Getting down is half the fun of this classic rock climb on Blackcomb Mountain. Article originally published in the spring 2008 issue of MLCM. Words & photos :: Brian Finestone.
There are few things more appealing to a rock climber than a freestanding pillar of rock. A spire allows a climber to get where no other human can go, a place with no pedestrian way to the top. When tectonic forces and millennia of erosion line up, these rare towers of rock can often be found within a convenient stone’s throw of a ridgeline or canyon wall.
Aside from a great summit, a spire formation enables climbers to use an exhilarating and unique technique to get back to the mainland: a Tyrolean traverse. One of the best-kept secrets of Sea to Sky climbing is just such a geologic phenomenon.
Tucked behind the ridge dividing Horstman Glacier from Blackcomb Glacier is an 80-metre granite spire split from the main ridgeline by a chasm spanning 30 metres. It is this feature that local hard-man Bruce Kay along with partners Pat Post and Paul Brunson first stood on top of in 1991. “We discovered the Gendarme [spire] back then during the first year of summer operations. Once we knew it was there, it had to be climbed,” insists Kay.
The partners followed a naturally protected weakness that led from the gully through a series of cracks and slabs and would later call their summit route “The Darn Gendarme.” While aesthetic, the route is not full value, as it starts midway up the feature in the shelter of the gully. The true gem was not uncovered for another 10 years when I returned with Kay in July 2001 to do battle with the much steeper south face. “We didn’t know if it would go until we rapped the face and discovered good holds and a hidden crack system,” recalls Kay.
Climbing straight up out of the glacial ice was much more difficult (in the mid 5.11 range) which Kay describes as “The best route of this grade around here, a real mega-classic.” The climb follows a line of bolts for two rope lengths ascending the double-tiered roofs of the knife-edged ridge in a spectacular position.
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I won the Rochambeau for the first ascent of the roof pitch and executed a less-than-graceful overhead heel-hook-to-butt-match on a small ledge. Kay muses, “Finestone was upside-down digging his heels into the rock like spurs until he popped onto the ledge like he was sitting on a horse.” This equestrian technique earned the route its name: “Finestone Cowboy.”
The summit platform is about the size of a Cadillac hood and is equipped with a permanent anchor, enabling climbers to rig the second rope into the Tyrolean traverse, for the zip across the abyss back to the ridge. The Tyrolean experience coupled with the quality of the climbing has earned the route five stars in Marc Bourdon’s Squamish Select guidebook. The route comes into season as early as March on sunny days and can be climbed throughout the spring and summer
operations at Blackcomb.
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