Driving to Squamish:

There are no freeways through Vancouver, just regular street traffic. Rush-hour lasts from about 4:30pm to 6:30pm weekdays, with the Lion's Gate Bridge being the main bottleneck. Slow drivers on the Sea-to-Sky highway are very frustrating as passing lanes are few and far between. Look in your rear-view mirror and use a pullout if there's more than 4 cars behind you dammit.

Camping in Squamish:

'The River' which was the dirt-bag favoured free camping area is closed. Blame a city council that doesn't think it's worth investing in a non-logging related economy. The recommended campsite now is the one below the Chief, run by the Squamish Rockclimbers Association

The Guidebooks:

The 2001 McLane book is the most complete, although the topos and photos are pretty bad. This edition has a YELLOW spine and yellow update/errata pages in the back. Some of the most egregrious errors from the previous edition have been fixed, but not all. There is a separate McLane guidebook for all the areas north of Squamish called Whistler Rockclimbs. It's not really worth getting but there are some climbs in it that are worth doing. The sport climbing I have done up that way was pretty ho-hum, but there are some great climbs in the Cheakamus Canyon. The other current guidebook is Squamish Select by Marc Bourdon and Scott Tasaka, available from Squamish Rock Guides. As is usual for a select book it's missing a lot, and doesn't help if you want to get away from the crowds, but it's a pretty good book especially for visiting climbers. There's so much detail in it you would never be able to claim an on-sight though, if you care.

The new route book is kept in Climb On, which is in the Save-On-Foods mall. Check it out for topos of the new and newly cleaned routes. There's another new route book at the MEC in Vancouver with much the same info.

Access Issues:

Luckily there haven't been many access problems in the past. However the most worrisome closure right now is the entire Lower Malemute. These climbs are on private property, owned by the railroad company and many are very close to the tracks. There was no specific climbing related incident (in 25 years of activity) that led to the closure, but in mid-2001 someone walking on the tracks further south was killed which may have been a factor. The access society and climbers advocacy representatives have been working hard to find a compromise that would permit climbers back to these classic routes. Until that goal has been achieved it is extremely important that the closure be respected. The Climber's Access Society of BC can provide more details.

Amenities:

There are two supermarkets downtown, IGA and Save On Foods. Prices are the same as in the city. Supermarkets don't sell beer in Canada, go to the Liquor Store which is a few shops down from Save On Foods. If the liquor store is closed you can buy off sales at the pubs or at the Cold Beer and Wine store in the Ocean Port Hotel (blue with whale murals) but you will pay more. There is at least one hostel. None of the restaurants/cafe's are irredeemably bad. There is virtually no night-life although occasionally the Brew Pub has bands. I think they show movies at the high school sometimes.

If you are going to buy gear keep in mind that the shops in Squamish are pretty much forced to match the prices of Mountain Equipment Coop. Climb On Equipment and Valhalla Pure are the most popular and knowledgeable stores, Vertical Reality is the other option. The gear stores rent guidebooks, harnesses, shoes, etc. Climb On also has a substantial indoor bouldering cave.

The Climbing:

In general grades in Squamish are a bit soft compared to other places I have visited, especially in the Smoke Bluffs. I haven't climbed enough in Yosemite to be definitive but I'd say at least one maybe one+half grades difference there. About one grade difference to Leavenworth, half to one grade difference to Smith Rock. Most of the climbing is pretty low angle and sticky, well protected and solid. Loose rock is uncommon except in some parts of the grand wall. The harder Apron slab routes (5.9 and up, i.e. Snake, Sparrow, White Lightning) tend to be run-out in spots though usually not at the cruxes. Snake is an exception as most of the cruxes are traverses.

Good Routes, Multi-Pitch:

Calculus Crack
St. Vitus Dance	double cams to #3BD, #4BD, nothing smaller than your thumb
Banana Peel	few small cams+nuts, book/pillow
Snake
Bottom Line
Jungle Warfare	first pitch roof crux, long slings
Squamish Buttress
Star Chek	9 draws, (#.75BD, #1BD), helmets
Eagle's Domain
Bird's Of Prey	top of 3rd pitch traverses 5.9, tricky for second

Specifics, Multi-Pitch:

Squamish Buttress

I think the best approach pitches to the Squamish Buttress are Calculus Crack and Memorial Crack, several alternatives are possible on this general route including the direct start to Calculus Crack, St. Vitus Direct to baseline, Dessert Dyke. All these pitches are direct with little hiking in between, and they all pretty much stick to the South Arete, which means you are climbing the same feature on the mountain the whole time. I think that has more aesthetic appeal than traversing in from any of the climbs on the south or central apron. Above the first buttress pitch (face climbing off Vulcan's Artery) simulclimb as much as you can until you get to the final few .9 steps. Try to get across the Chief summits before dark unless you preview the descent, the trail is mostly marked with orange spraypaint which you may not see by headlamp. It isn't a tough hike (no Death Slabs) but it is much faster when you can see your way, I've done it without a headlamp and it was a drag.

