Help!!!
This is a grassroots site for the purpose of storing new route information and supporting the Seatoskyroutedevelopment fund. We’re looking for some help to fix up and improve this site. If anyone has expertise and can donate some time (Squarespace platform) please send us an email at seatoskyclimbing@gmail.com. Please only get in touch if you are 100% committed and able in helping out. Thank you!!
A bounty is coming and “stay off my proj!”
The dry weather has arrived and crags are as busy as ever. Good thing there are some new crags that will be unveiled soon thanks to the continued donations to the hardware fund. Keep checking back here for the latest offerings.
There has been some interesting discussion lately regarding new projects that haven’t been FA’d yet, and how long they can remain a project (FA is First Ascent for those that may not know). Well I’m going to use this pedestal to put in my two cents on the matter (even though I haven’t been personally affected by this issue).
There is no time limit!
I’ve always found it slightly annoying that some climbers think that once a route has been freshly scrubbed and prepped for an FA that all of a sudden the clock starts ticking. Just because someone decided to put in the effort and had the vision for the line, it doesn’t mean they have to be held by some arbitrary time limitations. I would argue that 95% of the new routes established in the corridor do eventually get FA’d by the person who put the time in to clean the route. Sometimes the FA is given to someone else as a nice gesture, but otherwise it’s given up because the developer can’t do it for whatever reason. In my experience, obvious lines that are too hard do get given up if they can’t be done for whatever reason. There has been the odd route that has been snaked for the FA but overall I think our community is pretty good about these things.
(I would also add that showing up at someone’s new line and trying to add a variation to their unclimbed line is not cool, again, patience is required.)
There’s plenty of rock to just waiting for a first ascent, so grab a brush and get your own FA. Otherwise you’ll just have to wait.
How do you know if it’s a new route project? Any tape/ribbon on the first bolt or stuck in the crack (usually red or pink), sometimes P or Proj is written in chalk, obviously a fixed rope still on it etc.
-P.Winter
Ursa Minor 5.9
If you’ve done Frontside 180 already or even if you haven’t, perhaps give this one a try. Not as long, but WAY less people. Consider it for a busy weekend option. Reported as well protected with some interesting rock, and you can walk to it from the Chek campground. Just a thought……
Go Climb Somewhere Else….
No, this isn’t Covid shaming. There are a lot of new routes out there and a couple of new quidebooks. Perhaps think about climbing “somewhere else” for a change. Check out those freshly scrubbed routes that will certainly green over if they don’t get attention. Yesterday, we checked out Harry Young’s crag, Golden Gate. High above the Chief in a nice setting. Bullet granite with some great 5.10 crack climbing including, IMO, one of the best 5.10 cracks in Squamish: Natural Perfection (pictured above). If you don’t have a 4x4 to drive up there, it’s about a 20 min walk from the top of the gondola. Or, if you want some nice moderate stuff, the backside of the Papoose, developed by Nick McNutt, has some unique rock, Groove Tube at 5.8 is fun. Want harder? Go to the Laboratory or Omega Wall, both are great. These are just a few examples of the loads of new routes and crags to enjoy on those busy weekends. So don’t wait for them to appear in a guidebook, get after them now.
-Peter Winter
Welcome to Sea to Sky Climbing!
It all begins with an idea.
This site was created to encompass all the new route information scattered throughout the internet and elsewhere. This site is in its early stages and will be a work in progress as we decide to implement new ideas and content, such as photos, stories and route developer profiles.. It will however, always stay true to its purpose, and that is to act as a central database for new route information - a place to come for the latest, freshly cleaned routes and topos for recently developed crags which anyone can access and use as they see fit.
New route information is terribly fragmented these days as it gets posted to Facebook, Instagram, Mountain Project, Sendage, etc or sent via emails or pictures of hand drawn topos. While this may seem as yet another fragmentation it will be different in that the information from all those sources will be collected and posted to this site. Also, the people behind this site usually have first hand knowledge of routes that have just been developed. See the About page.
This is a grassroots website. There is no copyright and no profit. We may accept a couple of ads to pay for the site, currently $400/year. We will do our best to gather new route info as it becomes available but we’ll rely on the route developers to forward us that information.
The other purpose of this site is to draw attention to the Sea to Sky Route Development Fund - originally set up by in 2018. This fund is a major source of hardware for the route developers in the corridor. It has been a success so far but needs continued support. More donations to the fund, means more routes, it’s that simple.
So we hope you will benefit from this site and will donate to the development fund. Suggestions of what else you want to see on this site will be welcome.
Finally, to submit new route information or to apply for support from the Sea to Sky Route Development fund - please email seatoskyclimbing@gmail.com