Squamish is not like any other place, in a climbing sense.
We have excellent rock, a mild climate and ridiculously easy access to cliffs close to a burgeoning urban centre.
Each year more people travel here to explore climbing not only because it’s an excellent location, but also since there are more and more boulder problems, routes and multipitches getting put up.
As more climbers begin to live in Squamish and Vancouver, they start to explore in and around the deep dark woods in search of more climbing.
The old classics are getting pretty clogged up on a normal weekend so it becomes the scrubber’s motivation to give back to the climbing community.
Their motivation could also be one of simple curiosity, wanting to know what’s up around the next tree, mossy bulge or clifflette – or even one of ownership and hoarding, trying to leave their mark on all of the lines.
Whichever it is, here is a very incomplete and partial list of some of the newer crags in Squamish. Some appeared this past season, while others in the past few years. It all counts as recent in a geologic sense.
The Highlander
Let’s start with The Highlander crag just one minute off Perth’s end cul-de-sac. This gem has been hiding underneath a mountain bike trail, Rollercoaster, and thanks to Jason McConnell and Trevor McDonald, it’s now unearthed. It has well-cleaned, overhung splitter cracks reminiscent of the Longhouse. Highlander crag makes a great place to train for the Creek.
Tunnel Point
Next up, in no particular order, is Tunnel Point. Tunnel Point refers to two crags, The Apiary and The Celestial Wall, located near Loggers Creek on the Sea To Sky Highway. Unearthed by Richard Wheater and Alex Quiring from Vancouver, this area represents one of the most important new contributions to Howe Sound sport climbing in the past decade or more. The rock is basalt and the climbing is hard, mainly in the 5.12-13 zone. Info on this crag can be found in Wheater’s new Vancouver Rock Climbing guidebook.
Paradise Wall
If you’ve ever driven to Midnight Way in the Paradise Valley, you may know of the fish hatchery located there. From there, a small old trail winds its way through the boulders uphill to Brohm Lake.
It’s halfway up this trail that three local Brits, Stuart Hughes, Tom Wright and Neil Dyer, and two local Squamelians, Chris Singer and Mike Flynn, discovered and put work into creating The Hatchery, or The Paradise Wall – or whatever they are naming this incredible crag. Interesting pocketed face climbing in the 5.10-12 range and then 5.13 and up on the big wall.
The big wall overhangs enough to climb on in the rain, is crisscrossed by intruding dikes and has pockets and edges as well. World class.
The Playground
A drive down the Mamquam Forest Service Road, left at the pump station and on towards the Kayak is all that’s required to access The Playground and The Courtyard, Squamish’s newest absolute beginner and child-centered crags.
A little ways down on the left, the two areas come into view, near the Swampthing Boulder right on the road. Cleaned and equipped by Tess Egan, these two cliffs have super interesting face climbing that has been bolted to give young leaders a chance to strut their stuff. Tess’ son Kai made a notable first ascent there with “Follow The Leader,” 5.5, at the young age of four.
Raven Drive
Finally, the unstoppable Jack Fieldhouse has turned his unquenchable thirst for new boulder problems upon a new cliff somewhere near the end of Raven Drive. His accomplices in this heist were Dave Southam and Pete Hill, with generous hardware support by CASBC. This cliff is rumoured to be near the new biathlon training grounds and has bolted climbing from 5.10-12+.
The list could go on and on, with areas like The Top Shelf, The Longhouse, The Catalan Wall and The Pilot’s Lounge, and this isn’t even including new bouldering areas or new multipitch routes on or around the Chief.
If you’re looking for some winter climbing inspiration, look up one of these new areas, get your hiking gear on and go for a rainy forest wander to check out a new crag with new routes waiting to motivate.
What could possibly go wrong?
