Trip Report: Rock Climbing Squamish, BC Canada
When: 7/18-7/24
Location: Squamish, BC Canada
Conditions: Sunny and 70°-80°
Duration: 3 days climbing
Difficulty: Choose your own adventure
Kid Friendly: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes
Useful Links: www.mountainproject.com
Full Report:
As a climber, Squamish is the kind of place you dream of. Absolutely stunning granite in every direction you look and it literally has it all. Sport climbing, traditional climbing, bouldering, all of which are world-class and have played roles in climbing history at some point in time. It is a city with outdoor roots and it certainly feels that way the second you drive into town. Located only 1 hour north of Vancouver BC it can get pretty busy on the weekends but isn’t more than what you would normally see in places such as the Columbia River Gorge or Mt Hood on a Saturday.
The first day in town we decided it would be a good idea to go to The Smoke Bluffs and do some single pitches to get a feel for the rock. The Smoke Bluffs alone boasts upwards of 500 climbs and could be a lifetime of climbing as a standalone crag. To get a better feel for the place we just wandered around the trails of The Smoke Bluffs and climbed whatever looked fun to us. Which led us to Pixy Corner and The Octopus Garden as our main two climbing spots for the day. Both had “Top 100” climbs which we figured were given that title for a reason.
The next day of climbing we decided to go do the classic Skywalker which is a classic 5 pitch 5.8 climb that I highly recommend everyone do. It is a very well protected traditional climb with bolted anchors that protects well. It puts you up at the top of Shannon Falls providing a fun amount of exposure while climbing some of the unique pitches. Once you get to the top, it is a walk off descent but I would recommend hiking up through the trees at the top to the top of the waterfall where you will find some gorgeous pools that you can stick your feet in while overlooking the city and sound.
The final day of climbing we decided to do something a bit longer up the Apron. We were originally going to climb Diedre, but due to heavy traffic on the route and a few groups moving slower than we would have hoped. We decided to climb Banana Peel, which happens to also be a classic climb there. Banana Peel is an 8 pitch 5.7 that consists of a lot of slab and low angle crack climbing. It would be a great introductory multi pitch for people in the area but it should be noted that a few pitches are run out slab. I would recommend being comfortable at slab climbing before climbing this. All of the pitches with runout slab are easy but can be very intimidating if it’s not something you’re comfortable climbing. The descent is a walk off at the top of the climb but be prepared for a rocky and steep hike down, it is very much a climbers trail and had very few switch backs.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you climb in Squamish or what kind of climbing you’re doing, it will be great and I could not recommend it more.
Full Report:
As a climber, Squamish is the kind of place you dream of. Absolutely stunning granite in every direction you look and it literally has it all. Sport climbing, traditional climbing, bouldering, all of which are world-class and have played roles in climbing history at some point in time. It is a city with outdoor roots and it certainly feels that way the second you drive into town. Located only 1 hour north of Vancouver BC it can get pretty busy on the weekends but isn’t more than what you would normally see in places such as the Columbia River Gorge or Mt Hood on a Saturday.
The first day in town we decided it would be a good idea to go to The Smoke Bluffs and do some single pitches to get a feel for the rock. The Smoke Bluffs alone boasts upwards of 500 climbs and could be a lifetime of climbing as a standalone crag. To get a better feel for the place we just wandered around the trails of The Smoke Bluffs and climbed whatever looked fun to us. Which led us to Pixy Corner and The Octopus Garden as our main two climbing spots for the day. Both had “Top 100” climbs which we figured were given that title for a reason.
The next day of climbing we decided to go do the classic Skywalker which is a classic 5 pitch 5.8 climb that I highly recommend everyone do. It is a very well protected traditional climb with bolted anchors that protects well. It puts you up at the top of Shannon Falls providing a fun amount of exposure while climbing some of the unique pitches. Once you get to the top, it is a walk off descent but I would recommend hiking up through the trees at the top to the top of the waterfall where you will find some gorgeous pools that you can stick your feet in while overlooking the city and sound.
The final day of climbing we decided to do something a bit longer up the Apron. We were originally going to climb Diedre, but due to heavy traffic on the route and a few groups moving slower than we would have hoped. We decided to climb Banana Peel, which happens to also be a classic climb there. Banana Peel is an 8 pitch 5.7 that consists of a lot of slab and low angle crack climbing. It would be a great introductory multi pitch for people in the area but it should be noted that a few pitches are run out slab. I would recommend being comfortable at slab climbing before climbing this. All of the pitches with runout slab are easy but can be very intimidating if it’s not something you’re comfortable climbing. The descent is a walk off at the top of the climb but be prepared for a rocky and steep hike down, it is very much a climbers trail and had very few switch backs.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you climb in Squamish or what kind of climbing you’re doing, it will be great and I could not recommend it more.