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It was the big walls of the Chief which first attracted climbers to Squamish, nearly half a century ago. In recent years there has been a resurgence in aid climbing at Squamish as climbers seek to escape the crowds in a solitude of vertical granite. That said, it is still rare to see more than one party aiding anywhere on the entire chief, let alone on the same route.
The aid walls on the Chief are characterized by long arching dihedrals, thin seams, and quartzite or apalite dikes. Many features are not as they appear from the ground however, as corners may be slammed shut, or seemingly blank sections may afford thin seams or delicate hooking.
With today's microcamming units and other modern tricks of the trade, many routes which were once dicey nail-ups or expanding flakes may now be climbed clean. Squamish granite has not suffered from the effects of liberally swung hammers to the same degree as other areas such as Yosemite, and many routes have seen few repeat ascents and are still in relatively virgin condition. It is up to every climber to try to climb as clean as possible to keep these routes in as close to a natural state as possible for future climbers to enjoy.
For better or worse, detailed and accurate topos of Squamish aid walls are not common. Most of the routes are described in the McLane guidebooks, but tend to be quite inaccurate particularly in terms of grades. Rock and Ice published some fairly accurate topos in an article by Sean Easton a couple years back, though the new wave-ish grades tend to be a bit sandbagged.
The charts below are intended to give some information and opinions on the routes which I have done myself or have first hand information about from friends who have done them. Grades I have given (MB) are intended to be comparable to those in the Supertopos guide for routes I have done in Yosemite .
| Wrist Twister | A3/C4 (McLane) A1+ (Easton) C2+ (MB) |
3 pitches, 6-8 hours |
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A delightful excursion up the south end of the blank looking Tantalus Wall. An excellent introduction to tricky aid placements, though never too far from bomber gear. Some lead bolts are manky, though the important ones and all belays are solid. A few old fixed heads still exist on the route, I've blown a couple and managed to get around by hooking. Goes clean with occasional dicey camming and hooking and the odd bit of trickery like hooking on dead heads. The final pitch is a bit of a disappointment, mostly manufactured with plentiful bathooks and rivets between good natural hooking on dikes. The approach up the Bullethead gully can be a bit dicey, especially if it is full of snow or ice, but most of the tricky sections have ratty fixed rope or webbing. A fast party should have time to enjoy some cragging in the Bulletheads on the descent. 2 sets small and micro cams |
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| Cannabis Wall | A3/C3 (McLane) | 5 pitches, 1+ days | |||||||||||||
| A surprisingly popular route, usually wet in the lower pitches. And I haven't got up to the upper ones. The second pitch is decent. | |||||||||||||||
| Zorro's Last Ride | A3+ (McLane) | ||||||||||||||
| This route looks much better than it actually is. It climbs to the great roofs on the right side of the grand wall, involving many pitches of uncertain upward driven pins. Above the roof, the dikes and corners which appear enticing from the ground turn out to be rounded and slammed shut. The final pitches are almost entirely manufactured, and are characterized by horrific bolts and bad belays. Most parties do not continue past this point. A stick clip may help if rappelling from above the roof. | |||||||||||||||
| Humpty Dumpty | A3+ (McLane) | 6 pitches, 1-2 days | |||||||||||||
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"Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great..." Named for the huge precariously perched flake atop the 2nd pitch, this climb is a good introduction to steeper and harder aid without any serious danger. I've only been up to the base of the Yellow Sickle, so I don't really know what is past there. Up to that point it would go clean if a couple key fixed heads were in place. few assorted heads |
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| University Wall | C2 (McLane) C2 (Easton) C2 (MB) |
7 pitches, 1-2 days | |||||||||||||
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Although it is now a free climbing testpiece, University Wall still sees more aid than free ascents. A fine introduction to clean aid, and the easiest aid wall up the chief. Mostly C1 thin camming and nutting with occasional tricky bits. The best pitches are the steep lower ones. Can be done in a long day by a fast party. 2 sets micro, small and medium cams |
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| The Sheriffs Badge | A3+ (McLane) A4 (Easton) A3+ (MB) |
10 pitches, 2-3 days | |||||||||||||
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Fantastic rock, a great setting on the secluded north walls, and brilliant super thin features characterize this difficult route. For years, this was the difficult Squamish aid wall. The route links natural thin features for a direct route up the center of the great scar of the Sheriffs Badge, and has surprisingly few bolts. I also have a trip reportish thingy for one of the pitches. lots of thin stuff! |
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Practice Aid
Although the main attraction of aid climbing in Squamish is to get up onto the isolated granite of the walls of the Chief, shorter routes offer a chance to hone one's skills for the big walls, or make the most of a rainy winter day. Many of the difficult thin cracks found throughout the Squamish area provide a good introduction to easy clean aid,
The following areas and climbs may make good practice aid climbs. All are free routes, and as such, should only be clean aided!!
Smoke Bluffs:
The free testpiece Zombie Roof probably receives more aid than free ascents, mostly on rainy winter weekends. Good nutting and camming leads out the huge roof. C1
King of Rock and There You Go Andy, just around the corner from the ever crowded Neat and Cool area, are both good introductions to thin clean aid. A mix of thin nutting and camming as well as hooking. Bring cam hooks and beaks as well. Digital Dexterity near Pixie Corner is a good route to practice hooking, beaking and cam hooking. Bolts on these routes may be clipped as protection to keep the difficulty to C2, but are not needed for upward progress. Routes may be C3-C4 without clipping the bolts.
