Ah the life of a climber in Portland - driving, driving and more driving in search of granite. Every summer, Kristin and I make at least one northerly pilgrimage to Squamish, BC in search of long routes laced with beautiful cracks. Set high above Howe Sound, the granite walls of the Chief offer some of the best multi-pitch trad climbing in the Pacific Northwest. Coastal rain forest eventually gives way to clean granite cracks unearthed from layers of moss and dirt by generations of dedicated climbers. Several hundred feet up the wall, all alone with you and your partner, you can enjoy sweeping views of old-growth forest, salmon streams, waterfalls and alpine ridges topped by snow-capped peaks and the queen of the area - Mt. Garibaldi. This places keeps drawing us back year after year.
