American Alpine Institute – Climbing Blog: Route Profile: Angel’s Crest (5.10b, IV)

The Angel’s Crest is likely the most beautiful route of its grade in Squamish. The line takes you up a perfect ridge from low on the Stawamus Chief all the way up to its summit. The bulk of the climbing is moderate and most of the cruxes are short…but you have to be on your A game. The route is incredibly long and early morning crowds at the base are common!

Angel’s Crest

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Approach: Park at the climber’s parking area below the Apron in Squamish. Exit the parking lot and walk along the dirt road for about ten minutes. You will pass a couple of trails before you get to the right one. The trail that you will use to access the route is on the right side of the road and is near where many people park and pirate camp. There is a sign just up the trail that says, “Angel’s Crest.” Follow the trail up, passing a few trees with an “AC” on them. Eventually you will come to a boulder field with a drainage. You can climb the 5.10b variation at the foot of the buttress (bolts visible) or walk up the drainage to where a tree touches the rock. Most people climb the tree on the first pitch. The approach should take about 35 minutes.

Pitch One: Climb up the tree – which is suprisingly cruxy near the ground – to terrain where it’s easy to access the rock. Traverse right along an easy ledge system. Scramble up to bolts at the end of the pitch. If you climb up anything that’s mossy or weird, you climbed up too early. Stay on the ledge until you find a simple way up to the anchor. (5.7, 150′)

The Tree Pitch

Pitch Two: Angle up the beautiful Angel Crack. The crack gets harder as you get higher, but the crux is short. Remember to protect your second at the crux as a fall could unravel the rope. (5.10b, 60′)

Climbing out onto Angel’s Crack

Pitch Three: Continue up a slab passing two bolts. Continue up a short crack and then traverse to a tree and slung boulder. (5.10b, 60′)

Pitch Four: Lieback up a 5.7 corner to easy climbing and a belay. (5.7, 100′)

Pitch Five: Continue up a right facing corner to easer climbing and a ledge. (5.10a, 100′)

Pitch Six: Ramble up the easiest line to a bushy ledge. (5.7, 150′) Once both you and your partner are up, move the belay to the base of the next steep groove.

NOTE: You can escape climber’s left into the gully from this point with two rappels.

Pitch Seven: This is a harder-than-it-looks pitch. Work up the climb moving over a small bulge on the left. Continue up into a corner and belay in the trees above. (5.10a, 100′)

Move the belay up through the trees to either the base of the offwidth crack or the bottom of another groove on the right. This ledge is called Sasquatch Ledge.

Pitch Eight: There are two options here. Climb the 7-inch wide offwidth (5.10b, 100′) or climb the groove to the right. (5.9, 100′). Either way, you’ll belay in the trees above.

Hike up through the trees to the next pitch. Take time to notice the Totem Pole on the ledge. This was made by local climbers to honor the memory of Ben DeMenech, a climber who died in a fall in 2001.

The totem in the woods for Ben DeMenech.

Pitch Nine: Climb up the easy terrain into the Acrophobe Towers. Work up and right to a bolted belay that hangs above the opposite side of the towers. This is an awesome pitch! (5.6, 175′)

Hidden in the shade on the Acrophobe Towers.

Rappel: Make a thirty-foot rappel to a good stance directly below the tower.

Pitch 10: Climb through a notch out to the right and up to the another notch and a bolt with a rope hanging down the other side. (5.6, 60′) Use the rope to climb down approximately 30-feet. At the time of this writing, the rope was damaged and was in need of replacement. It would be possible to downclimb the terrain below at 5.8. It would also be possible to leave a carabiner on the bolt to protect the leader and the follower. The carabiner could be left for the next party if needed.

Pitch 11: Climb up past a tree to easier terrain and a large boulder. Build an anchor. (5.6, 50′).

Pitch 12: Climb a small tree and then work through steep terrain to easier climbing on the “Whaleback Arete.” Continue past a tree and onto the right side of the feature. Build a trad belay anchor just down and left of the crack system with a piton in it. (5.8, 100′)

At the top of the Whaleback Arete.

Pitch 13: Climb up and right passing a piton in the crack. As of this writing, the piton was cracked and shouldn’t be thought of as acceptable protection. Note that there are good holds and another crack system up and left of the crack with the piton in it. Continue up the crack system into a wide offwidth section (crux). Squirm up the offwidth onto easier, but still steep 5.9 terrain above. Build an anchor on a nice ledge with two bolts. (5.10b, 100′) This pitch is sustained and is likely the crux of the route.

Pitch 14: Worm your way under an overhang and behind a tree to an intimidating squeeze chimney. Slither up the chimney. The terrain gets easier as you get higher. Belay off trees on the summit! (5.8, 100′)

Descent: Walk southwest across the summit. Follow your nose down trails that will become busier with more steps the lower you go. At the base of the chief, follow the trail to the right through the campground to a large parking lot. Continue right on another trail under the Apron to the Apron Parking Lot and your car. The descent will take between and hour and an hour-and-a-half, depending on how tired you are…!

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Topos for this route appear to be all over the place. But I tried my hand at it as well. Enjoy!

–Jason D. Martin