Calculus Crack + Squamish Butt Face (5.9)

Up the Chief

After a mega day on the Tantalus Traverse, Logan and I spent a few days recovering before going for the Chief. Coming out of “rock retirement”, we wanted to climb the Chief via the easiest route possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for easy multipitches on the Apron, and the new route Squamish Buttress Face offers a 5.9 route to the very top!

Making sure to beat the heat, we pulled into the parking lot for the Apron around 6 AM. Talking to the other climbers in the parking lot, it seemed like no one else was going for Calculus Crack (5.8, 5p). It was a short hike into the woods to the beginning. The first pitch is an impressive reclamation project from the forest. The roots are part of the climb.

The very PNW-esque start to Calculus.

The second pitch actually felt dirtier and cruxier, but the climbing only got better from there.

Easy wide cracks on P3.

I led the crux fourth pitch, which had excellent finger locks off the deck. This was my favorite pitch of the entire climb!

Logan following P4.
Logan leading P5.

After five pitches, we packed up the rope and scrambled rightwards. Karen’s Math and Memorial Crack was a more direct way to get to the upper pitches, but we wanted to keep it easy, so traversed over to Boomstick Crack. Real climbers will complain about how far away it is, but it took probably 10 minutes. Boomstick was easy and excellent!

Wonderful Boomstick Crack.

From the top of Boomstick, it was a bit of a hike to the start of the Squamish Buttress. There were a few guided parties ahead of us and one behind, but everyone was pretty dialed and extremely friendly. The guides gave us helpful tips on where to belay and such. Canadians are so nice!

The first pitch of the Buttress has a spooky 5.8 slab move that is the mental crux of the route, at least for the follower who is risking a massive pendulum fall if the leader doesn’t get a piece in above. We both cheated and used to the bolt.

The next few pitches are easier and wander, much like an alpine climb. Then we broke off left to the new 5.9 Buttress Face route.

Looking at the crux of the Butt Face.

The crux pitch has some steep finger cracks followed by some bolt-protected face moves. The sequence was not super obvious. I was quite pumped by the time I got through it. One last chimney section led us to the upper tiers, where we could scrambled to the summit!

The Howe Sound from the First Chief.

We lounged in the sun for a while before enjoying a quick hike down the Chief and back to our car. It was very fun to climb a route up the Chief at such an accessible grade. While we may not climb much anymore, Logan and I still find joy in the movement of moderate multipitch climbs. Squamish is a great place to rekindle that joy of climbing!

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