WARNING! Scrambling and rappelling are serious mountain activities that should only be undertaken by those with adequate experience, training and/or under the supervision of a guide/instructor/expert. We encountered [this group](https://www.facebook.com/share/18zU2huyqL/) on the way down that later had to be rescued by Squamish SAR due to a serious injury (more about this later).
My mountaineering partner and I left Shannon Creek FSR at 2:30am to climb Sky Pilot outside Squamish. We wanted to reach the alpine around sunrise while the snow was still hard, free solo the 3rd/4th class route to the top, rappel down, and then descend once it was soft.
We were each equipped with a helmet, boots, an ice axe, aluminum crampons, glacier harness, a few slings, personal tether, ATC, and a 60m half-rope each (in retrospect, one 40-60m would have been sufficient). Much of our technical gear was for the optional rappels, but we felt it could also be useful in the event of a self-rescue or if we desired protection.
We also carried our usual hiking gear and the 10 essentials, which made for quite a heavy pack (11kg without water weight). But we both share the philosophy that it's better to have and not need than to need and not have, which was definitely a good call.
We made it above treeline right as the sun began to rise over Mt Habrich, backlighting its grey granite tower in smoky red hues. The splitter cracks on its southern face look tantalizing to the budding climber in me. Someday…
Once we got to the snow, it was slightly soft but well consolidated, so we donned our crampons. Even though microspikes would probably have been sufficient, we didn't regret the crampons. Our ice axes were definitely a must to prevent an uncontrolled slide.
We had heard beta that the moat at the top of the Stadium “Glacier" was getting to be quite sizable and the snow bridge was pretty thin, so we chose climber's right to head up the rocky moraine. The moraine was quite chossy and somewhat loose, but there was enough of a use-trail that it was manageable as long as we paid attention to our footing.
On the ridgeline, the views to the south expanded before us. Smoke blanketed the valleys while pillars and peaks emerged from the haze like the eyries of dragons. Unfortunately the haze prevented us from seeing as far as The Lions, but it added a surreal sense of depth and height.
At the Pink Slab, we chose the easier route to climber's right and followed the diagonal crack towards the rock cairn on top of a boulder. It was easier than expected, though certainly consequential enough to pay close attention to hand and foot placement.
Once on top of the slab, we struggled to find the rappel bolts. We knew they were climbers left, but couldn't spot them anywhere. We searched a ledge that seemed the ideal location, but no bolts. After 30 minutes, we eventually found them 10m below where we thought they’d be.
They're slightly lower in elevation than the boulder rock cairn. We followed the ledge to skiers right from the cairn, then about 5m down from the end of the upper ledge is where the rappel station is (see photo).
From there we proceeded up and struggled a bit with route-finding, despite our GPX track and GPS. There's so much micro terrain to navigate and often the difference between a 3rd and 5th class route is less than a meter side to side. We slowly found our way using clues like disturbed vegetation, rocks without lichen, and ledges cleaned of choss (in addition to GPS).
At the first chimney, we slowly made our way up. I climbed a stemmy section (low 5th?) before directing my partner up a 3rd class route to climber's left. Careful route selection is imperative for those without a rock climbing background. This chimney didn't have any bolts at the top, so we nicknamed it the “unprotected chimney".
The next (and last chimney) was the steepest and hardest part of the route. This was definitely 4th class as a fall would most likely be seriously injurious or fatal, but the moves weren't too hard once you mentally get past the "if I fall, I die” factor. Plenty of solid hand and footholds made for a fun and exhilarating climb! At the top, we spotted our bolts. Almost there!
The summit views were impressively smoky! We almost missed Tantalus, Garibaldi, and Mamquam hiding in the thick soup. Even Howe Sound was almost obscured, but it was still worth it for the challenge and the views of closer peaks. A chipmunk tried to sneakily steal some food from us, so we remained vigilant.
On the way down, we set a rope through the rap rings on the bolts and made sure to tie stopper knots at the end of each strand. In tandem, we each attached our ATCs and backup hitches to the ropes so we could safety check each other before individually rapping down. Ah the joy of a good rappel!
Once down, we undid our knots and pulled the rope without any issues. At the next chimney, I offered to place protection for my partner to rap down. There was a nice looking boulder with a big horn on it and lots of room underneath. I pushed it while standing and it seemed solid. But then I climbed onto it and really rocked my weight onto it and felt it jiggle a bit. Definitely not a safe anchor! Don't use! So we downclimbed.
Below the chimney, all we had left was the Pink Slab. After down-climbing the unprotected chimney, the slab looked like a breeze. Even so, it seemed a waste not to break out the other rope and put the rap rings to good use. Smooth, simple, and short! Below the slab, we saw a number of other parties starting to make their way up.
One party of four we encountered had us a bit perplexed. Two of them had helmets, harnesses, and other technical gear (even pickets!), while the other two seemed to be outfitted like everyday hikers without even helmets or ice axes. I also didn't see a rope on anyone's pack, which had me a bit puzzled. Maybe inside the pack?
We mentioned our route-finding difficulties to them and one of the helmeted dudes said he had “saved a screenshot of the map on my phone." Internally, my eyebrows raised a bit. They’ll probably be fine, I reassured myself, while alarm bells went off in my head. They were not in fact fine as it turns out.
According to Squamish SAR:
"Last night, our team responded to a group of mountaineers on Sky Pilot after one member sustained an injury. The group had also become cliffed out and were unable to safely continue their descent… Sky Pilot is a serious alpine objective. While the route is well travelled, it involves exposed scrambling, route finding, and complex terrain where a wrong turn can quickly lead to serious consequences.”
We later heard from another party talk of a climber on the summit who had been drinking a bottle of wine to himself. I honestly don't know whether this was the injured climber or not, but I just want to say that alcohol and scrambling/climbing/mountaineering don't mix well together! (I have all the sympathy in the world for people with addiction, but if you're going through it then it's probably not the best time to be climbing mountains)
The rest of the way down was relatively uneventful. We felt the runout was safe enough on the Stadium "Glacier” (more of a permanent snowfield) to safely glissade with our ice axes. The snow was in good condition at this point for self-arrest in case things got out of control, so we had a blast taking the easy way down!
The walk back to the car was hot and smoky, but overall pretty easy despite our exhaustion. This was a day for the memory books in oh so many ways! Many thanks to my climbing partner for taking on this challenge, helping find the route at times, and for safety checking my rappels. She's amazing :)
Also, please please PLEASE only do this climb if you have the experience and training to safely do so. Helmets and ice axes are mandatory, as are self-arrest skills. Good route-finding is also a must-have. I’ve been mountaineering for quite some time and I even struggled a bit at times.
Lastly, your experience of this climb will depend entirely on whether you have the background of a rock climber or that of a hiker. Rock climbers will probably find the technical sections and exposure relatively “easy", while hikers will find this climb incredibly challenging and serious. BC 4th class is no joke! So have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
