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The Grand Wall is the most impressive on the Chief. This 500 metre wall is the scene of many of the best routes in Squamish, including the original 1961 route of the same name. The base of the wall is a 70 degree slab featuring some of the best 5.10 crack and face routes in the area. Above, the wall becomes vertical, and is characterized by many flakes and dykes as well as a number of bands of imposing roofs. Of all the dykes, the most impressive is the Black Dyke, which splits the chief from base to summit and even runs though the cliffs of the Malamute below.
Access
Park in the large paved parking lot just off the highway at the top of the hill. A gated road starts at the east side of the parking lot. Follow it north for about a hundred metres, then take the well marked trail through the forest right up to the base of the wall. Take some time and check out the bouldering in the forest while you are there. In particular, the gargantuan Kacodemon boulder is a must see, the single boulder is bigger than many crags!
The Climbs
The base of the wall
offers a plethora of climbs, at a wide range of difficulty. The
climbs are mostly thin cracks a few difficult face and slab routes. As
the wall steepens above, the number of free climbs diminishes, and most
are located around the Split Pillar, a huge detached pillar located where
the wall steepens. The climbs are again mostly cracks and flakes with
the occasional route on some of the many dikes.
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There are three free routes which ascend the entire wall, with many variations possible. In addition, there are a number of classic aid lines which tackle some of the expanding flakes and enormous roofs splitting the vast expanses of white and grey granite. I have included a trip report for my first time up the standard Grand Wall route, as well as many photos in the gallery.
Scattered amongst the forest at the Base of the Grand and Psyche Ledge are hundreds of fantastic boulders, offering some outstanding bouldering on rock much more featured than the weathered granite elsewhere in the region. The bouldering in the area has become increasingly popular recently as locals finally began discovering the quality of the rock underneath all the moss. There are now over 500 problems