The Apron

The Apron is the most popular multi-pitch climbing area, so it can be very crowded. The two most popular routes are Diedre and Banana Peel, if these are on your tick list bring a book.

Banana Peel is incorrectly drawn on photo pg 239 in the 1999 edition, it is mostly very easy with only a few moves of 5.7. Here's how the lines should go: The common start is marked with an arrow. The first pitch is marked correctly. The wavy line which heads up towards the 5 before following an upper horizontal break to the next tree belay is the 5.8-no-pro pitch he mentions in the text. The regular path of B.Peel is to follow the lower horizontal farther south. It goes up and down in an obvious arch between two substantial tree islands. There is an nicely polished birch tree marking the belay, above which is only about 10m of friction to the upper horizontal fault. On the picture this is marked by the straight line just right of the second #4. The rest of the route is marked OK. A variation that I like is to go left from the groove to join into Sparrow for one pitch. From the fourth marked belay you go left toward where the 5 and 6 are close together. From there it is really nice climbing up a bit of a prow, 5.8 with 1 or 2 bolts, A full 60 metres will get you to the same belay as if you had gone right. The most convenient belay for the final two pitches is at the perched block, but many parties just simul-climb right through to Broadway.

The descent from the Apron is cake, just walk south along Broadway scrambling down a few slightly exposed sections. You have a choice of either hiking down the slabs parallel to the forest (high consequence), or keep going right into the trees and hike down through the forest in the shade. The former is faster, the latter is more relaxing which I prefer. In the boulder field at the bottom just look for the most travelled path.

The Bulletheads

The bulletheads are never as busy as anywhere else (except perhaps the Backside Bluffs). They're pretty scruffy in spots, but the quality routes are clean. A Cream of White Mice and Slot Machine are both great. The Sunshine Chimneys are a lot of squirmy fun. If you camp at the Chief you are right under these climbs.

The Crack Tour

Arguably the best collection of single pitch hand and finger cracks in the 5.9 to 5.10- range are those at the base of the grand wall (Seasoned in the Sun, Exasperator, Arrowroot, Rutabaga, Apron Strings) and those on the Starr Wall, Upper Malemute (Paul's Crack, High Mountain Woody, etc.) These are all accessible from the same parking area.

Good Routes, Single Pitch:

Smoke Bluffs:
Rumours *
The Zip **
Wisecrack *	one move wonder but fun
Movin on Over **	ditto but more fun, polished at bottom
Cold Comfort ***
Lust *
Triage Arete *	not a sport climb despite the bolts!
Laughing Crack ***	beginner friendly
Mosquito *	kinda overhyped, polished
Phlegmish Dance *
Cat Crack **
Corner Crack *
Corn Flakes *
Sally 5 Fingers *
Gross Incompetence **	5.9 exposed, watch rope drag
Geritol *	helps to be not short
Kangaroo Corner *	short but fun, small fingers help
Ali Booto **	sticky friction
Up up and away ***
Penny Lane ***	gear belay at top
Unearthly Delights ***
Octopus' Garden ***
Not Smoke Bluffs:
Avalon Connection p1** p2 ***
Orphan **
Zoe ***
Up From the Bog *
Up among the Firs (whole cliff) **

A little bit of info on Skaha

The current Skaha guide is by Howie Richardson, published by Elaho. If you have the Skaha guide by Kevin McLane himself published by Merlin then it's pretty out of date and incomplete, the Richardson guide is much much better. Skaha is the most contentious climbing area out here as far as access is concern, or at least it generates the most column inches. You can check out the Climber's Access Society newsletters for the latest scoop.

Skaha is different climbing than Squamish, steeper with definitive positive holds. Some people think it's even softer in grading than Sq, but personally I find it kinda hard ... but then I'm weak and easily scared.

Generally well protected although in some cases the bolts are not well situated, i.e. too high off stances. The guidebook is annoying because it is organized alphabetically rather than geographically. Red Tail Wall tends to be a crowd scene, hiking farther, faster, earlier will get you to less trafficked spots. Assholes of August is really good, Naturopath is a pushover .11b. I've heard that Plum Line deserves the ***. The Dream is great. The Top Tier is a beautiful spot, even plenty of scope for FAs here on the wall overlooking Penticton, bring a wire brush. Personally I think Double Exposure is harder than .8 ... but maybe I'm just bitter about it. Mrs. Palmer is full of bird-shit.

The free campground at Carmi is closed now, if you don't mind paying then check out the Waterworld RV park, ask if they have a climber's rate, they have hot-tubs and waterslides, wheee! You may find other climbers at Waterworld to carpool up to Braesyde which will save you a few $$ on the parking fee.