The Valley of Shaddai

Description 

This is an area where you are almost guaranteed solitude and privacy. While it's very close to Murrin Park, it's rarely visited due to the stout approach: the distance isn't great, but it's pretty rugged. The payoff is a beautiful valley, isolated from road noise, cool temperatures on a hot day, and some very nice routes.

This valley has never been logged and has a Lost World feel. My partner commented that he half expected pygmies with bones through their noses to shoot poison darts at us while we were there.

Of the crags in this area, some may be overgrown and lost, but Donny's Roof and The Pillar of Payan, at least, look good. According to various blogs by local hardpeople, the route Zap Crack (12d crack) has seen a fair number of redpoints in the last few years.

Getting There 

Park as for Murrin Park, cross the road (carefully!) and walk south past Leviticus and past Browning Bluff (the cliff just south of Leviticus and opposite the lake). Less than 50 feet south of Browning Bluff a rough trail heads up into the woods.

Follow this steep trail until you see a scraggly crag ("Above-the-Lake"). Head right and then up steeply for ten minutes. You will pass through a narrowing referred to as the Quail's Gate in McLane's book. One of the areas, Entrance Exam, is left of the gate. After passing through the Quail's Gate, you will reach the top of a North-South ridge. You can head north to access two crags (Closing Number and Fan the Flame), south to The Needle or the Mountianeers Cliff, or continue east into the Valley itself.

The descent into the Valley is steep. While there are many hand-lines on Squamish trails, climbers tend to ignore them, but this is one that you'll use and get some rope burn from.

At the bottom of the gully you'll see the Donny's Roof crag on the left and Gym Dandy on the right. Further south is Alex's Room, The Pillar of Payan, Emmies Landing and the Wonder Wall.

The Classics