An epic battle of the titans - John Millar vs the Brunser Overhang!

Murrin Park is the first major crag encountered heading north from Vancouver. Consisting of a number of one and two pitch cliffs around Browning Lake, this area is a popular alternative to the Smoke Bluffs, and can sometimes be crowded, though there are plenty of climbs to go round.

Location

Heading north from Vancouver, Murrin Park is 2km past Brittania Beach, and 6km south of Squamish. At the top of hill past the Furry Creek golf course, just after the 4-lane section of the highway ends, Browning Lake comes into view on the west side of the highway. The parking lot is just north of the lake.

The Climbs

Murrin has well over 100 routes, both cracks and face routes, from low angle slabs to vicious overhangs and roofs. The rock texture is highly varied, ranging from some fairly typical smooth Squamish granite on the Xodus and Brunser walls to the highly featured Milkman’s Wall and the steep, edgy Petrifying Wall. With the wide variety of climbs comes a good mix of gear and sport routes. In the 5.10 range and below, a rack is very useful, as most of the routes do not even have bolt anchors at the top. Bolt protected routes predominate at the higher end of the spectrum. I have detailed some of the best cliffs at Murrin Park below :

The Bog Wall

This is the short, dark wall on the west side of the parking lot. It offers a couple decent routes, though its popularity is more likely due to the short approach. If you get a good parking spot it is possible to belay from in the car.

The Milkman’s Wall

A featured, overhanging wall with a number of outstanding routes. The Squamish classic Horror’s of Ivan and a number of other 5.11’s complement the excellent crackline of The World’s Toughest Milkman, a strong contender for Squamish's steepest 5.8.

The Shaman

The Shaman offers a number of good one and two pitch climbs.

The Petrifying Wall

With over 40 climbs, almost all 5.12 and up, the near vertical Petrifying Wall has the best concentration of good, hard face climbs in Squamish.

Up Among the Firs

The longest approach in Murrin, but well worth it for a number of quality routes. Mostly in the 5.10 range, a good mix of delightful cracklines and bolted faces.

Sugarloaf

The highly featured and gently angled cliff below the hydro pole provides an excellent place to teach beginners. Otherwise best avoided for the crowds of novices it attracts.

Nightmare Rock

This cliff is dominated by an imposing 20 foot roof. If you don’t think it is that big from the highway, hike up and take a look from the base of the cliff. The roof sports two climbs, Grandaddy Overhang and Big Daddy Overhang, both fantastic routes (well, that’s what the guide says). In addition, the Sentry Box, a roof and thin crack slightly to the north, was one of the first 5.12’s in North America. For us mortals the first half of Sentry Box is a fine 10a and Perspective a worthwhile 11a.