Squamish Access Society

Over the winter, the massive tree which stood at the base of Golden Beard split in half and the top toppled down the boulder slope toward the highway, finally resting across the climbers trail just uphill and south from Road Warrior crag. This massive trunk and a tangle of branches now needs to be dealt with to gain access to the main Rogues areas. We hope to organize a quick solution to the matter sometime this Spring; most likely an innovative set of stairs up and over the trunk, as the neighbouring slopes of scree and boulders are difficult to navigate. Base work at Hoods in the Woods might be undertaken at the same time, to mitigate the rapid erosion and unfriendly belay stances.

The highway work in the Rogues Gallery area is finally complete. There are still three lanes, two northbound and one southbound, separated by a rumble strip (no concrete barriers). The parking situation is significantly altered. There is a gravel pullout just under the crags on the east side of the road, as before, but the sightlines for scoping northbound traffic are now very poor and this is not a safe place to park. There is a new pullout for southbound traffic approximately 100 meters south of the crag, on the west (river) side of the highway. The only legal way to enter it however is when driving southbound. For climbers coming from Squamish or Vancouver, the legal way to change directions is located about 2.3 kilometers to the north, where a turning lane shunts you onto the bridge over the river, where you can turn around and head back South. About 5 minutes at a max, that’s all.

Despite the heavy construction presence in the area, parking and climbing at Rogue’s has remained open throughout. In the absence of signage indicating otherwise, climbers should continue to use whichever areas are free in the old parking zone. We commend the contractor, Peter Kiewit Sons’, for their diligence in that regard. No crag losses are anticipated, but a new parking situation will evolve as construction winds down in late 2006.