Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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49.68696°N / 123.14163°W |
Route Type:
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Trad Climbing |
Season:
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Summer |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Rock Difficulty:
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5.10b (YDS) |
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Number of Pitches:
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13 |
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Grade:
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III |
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Overview
Angel's Crest is a fun climb that gets you to the top of Squamish's chief. It follows a prominent butress 600m long along the right edge of the North Gully. A 20 minute hike gets you to the base of the buttress.The climb itself is quite varied. It starts by climbing a tree to gain the buttress itself before actual rock climbing begins.
Getting There
From Vancouver, take highway 1 West to Horseshoe bay where it turns into highway 99 North. Just before you get to the village, you will pass a parking area on the right where the climber's campground is situated. If camping this is where you want to park and then walk down to the Mamquam forest service road. Alternatively, continue past the campground and turn right at the road. Immediately on your right is the parking area for the apron. You may park here. If you choose this latter option, do not leave any valuables in your car as there have been numerous thefts in this car park. Walk along the forest service road for 20-25 minutes until below the Angel's crest. A small cairn marks the start of the trail in the woods which leads to the base of the climb.Route Description
From the Mamquam forest service road, hike up through the trees to the start of Angel's Crest on the right side of the North Gully.Just to the left of the buttress climb a large tree to get on the route proper. Once on the actual buttress several quality rock pitches are encountered interspersed with treed ledges, hiking and scrambling. Here are some of the best pitches:
Pitch 3 (5.10b): Angel Crack, a top quality left slanting finger crack
Pitch 4 (5.10b): An enjoyable face climb well protected by a mix of bolts and gear
Pitch 10ish (5.7): the Acrophobes Towers, A knife edge over which you climb to eventually rappel off the back side. Positions are fantastic here
Pitch 12 (5.10b): A fantastic assortment of laybacking and jamming will get you to the top of this high quality pitch with breathtaking exposure.
Pitch 13 (5.8): A crawl along a ledge will lead you to an amazing chimney with plenty of air below your feet. Climb this and savour the view from the top!
For a detailed description, please refer to the area guidebook "Squamish Select" by Mark Bourdon.