The White Feather: 5p, 5.11+
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Optimally-Primed
- Senior Member
- Posts: 350
- Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:04 am
The White Feather: 5p, 5.11+
I climbed/got dragged up the route The White Feather this weekend and thought that it was quality.
This is not my route. I was in no way involved in its development. I believe it is the work of Robin Barley and Harry Young but I'm not totally sure. I also heard that a local guide did some work on it after, rearranging the bolts. Again, this is not my route. I just climbed it and thought that I would post some photos and a
to say "recommended".
Approach: 50m below the Slhanay/Squaw, turn left and walk a trail along the base for 100m or so. The route begins in a large clearing. Several other routes begin there. Look for the steep, bolted face.
Rack: standard Squamish rack with a 4" piece.
Pitch 1. 5.11+ face. 20m. Well bolted. Thumbs up.
Pitch 2. 5.10 corner. 40m. Fun corner work. The odd dirty or loose bit but it didn't detract from the pitch's overall appeal. Pitches 1 and 2 can be linked.
Pitch 3. 5.11+ slab/face traverse. 15m.
Pitch 4. 5.11+ crack. 30m. The Feather. I've heard this called one of the best pitches in Squamish. tips to offwidth and everything in between. Vertical. Pumpy.
Pitch 5. 5.10+? face and slab. 20m. Cool positions. Hard to photo.
Rap route straight back to the packs. one 60m rope is all that's needed.
This is not my route. I was in no way involved in its development. I believe it is the work of Robin Barley and Harry Young but I'm not totally sure. I also heard that a local guide did some work on it after, rearranging the bolts. Again, this is not my route. I just climbed it and thought that I would post some photos and a
to say "recommended".Approach: 50m below the Slhanay/Squaw, turn left and walk a trail along the base for 100m or so. The route begins in a large clearing. Several other routes begin there. Look for the steep, bolted face.
Rack: standard Squamish rack with a 4" piece.
Pitch 1. 5.11+ face. 20m. Well bolted. Thumbs up.
Pitch 2. 5.10 corner. 40m. Fun corner work. The odd dirty or loose bit but it didn't detract from the pitch's overall appeal. Pitches 1 and 2 can be linked.
Pitch 3. 5.11+ slab/face traverse. 15m.
Pitch 4. 5.11+ crack. 30m. The Feather. I've heard this called one of the best pitches in Squamish. tips to offwidth and everything in between. Vertical. Pumpy.
Pitch 5. 5.10+? face and slab. 20m. Cool positions. Hard to photo.
Rap route straight back to the packs. one 60m rope is all that's needed.
Re: The White Feather: 5p, 5.11+
Jer-- having some trouble visualisaing where this is...can you clarify?
Jeremy,
Thanks for posting this TR! Thanks to you I'll hopefully be getting on this next week
Awesome pics (given the lack of an independent photographer)!!
hari,
This might help a bit: http://www.quickdrawpublications.com/Fr ... Squaw1.jpg
Or better yet this:
Thanks for posting this TR! Thanks to you I'll hopefully be getting on this next week
Awesome pics (given the lack of an independent photographer)!!
hari,
This might help a bit: http://www.quickdrawpublications.com/Fr ... Squaw1.jpg
Or better yet this:
Jeremy,
Thanks for posting this TR! Thanks to you I'll hopefully be getting on this next week
Awesome pics (given the lack of an independent photographer)!!
hari,
This might help a bit: http://www.quickdrawpublications.com/Fr ... Squaw1.jpg
Or better yet this:
Thanks for posting this TR! Thanks to you I'll hopefully be getting on this next week
Awesome pics (given the lack of an independent photographer)!!
hari,
This might help a bit: http://www.quickdrawpublications.com/Fr ... Squaw1.jpg
Or better yet this:
We got on The Feather today. Wow, what a neat climb. There are some incredible looking projects(?) which can be seen from p3 and other cool looking climbs to the left (the final pitch thin finger crack of Face Your Creator).
Here's my take on things.
P1. Crux comes about 12' up reaching the jug. Can't comment on the grade because it may be height dependent.
Be sure to lead up to the second set of anchors (two black Barley chains below the p2 corner). You can belay at the first anchors but it makes much more sense to move to the upper ones, 30' higher.
p2. Easy up to a mid .10 crux moving through the offwidth section about halfway up. Place the #4 Camalot and move through this section with little difficulty. There is a face crack on the left face where the offwidth part is (you can see it in Jeremy's pic of this pitch). You can place a small cam in this crack if you like. Easy after this to the anchors.
A 50lb block fell out onto me while I was entering the OW part. Luckily I was able to hang on with my left hand and stop it in my lap, while I moved my feet out of the way. It now rests in a crater at the base of the climb. Nobody was hurt during this process.
p3. This is a strange pitch, albeit fun. You leave the anchors and move straight up, then right, then down then back up and then over to the belay. The crux is definitely at the end, matching on a small edge. The reach which is was mentioned in the topo I posted above is not a huge problem, but the match is a little challenging.
p4. The Feather pitch. Mantle onto the jug and clip the bolt. It is a bit thin for the next ~12' but it is all there and you can get good gear in between the jams. The crack widens from tips to fists and has a great finish. The crux comes after you clip the bolt at the bottom. A great pitch in a great position.
p5. Very reachy right off the belay for a few moves going for a ledge (well protected with bolts). I'm not sure who suggested the ".10+" grade for this pitch, but that reach going for the ledge felt similar to the reach on the last pitch of Cerberus, which is .11d, lol. I'm not suggesting that this pitch is as hard as that, but this reach sure felt like it
. Easier climbing leads past bolts to the top.
