Grillmair Chimney on Mount Yamnuska

Grillmair Chimney on Mount Yamnuska – September 30, 2007

Route height:                 295 m
Elevation gain:               800 m
Ascent time:                  10:30
Descent time:                1:25

Climbing with Mark.

One successful trad rock route on the face of Yamnuska and all of a sudden we’re experts???? – not quite….not even close!. Our second trip in as many weeks to the hugely popular climbing area reminded us that as far as multi-pitch trad climbing goes we’re still pretty green.

Due to its popularity and on a recommendation from a friend, we picked Grillmair Chimney, rated at 5.6. With an identical rating to King’s Chimney (the route we completed a week earlier), we didn’t foresee having any problems. Really, we didn’t encounter any, as our lengthy ascent time may indicate, however the route was a great deal more intense than King’s Chimney.

Cold temperatures gave us problems right away. The rock was very cold on our hands and a constant west wind made things even worse. After several attempts, we backed down the first pitch and chatted with a couple of other climbers who wanted to attempt the same route. They decided to head to Grassi Lakes where the temperature probably wouldn’t be an issue. We were pretty much resigned to defeat on the Grillmair route, but thought one more attempt was warranted.

There wasn’t much of an improvement and though I managed to scale the first pitch, my hands were like blocks of ice when I reached a belay station. Thankfully they warmed up by the time Mark arrived and we continued on, with Mark leading the next pitch in his first pair of rock shoes (as opposed the approach shoes he wore on King’s Chimney).

In the interests of time we took the right variation instead of the left, enjoying a variety of interesting climbing. Near the top of the route, we encountered a slightly overhanging step that I was not able to climb. We therefore traversed across a narrow ledge and onto the left variation. Mark then led a short, but steep pitch and we arrived at the point where the two routes meet.

The next step, described as “a steep wall” was probably the crux of the day, though the last chimney pitch was definitely of equal challenge. The step was only a few metres high, but was near vertical with small holds. Without the safety line of the two well-placed pitons near the top I’m sure I would not have been able to scale the step.

Finally we reached the upper pitches of the climb and admittedly we were both physically and mentally exhausted at this point. As described in other reports, this pitch is by far the most interesting and unique. The first part involves ascending a steep wall alongside a cave-like chimney. Again, the first part of the pitch was complete with pitons which not only provided protection if case of a fall but also marked the route. The interesting part comes when you have to descend into the chimney. This was not as simple and easy as I was expecting. It involves stemming the chimney with a foot on either side or shimmying your way across with both feet on one side and your back against the other wall. What makes this intimidating is the drop below into the blackness of the cave. This traverse over to a ledge at the back of the cave was more than exhilarating.

The next section looked frightening but was actually easier than expected. It required a traverse on small ledges with a huge drop below, over to a ledge. Then a step over the gap and up and over a large chockstone would lead to easier terrain. Here, I was actually quite relieved to feel some severely polished rock. At least that meant we must have been going the right way. Since the chimney was very narrow at this point I took off my pack. I managed to place a cam below the chockstone and clambered up over it into the cave.

I set up a belay here, Mark tied my backpack onto the rope and I started to haul it over. This was actually an interesting ride for the backpack as Mark would have been pretty much directly below me but on a lower level of the chimney. Thus, the backpack would go horizontally west, straight up and over the chockstone and then horizontally east to me. It worked fine until the knot the pack was tied to hit the cam under the chockstone….duh! Mark pulled the backpack back (not a typo!) and then retied it just in front of him. I was then able to belay my pack and Mark and his pack at the same time.

The final push to the top of the route was easy and very entertaining. This section involves climbing a chimney and up through a narrow hole in the top that miraculously opens up to the summit ridge of Yamnuska. The climbing was easy here and squeezing through the opening to see daylight again was sheer relief. I pulled our packs up and then belayed Mark up to the top. A brief celebration ensued and then we hurried down via the east side of the mountain. During the ascent we had not stopped to eat and we were hungry, tired, and dehydrated.

Though there were several moments throughout the ascent where we were both wondering what we had gotten ourselves into, the day was thoroughly enjoyable and challenging and we both felt a sense of accomplishment upon completing the route.