Pipeline 

For a very entertaining read about offwidths in general, and Pipeline in particlar, see Mikey's Offwidth Journal

I had thought that this material had disappeared from the web, but it appears that the URL changed in the last year or two.

Mike's stuff is indeed amusing.

Greg,

I'm sure this is a long shot, but "G. Cameron" did the FFA and here you are, a Greg Cameron, posting about the route... Am I on to something here?

Peter, yeah, I'm that G. Cameron. Haven't been back to Squamish since that trip in 1979 that included doing Pipeline. By the way, the same trip saw the first ascent of Freeway by my buddies Tom Gibson and Rob Rohn. I love Squamish.

Greg, good to see you're poking around this site. Both Pipeline and Freeway are on my list for this summer. I've taken an initial crack at Freeway Lite, but haven't even been to the Sqaw yet. What else did you get up to on that visit?

My husband led this climb. He recommends one 9" Valley Giant with 1-2 optional 6" cams (BD C4 #6), or several 7-8" tube chocks.

#6 camelots fit "not just good, but good enough." I bumped one #6 BD camelot for most of the way. Would recommend two #6 camelots and a blue big bro. It's many variables of tipped out #6 BD camelots for most of the pitch and beautiful! Just quit reading and do it already!

Amazing offwidth! Got on this last week armed with 2x #6 camalots and 2x VG9! Overkill for the rack but, I didn't mind having them.



Beta Alert! Don't read further if you want to avoid beta:





First thing to note is to bring a 6 to get to the anchors below pipeline. (ie. when doing the second pitch of birds of prey but, going right instead of left). It's easy climbing up the ramp but, I was happy to be able to protect it and keep my second from swinging like crazy if he slipped climbing the hand crack.

Minimum rack I'd use would be 1 x6 and 1 VG9 (or similarly sized big bro). It was really nice to have 2 6 and 2 VGs though.

I wore a thick long sleeve shirt and a t-shirt on top. Didn't need tape for the hands but, did tape my ankles and left knee. Seemed like it covered what I needed.

Pipeline is pretty much 4 sections:
1. Initial low angle ~10 meters. Pretty easy and #6 fits very nicely. If you have 2x 6s, you can leave one here, otherwise you may want to take it with you for the last section.

2. Getting to the bolt ~7 meters. Turns mostly vertical and widens a bit. I started using a VG9 here. Not as bad as it seems as there are good footholds on the lip of the crack that you can stand up on while smearing your body against the wall. You can leave a VG9 just before it widens too much and use the good footholds on the face to get to the bolt. Then downclimb and bit and get the VG9 (or keep going with a second one if you have it)

3. After the bolt is the business ~6 meters. Not a lot of great footholds anywhere and offwidth technique is actually necessary. Heel toe cams, arm bars and chicken wings through the overhang while pushing up a VG9. Amazing foothold on the right at the end of the overhang to stem off of. If you have a 6 on your harness, you can leave the VG9 near the top of the overhang.

4. The last ramp ~20 meters. Pretty mellow. Use the slabby feet on the right and push a 6 with you the rest of the way. Scramble up the last bit and your done!

You only need big gear and a draw for the bolt. No other cams or nuts are necessary for the offwidth pitch.


Get out there and enjoy it!