this link-up.

Photo descriptions:

a. These signs were useful.
b. Looking up the start of New Life.
c. Pitch 1 of New Life.
d. Pitch 2 of New Life.
e. Pitch 3 of New Life..
f. Pitch 4 of New Life..
g. Pitch 5 of New Life.
h. Fixed lines between the top of New Life and Astro Ledge.
i. Pitch 5 of Parallel Passages (just above Astro Ledge).
j. Pitch 6 of Parallel Passages.
k. Pitch 7 of Parallel Passages. A #5 was nice to have on this route.
l. Pitch 8 of Parallel Passages..
m. Pitch 9 of Parallel Passages.
n. Pitch 9b of Parallel Passages (we broke Pitch 9 as described in the guidebook into 2 pitches, which seemed to make sense, especially since there was a bolted anchor on a nice ledge mideay through the pitch).
o. Pitch 10 of Parallel Passages.

Brief trip report:
Amazong, adventurous route. Slighty dirty but great climbing. I hope you like 5.10. All belays are bolted.

"Nch’ḵay̓" is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh name meaning "Dirty Place" or "Grimy one".

Photos:

Below are pitch-by-pitch photos.

easy if you stick to the trail

Follow the North North Gulley trail for about 15 minutes until it splits out right across the base of the North Walls. Look for the nice staging area at the base of a short corner with the beautiful splitter up the pillar to the left.

5.10b, 30m

Climb a short left-facing corner to a ledge before transitioning to the straight-in splitter up the pillar to the left. Finish at the top of the pillar at the belay.

5.10b, 15m

Climb up then left around the small roof to a short and thin left-trending crack before mantling a stump and continuing up to the belay. (Aug 2025 - 2 white x's on solid rock left of bolt (no loose block, not sure what they are for), climb straight up through the closest to the bolt). Can be linked with P1 or P3 (easier to link with P3 imo). Hard for the grade.

5.10b, 25-35m

Climb out left on thin moves, round the corner, then follow the cracks straight up to the ledge above. Either belay here or continue across the ledge to the bottom of P4 (Recommended). Hard for the grade.

5.10b, 20-30m

Climb a short pitch up and right, then cross a chossy gully.

WARNING: Be careful not to drop any rocks on parties potentially climbing Parallel Universe below. Consider belaying before the gully, then moving belays to the start of P5 (4th class).

5.10b, 30m

Dance up and left through the overhanging chimney feature, then move into the layback above. At the top of the layback, tiptoe right across the slab (another white x on slab. Easiest was climbing directly across/over top of it) to the adjacent crack. Continue up and right, then left around some small roofs. Hard for the grade.

5.10b, 25m

Straight up the twin cracks above until their conclusion. Continue up some ledges and slabs to the belay.

5.10d, 30m

Continue up the splitter hand crack until you reach a horizontal (don't traverse left on the horizontal), then bust a move out right to reach the bottom of a steep chimney feature. Continue up the sweaty chimney until you reach the belay at the large vegetated ledge.

5.10a, 25m

Cross the ledge through the bushes until you reach some blocks near the base of a cedar tree. Climb up the blocks, then unto the tree itself. Some final crack moves guard Astro Ledge.

Cross Astro Ledge.

5.7, 20m

Climb up the right-leaning ramp to the base of the obvious, splitter corner.

5.10c A0, 35m

Climb up the widening crack, grunting up the off-width until you reach the base of a bolt ladder. Either climb (12b) or aid up the bolts until you regain a crack at the top. Layback up to the belay. Make sure you take off the blinders for this pitch. Hard for the grade.

5.10a, 35m

Climb up the steepening ramp to the right to the base of the chimney. Climb up the initial off-width until reaching the first bolt on the right face. Eventually you'll reach a chockstone where the chimney widens significantly. Tail the pack and dive in. Clip the second bolt while you squirm your way up to the next belay.

5.10b, 45m

Climb up the splitter crack with some potential help out right at the start. Eventually bump out right into a thinner crack. Finally continue up and left through some blocks to the belay. Don't get distracted by the shiny bolted belay out left about 2/3 the way up this pitch.

5.6, 25m

Follow the steps and short sections of bolted climbing to the final chimney system above.

5.10a, 35m

Up the blocky chimney to the short finger crack above. Follow the crack up and right. Continue up the belay.

5.10a, 35m

Continue up to the imposing overhanging chimney feature, then avoid it by traversing out right, rounding the corner into a low angle hand crack. Follow the crack up the the final belay. Optionally, continue another 15m to another bolted belay higher up. Celebrate.

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Brief trip report:

For some reason (perhaps the somewhat rough road — my Subaru was just find though — and 40 minute uphill approach), this route does not get much traffic. But it is a superb route, featuring 600 feet of super solid granite and well-protected splitter cracks and corners and flakes. The pitches are not strenuous or stressful, just long and enjoyable. Being north facing, it is an excellent choice for a hot summer day. Thanks Chris for responding to my MP post and climbing this route with me!

Photo descriptions:

a. To get to Fluffy Kitten Wall, drive up Mamquam FS Road and then up the road marked Stawamus Community Watershed.
b. Sign for Fluffy Kitten Wall where we parked at a large washout.
c. Rope bridge crossing creek between the road and the hillside leading up to Fluffy Kitten Wall.
d. Chris crossing the rope bridge.
e. Steep but easy-to-follow trail.
f. Fixed rope leading up to Tigger Ledge at the base of the route.
g. Chris starting off Pitch 1, which climbs the corner in the background.
h. Looking down Pitch 1.
i. Pitch 2.
j. Pitch 3.
k. Pitch 3.
l. Pitch 4.
m. Pitch 4.
n. Pitch 4
o. Pitch 5.
p. Pitch 6.
q. Pitch 6.
r. Pitch 7.
s. The final corner of Pitch 7 is kind of dirty. I think it gets runoff from above.
t. Blueberries on Pitch 7.
u. The view from the top of the route.
v. Looking down on where we parked at a large washout.