Descent:
Not sure what Jeremy is talking about with regards to rapping off with one 60m rope? I will have to go back and try that. Jeremy, did you rap off any trees when you left the base of the Feather pitch? We had one 70m rope and that was close. Having said that, we didn't rap straight down like Jer did. We rapped off the last pitch to the top of the Feather pitch, then another rap to the ledge which is part of the belay at the top of p3 (right of that tree you can see in the topo I posted). After that it was two easy raps down p2 then p1, back to the packs.
I'll try to post pics later.
Here's my take on things.
P1. Crux comes about 12' up reaching the jug. Can't comment on the grade because it may be height dependent.
Be sure to lead up to the second set of anchors (two black Barley chains below the p2 corner). You can belay at the first anchors but it makes much more sense to move to the upper ones, 30' higher.
p2. Easy up to a mid .10 crux moving through the offwidth section about halfway up. Place the #4 Camalot and move through this section with little difficulty. There is a face crack on the left face where the offwidth part is (you can see it in Jeremy's pic of this pitch). You can place a small cam in this crack if you like. Easy after this to the anchors.
A 50lb block fell out onto me while I was entering the OW part. Luckily I was able to hang on with my left hand and stop it in my lap, while I moved my feet out of the way. It now rests in a crater at the base of the climb. Nobody was hurt during this process.
p3. This is a strange pitch, albeit fun. You leave the anchors and move straight up, then right, then down then back up and then over to the belay. The crux is definitely at the end, matching on a small edge. The reach which is was mentioned in the topo I posted above is not a huge problem, but the match is a little challenging.
p4. The Feather pitch. Mantle onto the jug and clip the bolt. It is a bit thin for the next ~12' but it is all there and you can get good gear in between the jams. The crack widens from tips to fists and has a great finish. The crux comes after you clip the bolt at the bottom. A great pitch in a great position.
p5. Very reachy right off the belay for a few moves going for a ledge (well protected with bolts). I'm not sure who suggested the ".10+" grade for this pitch, but that reach going for the ledge felt similar to the reach on the last pitch of Cerberus, which is .11d, lol. I'm not suggesting that this pitch is as hard as that, but this reach sure felt like it
. Easier climbing leads past bolts to the top. Descent:
Not sure what Jeremy is talking about with regards to rapping off with one 60m rope? I will have to go back and try that. Jeremy, did you rap off any trees when you left the base of the Feather pitch? We had one 70m rope and that was close. Having said that, we didn't rap straight down like Jer did. We rapped off the last pitch to the top of the Feather pitch, then another rap to the ledge which is part of the belay at the top of p3 (right of that tree you can see in the topo I posted). After that it was two easy raps down p2 then p1, back to the packs.
I'll try to post pics later.
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Optimally-Primed
- Senior Member
- Posts: 350
- Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:04 am
Great TR. Sounds familiar.
Rapping question. The top of the final pitch arrives at a treed ledge. We walked past the trees to the left side of the ledge, where we found a bolted station... right where is says "2 ropes" on the topo posted above. We rapped with a single 70m rope and had no trouble reaching the anchors... had rope to spare each time. 2 raps to the top of pitch 2. Then a rap to the black chains Brendan mentioned. Then one more to the ground. So we did not return to the top of the Feather pitch, nor did we return to its base. We were 10m to the climber's left of each.
Rapping question. The top of the final pitch arrives at a treed ledge. We walked past the trees to the left side of the ledge, where we found a bolted station... right where is says "2 ropes" on the topo posted above. We rapped with a single 70m rope and had no trouble reaching the anchors... had rope to spare each time. 2 raps to the top of pitch 2. Then a rap to the black chains Brendan mentioned. Then one more to the ground. So we did not return to the top of the Feather pitch, nor did we return to its base. We were 10m to the climber's left of each.
Although I am no aid expert, I doubt it. For example, the upper part of Exasperator has very obvious pods as pin scars which are deep and take nuts very well. The Feather is very thin down low and does not take gear (maybe the smallest RP's might fit but who knows - there's a bolt there) and barely accepts the tips of your fingers. Off the belay and passing the bolt, the crack is used as a delicate lieback edge, not jamming.scrubber wrote:Is that pitch part of an old aid route, or do those just look like pin scars?
I'll call Harry and ask him what the real scoop is on the Feather pitch. He cleaned this pitch and might be able to tell us whether or not it was aided prior to the supposed FA. Or not.
I figured it out for myself today after work. Those aren't pin scars, they're just chalk.
What a great route!!! The second pitch has to be one of the best mid-ten pitches I've ever done in Squamish. We found the reach significantly harder than the match on the third pitch. (I was the taller one at a whopping 5'7".) The Feather pitch was a bit harder than I expected right off the station, but as has been said before, it's all there. Team Short Guys would like to post a protest to the suggested grade of 10+ for the last pitch. I thought it was closer to mid 11, and my partner figured even harder for his midgit 5'6" stature.
Many thanks to those who opened up this route and the others around it. I can't wait to go check out the other lines.
Kris
What a great route!!! The second pitch has to be one of the best mid-ten pitches I've ever done in Squamish. We found the reach significantly harder than the match on the third pitch. (I was the taller one at a whopping 5'7".) The Feather pitch was a bit harder than I expected right off the station, but as has been said before, it's all there. Team Short Guys would like to post a protest to the suggested grade of 10+ for the last pitch. I thought it was closer to mid 11, and my partner figured even harder for his midgit 5'6" stature.
Many thanks to those who opened up this route and the others around it. I can't wait to go check out the other lines.
Kris
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