Squamish - The Grand Wall

The Grand Wall is THE route to do at Squamish. It is 9 pitches long, about 1,000 feet from the ground to Bellygood ledge, and each pitch is spectacular in its own way. The descent involves walking off Bellygood ledge, which is about 2 feet wide with a sheer drop of nearly 1,000 feet on one side and a steep wall on the other side. More on this later.

The Grand Wall

The Grand Wall Topo with pitches listed

Joe and I set out to climb The Grand Wall on the third day of our Squamish trip. This route would be a good test of our abilities, both physical and mental. 

We got up at about 6 am, had a quick breakfast and drove to the lower parking lot at The Chief. The hike up to the base of the climb is pretty short, about 20 minutes or so. This normally 'ho-hum' hike proved to be rather exciting on this day. In my excitement to get to the climb I wasn't paying a great deal of attention to the trail, which meanders through the woods around many large boulders. I noticed that we were no longer on the main trail but I wasn't concerned. There are faint trails all over the place in these woods and if you just keep going up you'll get to the base of the Grand Wall. As we scrambled across some large moss covered boulders I heard Joe holler "Ow! BEES!" Before I had time to take another step I had been stung twice, once on the top of my head and once on my ear. Joe had been stung at least two times as well. We made a beeline (Ha!) away from enemy territory and managed to avoid further conflict. In his haste to escape the wrath of the bees, Joe had taken a stick to the hand and was leaking blood. He was able to get the bleeding stopped without too much difficulty and the wound ended up being well protecting in his tape gloves. Joe joked that my guide fee was going to take a serious hit for this incident.

After scrambling up the flake escape ledges to the base of the approach climb, called Mercy Me, we assessed the situation. It is rare to have this climb to yourself and this day was no exception. There was one party on the first pitch of Mercy Me and another just finishing up The Flake, a two pitch climb that joins Mercy Me at the ledge that we were on. These two parties were climbing together so we waited for the second party to follow the first. If we had gotten there about 30 minutes earlier we would have had first dibs on the climb. Shucks anyhew! Oh well, you snooze you lose. 

We waited for about an hour for both parties to clear out, wanting to give them a little breathing room. Joe and I climb fairly fast and I figured that it was more comfortable to wait on this nice, roomy ledge than at a hanging belay up on the wall. Plus there was nobody behind us so there was no reason to rush.

Joe watching and waiting

We decided to stick with our usual practice of swapping leads. I led the first pitch of Mercy Me, a 5.7 pitch up a dike system. The climbing was easy but there were only three bolts on this 130 foot pitch. Not a good place to fall. It kept my attention for the duration. Joe led the next pitch of Mercy Me up to an anchor at the base of the headwall. This pitch was pretty easy as well, going at 5.8, but was also sparsely bolted.

Looking down pitch 1

Joe leading pitch 2

I led pitch 3 (5.10b A0), which traverses along the headwall, then up an awkward flake to a steep face with a short bolt ladder. This pitch ends at the base of the Split Pillar where the 'real' climbing starts.

Hanging out on the pine tree at the base of the Split Pillar 

At this point we caught up to the second party, who were struggling with the Split Pillar. It's not uncommon. Why? Because it's hard! I think people underestimate the difficulty of this pitch. It starts out as a finger sized crack that opens to hands, then fists and introduces a little off width (larger than fists) at the end. It's 'just' 5.10b but it is long (about 130 feet), very steep, sustained climbing. There aren't many features on the face so rest stances (without hanging) involve getting both hands and feet in the crack. It's downright burly and if you're not smart about finding rest spots you'll get a smack down. The party in front of us meekly swapped leaders to finish the pitch. After another 45 minute wait we were able to start climbing again.

Joe led the Split Pillar and did a fine job of it. He stopped to rest just once. It's the smart thing to do if you feel your forearms going. If you blow all of your energy on this pitch you're going to have a tough time with the rest of the climb. This pitch is just the beginning. Those above are technically more difficult.

Joe leading the Split Pillar

Layback technique

Crack technique with hands and feet in the crack

The Split Pillar - a beautiful pitch!

