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The Chief

Submitted By: Jesse James on Mar 13, 2006
Administrator: Peter Spindloe
Elevation: 2,303 feet
Latitude: 49.6867  Longitude: -123.1350 
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BETA PHOTO: Panoramic shot of the Chief from the top of the Ma...


Description 

The chief is the giant dome that can be seen from just about anywhere in Squamish. Routes can be incredibly varied from runout slabs to spliter cracks to bolted face climbs.


Getting There 

Take the sea to sky highway north from vancouver to the parking lot on the right side just before the town of squamish.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Chief:
The Cutting Edge   V4     Boulder, 10 feet   Apron Boulders
Superfly   V4     Boulder   Grand Wall Boulders
Easy in an Easy Chair   V4     Boulder   Grand Wall Boulders
Viper   V5     Boulder   Grand Wall Boulders
Diedre   5.8     Trad, 6 pitches, Grade II   The Apron
St. Vitus' Dance   5.9     Trad, 4 pitches, 600 feet   The Apron
Snake   5.9     Trad, 5 pitches, Grade II   The Apron
Rock On   5.10a     Trad, 5 pitches, 400 feet, Grade II   The Apron
Blazing Saddles   5.10b     Trad, 2 pitches, 200 feet   The Sheriff's Badge
Arrowroot   5.10b     Trad, 1 pitch, 115 feet   Grand Wall Base Area
Angel's Crest   5.10b     Trad, 13 pitches, Grade IV   The Sheriff's Badge
Apron Strings   5.10b     Trad, 2 pitches, 300 feet   Grand Wall Base Area
Seasoned in the Sun   5.10b     Trad, 1 pitch, 95 feet   Grand Wall Base Area
Exasperator   5.10c     Trad, 2 pitches, 150 feet   Grand Wall Base Area
Sunblessed   5.10c PG13     Trad, 3 pitches, 300 feet   The Solarium
Cruel Shoes   5.10d     Trad, 6 pitches, 600 feet   Grand Wall Area
Borderline   5.10d     Trad, 6 pitches, 600 feet, Grade III   The Sheriff's Badge
Rutabaga   5.11a     Trad, 2 pitches   Grand Wall Base Area
The Grand Wall   5.11a A0     Trad, Aid, 9 pitches, 1000 feet, Grade III   Grand Wall Area
Freeway   5.11c     Trad, 11 pitches   The Dihedrals
Browse More Classics in The Chief

Featured Route For The Chief
Emily Craft on The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge V4  International : Canada : ... : Apron Boulders
Start sitting on the obvious sloping hold and work your way along the arete. Turn the lip and follow the edge to the top. ...[more]   Browse More Classics in International


Photos of The Chief Slideshow Add Photo
This picture, taken from the side of Hwy. 99, a few hundred feet south of the main parking lot, shows most of the Chief's east facing walls. This picture doesn't do the size of the formation justice.<br /><br />From left to right:<br /><br />At the far left of the photo you can just see the top of the Apron (six pitches up, to give you a sense of scale).<br /><br />Then there's the University Wall and Grand Wall areas. The Black Dyke is visible going through the big roofs. <br /><br />The Dihedrals area is the darker section in the middle. Up and right from the Dihedrals you can see the Tantalus wall.<br /><br />Finally, the Bulletheads are on the far right.

BETA PHOTO: This picture, taken from the side of Hwy. 99, a fe...

Looking southwest from the Center Summit of the Chief you can see the South Summit, Howe Sound and Hwy 99.

Looking southwest from the Center Summit of the Ch...

the Chief as seen from Smoke Bluffs

the Chief as seen from Smoke Bluffs

Climbers on the Chief.<br />Photo by Blitzo.

Climbers on the Chief.
Photo by Blitzo.

The Chief from the North (taken from hospital parking lot)

The Chief from the North (taken from hospital park...

Also from the north gully, I think. This may be where the BASE jumpers launch from, but I'm not sure.

Also from the north gully, I think. This may be w...

Looking north from the top of the North Gully. Garibaldi Peak dominates the skyline. The slabs on the right side are the "northern flanks" of the Sqaw. They are up and left of the main climbing found on the Sqaw. Word has it that there has been some exploration and development there lately...

BETA PHOTO: Looking north from the top of the North Gully. Ga...

One of the sections of ladder and chains leading to the South Summit. As a climber you aren't likely to need these, or even encounter them on a climbing day unless you climb on the Raven's Castle. Even the routes that take you high up on the Grand Wall like The Roman Chimneys allow you to traverse off below the summit where these are encountered. For taking non-climbers for a fun hike, however, these features give them a feel of adventure not found on most hikes.

BETA PHOTO: One of the sections of ladder and chains leading t...

A stitched together panoramic of the north walls of the Chief taken from the loop trail in the Smoke Bluffs just above the far right side of Ronin's Corner.<br /><br />Angel's Crest runs up the edge visible in the middle of the image, just left of the Sheriff's Badge.

A stitched together panoramic of the north walls o...