Fluffy Kitten Wall... C'mon People!!!!

[marc_leclerc]

So yesterday I went for a fun alpine traverse type mission, most of it is of little relevance to this board, however I started the traverse by climbing 'The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers' on the Fluffy Kitten Wall. I decided this morning that I had to say something about this beautiful and seemingly ignored route.

#1 - Access is EASY right now. Why do so few people seem to go up here? The gate is open and one can drive a 2wd road right to the trailhead below the wall. Even if the gate is locked, it's not a long or hard walk in. On footI got from my home in Valleyciffe to the start of the route in 1.5 hrs. Not a big deal, get after it!

#2 - The Rock! It's F'ing SICK! Quality Squamish granite minus the polish due to the higher elevation perhaps? It is super sticky and clean minus some very mildly grassy cracks on the first 2 pitches.This would disappear if the route saw the traffic it deserves. The vibe up there is secluded and slightly alpine, reminds me in some ways of 'Snow Creek Wall' in Leavenworth.

#3 - The Potential for More... there is lots to be done up there. Seriously, once you climb 'Tiggers' and some of the other established lines just grab your rack and head up something new. There are no summer rock climbs on the Buttress to the right, although it looks a bit more scruffy. But really, if you are looking for adventure, grab some cams, pick a line and just go.

#4 - The Route! So far I've only done 'Tiggers'. But damn was it ever good! Longgggg sustained corner cracks, a lovely finger crack flake, sweet face moves on great sticky rock. Generally sustained climbing in a great position on great rock with bolted belays. I have nothing but good things to say about this line. I simply don't understand why it sees so few ascents. From the top I scrambled to the summit of Habrich, although it was a bit rough, it's pretty sweet to do a RAD climb and then summit a nice peak and enjoy some great views.

Really people, just go have a look. It will be worth it. For heaven's sake go! Just GO!



Here's someone else's photo of one of the 5.10 crack pitches ^

[jonny2vests]

So this is north side of Habrich?

[marc_leclerc]

So this is north side of Habrich?

Yes! Page 532 of the Mclane guide.

[rockdawg]

Thanks for the suggestion Marc. Definately will put this on my "avoid the crowds" tick list. How long from the parking to the base of the wall do you figure?

[J Mace]

Good in winter too


climbing forever young

Was the bridge still intact Marc?

[marc_leclerc]

Probably about 45 mins from the parking to the base with gear. The bridge is intact and super fun to cross, its essentially a slackline with handrails!

[dirty]

Good thing about this zone,imo,other than the quiet, is it's in the shade... good weather for that these days.

I thought all the routes up there had some good quality to them.

I would also suggest "Cat o' nine tails" great climbing. Least it was, 10 yrs ago.

Also, that wall to the right has been climbed in the summer. A buddy, and I did a line more, or less straight up the middle to a promenent rib on lower section of wall. We continued to Habrich summit. I think we called it "Au Naturel" 5.9 . Good climbing. Sorry, no topo. Another party climbed a separate line on the wall the same day. Mixed free/ aid I believe.

A good outing indeed.

A. Durie.

[Mike Teschke]

I've heard conflicting reviews of the road condition. How 2wd is it? Would you say you could easily get say a Honda Civic up there without spinning the tires? Or do you mean 2wd with some decent ground clearance?

[monkeygrp]

I've heard conflicting reviews of the road condition. How 2wd is it? Would you say you could easily get say a Honda Civic up there without spinning the tires? Or do you mean 2wd with some decent ground clearance?

I went up Sky Pilot last week using a Hyundai Sonata. Clearance is not an issue. Unfortunately, I still couldn't make it past one of the steeper sections, because the sandy ground was too soft. I tried several runs at it (the car was a rental and I wasn't too concerned about babying it), but every time I ended up spinning and digging trenches. Seems to me this was at about 600 m elevation--about where the old boulders were. The top of the road is at roughly 900 m.

Cars that I saw make it all the way up: several pickups, a Suzuki Tracker, and a really old Subaru Forester.

Bottom line: give it a shot. Even if you have to hike an extra couple hundred meters, getting up there is worth it. For extra relaxation, just camp at the Habrich bivy spot for a couple of days and get a proper fix. 49.653217, -123.091472

[Mike Teschke]

Brief Trip Report, and road update.

A note that the road to Fluffy Kitten is in good shape, but it is not the same road as the Gondola/Habrich road. You start up the same road from the Mamquam main, cross the first bridge over the Stawamus River... there is a switchback and steep fairly loose section right here, (if you can make it up this short section you are fine to get to at least 7.5km, i did fine in my Honda Fit to this point... then clearance became a concern so i parked it and we walked the last couple km) after this short pitch the road splits, right goes up to Habrich/Gondola, left takes you the direction of the Fluffy Kitten approach trailhead.
The trailhead is well marked with rock piles and the rope bridge crossing the river is visible as soon as you scramble the 50ft or so to the river. The rest of the trail is in great shape and easy to follow up to the base of the wall.
We climbed 'The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers'... A stellar route, 6 long pitches. bring a little bit of webbing and a quick link if you go up, some of the rap tat is getting 'almost' sketchy.

[cganzert]

Would anybody happen to have a topo? I can't track down the Mclean book

[kenmurray]

One thing to add for access:
-first view is a t 7km or 7.5km from the pavement
-parking / washout is at about 9.5km from the pavement

Conditions on 22 July 2016: easy drive & wet rock
-trail is easy to follow
-lots of running water on Tigger Ledge
-P1, P2, P4 all had wet sections
-P5, P6 were obviously wet, so we rapped from the top of P4 (stations all in good shape)
-there's some booty about 30m up Pussy Galore (I bailed after finding too much wet dirt)

Next time someone's up there:
-climb Tiggers with a brush
-scrub the bottom pitch of Pussy Galore on the way down (then climb it - it looks amazing)