Valley of Shaddai

[t-bone]

Yesterday I thought it'd be a good idea to escape the crowds and head back to the Valley of Shaddai. I hadn't been back there in about 7 years, and judging by the state of the climbs not many others have been either. Just Blessed was basically 100 feet of thick cobwebs with a lot of that slick black lichen on the lower half. Avalon is pretty much mossed over and basically unclimbable. The climbs could be recovered with a nominal amount of cleaning, but you have to wonder whether its a futile effort

It's too bad because its such a cool valley - I guess its just a bit too far to see enough traffic.

[scrubber]

It's too bad because its such a cool valley - I guess its just a bit too far to see enough traffic.

Sad but true. Those guys made a noble effort to open up a whole other area, but we are intrinsically lazy, and incredibly spoiled by short approaches here. The regular areas would have to get far more overloaded to actually start pushing folks back there.

K

[smallman]

That is too bad. I was thinking of a visit into there in the next while. Unfortunately, based on the topos in Mclane's guide, it appears maybe there is not the critical mass and concentration of climbs there to entice people to the Valley of Shaddai. It looks to be lots of scattered bluffs. Maybe with an another heavy redevelopment push that critical mass could be reached.

[psi4ce]

I have heard from a couple of different sources, tales of recent interest, and probable development, occurring in the Valley of Shaddai. But, only in the southern section, I believe. Hard sport by the sounds of it. I have also heard that a new access has been developed, some sort of trail into the Valley from somewhere in Britannia Beach. Those are the only details I know...

[natsdad]

Hi psi4ce and smallman,

I haven't been to the valley of shaddai for some years now (parenthood and all that), but I frequented it many times in the years just after Payan and Thomson (hallowed be thy names!) opened up this area.

You folks should go - there are many fun, moderate routes that are high quality. And you can't beat the ambience there - no highway noise at all, big, old growth trees, a lovely creek (depending on time of year). The hike in is not so bad - there are never line ups.

Just go and bring your scrub brushes and cleaning tools. (Spare hangers, nuts, wrench might also be useful...)

Steve

[smallman]

Thanks for the info and suggestion Steve. Maybe I will head in there. It is unfortunate that cliffs and climbs here in Squamish fall into disuse because of climbers laziness. In the Rockies, a 40 minute hike is a short approach.

[Mike Teschke]

Went here today and climbed the Avalon connection and just Blessed... Just Blessed was in nearly perfect condition and ranks up in the top 10c cracks that i've climbed, I'll go back to climb this again in the future. Avalon connection was a little bit full of pine needles but otherwise was in fine shape, a but of nut tool digging and a few wipes with the hand was all it needed to be enjoyed... the second shorter pitch was in perfect condition, as was the upper third pitch. A super fun little three pitch route, and great for the grade IMO.

...and nobody else was around

[natsdad]

Hi Mike:

Thanks for your post. We need to keep singing the praises of the Valley of Shaddai - like you, I've always enjoyed my climbing days spent in there (including the climbs you did yesterday). I also liked "Famous Last Moves", "Keep the faith" and "Gym Dandy" quite a lot.

But the best of all - no crowds and no noise.

Steve

[imnotnate]

Does anyone have more info on the Britannia beach access to the Valley of Shaddai?

I just moved to Britannia beach and there's some real nice lookin' granite quite closeby to the north… wondering if it's indeed the Valley of Shaddai...

[natsdad]

Hey Imnotnate:

Check out the thread: "moderate route developers dream post!" posted by Gokoloco for more info. Please post what you learn about access from the south. The Valley of Shaddai area is a wonderful, under-used climbing resource.

cheers,
Steve

[imnotnate]

Thanks, Steve.

The thread you mentioned describes access to an area that must be pretty darn near the valley of shaddai, starting from the 'welcome to squamish' sign on the highway.

I seem to recall reading on here some time ago about access to the Valley of Shaddai from Britannia Beach proper, and the approach was more of a descent or traverse than a steep hike up like the one described from the 'welcome to squamish' sign…. but I could be mistaken.

I'll keep poking around, and one of these days just go trudging around up there to see what I can see

[Drew]

From the quarry you reach from the end of Goat Ridge Drive in BB you can traverse into the VoS without major elevation gain or loss along the trials bike trails. Takes about half an hour.