By the time I had followed and cleaned the Split Pillar the party above us was making good progress on the bolt ladder above The Sword. I rested a bit and then cast off into the sea of granite above. The Sword pitch is the hardest technical pitch on the route, going at 5.11a. The difficult sections of this pitch are split into two rather short cruxes near the beginning and at the end. It's still hard for me but I managed to get it clean. I continued up the bolt ladder, linking The Sword and the bolt ladder into one long pitch. Joe got The Sword pitch clean as well, following and cleaning the gear, and made quick work of the bolt ladder.

Joe starting the bolt ladder

Joe near the top of the bolt ladder

The next pitch, Perry's Layback, was another doozy. It goes at 5.11a as well and the name is descriptive; it involves layback moves nearly the entire way. There is nothing tricky about it. It's just powerful. Fortunately, the bolts are close together so one can aid or “French Free” if in a bind. Joe did an excellent job of leading this pitch and came pretty close to getting it clean.

Joe starting Perry's Layback

Near the top of this pitch there is an awesome hands-free rest that you just can't pass up. I thought that perhaps I'd be able to get this pitch clean when following it but removing the draws took too much energy and I had to hang and rest once. Ah well, maybe next time.

Sweet no-hands rest

After Perry's Layback the climb eases up a bit. The next pitch, called The Flats, is a traversing, mostly slab pitch going at 5.10a. The sudden change in climbing style from steep and burly with relatively large holds to low angle friction climbing with small holds requires a mental adjustment. It forces you to trust your feet because the hand holds are very small. It's a nice little twist thrown in there at the end of a great climb to keep you on your toes (literally). There is one move on this pitch that is height dependent. I'm just tall enough to do it static but it's at the end of my reach. Envision trying to hold your body weight with two fingers, your body fully extended, until you can bump your other hand up to a decent hold. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. Joe followed and made it look easy with his positive ape index (i.e., long reach).

Joe following The Flats

One pitch to go! Sail Flake, which goes at 5.10c, has several interesting aspects to it. A pine tree on the left side of the ledge allows access to a ramp, which enables an easy traverse right into the main corner. It's not often that you get to climb a tree 900 feet up a major route. The climb then goes up a corner for about 10 feet, traverses right for about 10 to 15 feet out Sail Flake, surmounts the flake and then traverses back left along the top of the flake into the corner again. The traverse out the flake to the right requires undercling technique. It consumes your forearms rather quickly, especially after doing Perry's Layback. There are two key footholds that are a big help for placing gear and resting your arms.

Joe climbing the tree

Joe starting up Sail Flake

Joe past the hard part of Sail Flake

I followed Joe up this last pitch and that was that. We had done it! It was about 2:30 pm, roughly 7 hours and 30 minutes from when we reached the base of the climb. Take out an hour and 45 minutes of waiting on the party ahead of us and that's not too shabby; about 40 minutes per pitch. This climb definitely lives up to the hype. It was hard enough to make us glad that we were finished but not hard enough to make us feel like we'd taken a beating.

We took a short rest, drank some water and got some food in us before attempting the second half of the climb; the descent. You can't forget about the descent. It's easy to let your guard down and that's when you get into trouble. Especially with Bellygood ledge in front of us.

Bellygood ledge

The narrow portion of Bellygood ledge

I can just imagine how Bellygood ledge was named. Let your mind go for a minute and consider the circumstances that have gotten you up here. You've just finished climbing the route, which has pushed you physically and mentally. You're ready for an easy walk off through the woods. But alas, you have this obstacle in front of you. You've got climbing gear on both sides of your harness, which could catch or brush against the wall to your left, causing you to lose your balance. You're physically and mentally drained so you're in the "easily sketched" zone. You look at the ledge and say to your partner "I'm not feeling it man, walking across that ledge right now is nuts." Your partner says "how about crawling across on your belly?" You say "belly is good." The name is appropriate.

The first time I crossed this ledge several years ago I did go across on my belly. I had led every pitch of the climb and was pretty well shot mentally. I am happy to report that Joe and I both crossed the ledge on our feet this time, underclinging the wall on the left side to keep our balance. There were two areas where we roped up and belayed. The rest of it was pretty comfortable and safe without a belay.

Joe underclinging Bellygood ledge

Joe belaying me - or is he eating a sandwich?

At the end of Bellygood ledge we arranged our gear, finished our water and began the hike down the mountain. It took us a little under an hour to reach the car, where we were quite happy to shed the load of our climbing gear. We congratulated each other for a successful outing. It was a great day for a great climb. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Stay tuned for the next trip...Granite Mountain near Prescott, AZ.