Author: Tim Patmont

The reviews are in, Prusik peak is as good as they say. Chase and I climbed it last Thursday (7/20) via the Beckey-Davis route on the south face. I would summarize the route as sustained alpine granite fun. The following is a summary of approach/descent and a pitch-by-pitch recap of the climb. Hopefully this helps the next aspiring Beckey wannabe find their way up the route.

Approach – we started from Snow Creek TH at 4:30 AM, got to lake Viviane by 8:30 AM, filled up our water bottles, and maneuvered around the east side of the lake to the base of the climb. We started climbing around 9:30 AM.

Pitch 1 – The Chimney (5.7), probably the least enjoyable pitch of the climb. Just general awkward stemming up the thing, good pro though. If I were doing this again I would go up the 5.8+ wavy crack to the left of the chimney, it looked more enjoyable and you can traverse over

Pitch 2 – (5.7?) We went far right from the belay ledge above the chimney and got into some face climbing and hollow flakes. Not great.

Pitch 3 – (5.7) This is where the climbing gets good and the exposure starts. fun blocky climbing to your pick of belay ledges. This pitch would be easy to pass a party if needed. We didn’t have anyone else on the route with us.

Pitch 4 – the Traverse (low 5th) – traverse down a steep step, then up another steep step to a tree belay, now you’re at the base of the crux pitch, but you could climb another 10-15 feet if rope drag is managed.

Pitch 5 – the Crux (5.9) – super fun and positive laybacking in a right-facing corner, then a left facing corner which ends us getting really hard, at which point you have to make a step across to the left and easier climbin. Great pro. This route just eats big pro (1 to 4).

Pitch 6 – (5.7) fun climbing to the “notch” at the base of the true north summit.

Pitch 7 – (5.7) a low-angle ramp on the north side of the peak will take you to the top! the 10a variation looks fun too but we were worked.

 

Descent – Descend via the north face rappels (took us ~6 rappels with a single 60m). Then its a quick walk around to the base of the west ridge and one more rappel gets you to the south face. took us 2 hours from summit back to packs. Then a long walk back to the car. All in all is took us 21 hours car to car. Fun and exhausting day capped with Tim’s Jalapenp chips, the best there is. Great climbing Chase!

 

Turquoise water was white-capping on the left as a massive chunk of granite came into view on the opposite side of the road. The thousand foot walls of grey granite occasionally streaked black with lichen stood proud over the valley. This is bigger than I remember, I thought to myself. Or maybe I was just looking closer this time…

It started as it always does, with mutual acknowledgment of an open weekend and an ambition to get after it. We were looking to climb rock after a relatively low-key August. David was still riding high from his previous trip to Squamish, and I heard good things, so it was decided we would head north.

One of the most challenging aspects of climbing in Squamish is picking an objective. By some counts there are over 1,500 established rock climbs in the area. Each one has something unique to offer. Friends say do this, locals say do that, everyone says you can’t go wrong. Naturally, David and I coalesced around the most ambitious climb within our reach, the North Face of Squamish Buttress (a.k.a. Butt Light, The Butt Face). The 15-pitch climb would take us up a mountain known as The Chief by linking up multiple rock routes.

Approach – We left Seattle on Friday afternoon, made a “quick” stopover in Bellingham for beers/ tacos/margaritas, and cruised into the Stawamus Chief campground at midnight. Sleep would be advised but David handed me a Kokanee (or two?) and we passed out closer to 1 AM.

We woke up at 7 AM and drove a couple minutes to the parking lot of the base of the Chief. After a coffee and energy bar, the time to leave was upon us. A quick, 10-minute scramble had us at the base of our first route, Deidre.

Route 1 – Deidre

Pitches 1 & 2 – The warm up. Both pitches were straight-forward slab climbing. 5.6/5.7

Pitch 3 – The going gets good. I lead a 25-meter pitch up a dihedral layback, very aesthetic! 5.8

Pitch 4 – David puts in a lead continuing up the dihedral. He starts bringing me up. DANGER! FALLING PHONE! Crap. The zipper on my soft shell Mountain Hardwear pant busts and my iPhone pops out, careening down the granite wall. A couple parties valiantly try to reach out for it but are unsuccessful. RIP. 5.8

Pitches 5 & 6 – I lead the easy 5^th pitch. David takes us to the end with an awkward move up to a tree belay. Both pitches were hard to protect. Not inspiring. 5.6, 5.8

We topped out on Deidre, but I was feeling low. Aside from pitches 3 and 4 it wasn’t very fun. The climbing was run out at times. It would only get harder from here, too. I suggested we go back to the car and find other, less committing stuff to climb. David was cool with it. We started our walk down when David pointed out the rest of the route up The Chief harmlessly saying “we’ll get it another time…” I took one look and changed my mind. Nah, let’s go for it!

Route 2 – Boomstick Crack

Pitch 7 – Boomstick crack was super fun. Still not sure I climbed it right with my hands in the crack and my feet smearing, but boy was it good. Belayed David up from the second tree. 5.6

Pitch 8 – Not needed. David went 10M up to another tree belay. I recommend linking these two pitches.

Between Boomstick and the next pitch on Squamish buttress is a well-worn path through the “Enchanted Forest”. This offered a nice reprieve from the wall for 10 minutes of walking.

 

Route 3 – We are on it now, Squamish Buttress

Pitch 9 – Start spicy with an unprotected roof move followed by a face climb. Protection leaves something to be desired here. Drink your first beer. 5.8+

Pitches 10 through 12 – Continue generally up the ridge. The climbing is straight-forward. Nothing much to say. Low 5^th

Pitch 13 – Where the wall gets vertical you have to traverse left into a gully system on the north face of the buttress. This pitch is a classic; lots of exposure but great protection. Finish on some ledges and a bolted belay station. 5.9

Pitch 14 – Thank god for David. I was tired, arguably shook at this point. I asked him to lead the chimney pitch, which is the other crux of the climb, and he nailed it. He made an awkward roof move look like icing a cake. A little here. a little there. 5.8+

Pitch 15 – Zig zag to the top out on easy ledges.

In total it took us about 9 hours up. An easy walk down and a couple beers at the parking lot and life was good again. I’m proud of David and myself for knocking this one out, when we could have easily given up. On a related note, I’m moving to Squamish.