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The Malamute
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The Malamute 


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Lat, Long: 49.6839, -123.1552 Map
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Administrators: Kristine Hoffman, Peter Spindloe, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: Peter Spindloe on Oct 22, 2006

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Access issues at the Lower Malamute. MORE INFO >>>


Caboose.
Photo by Blitzo.


Description 

This cliff is accessed from the same parking lot as the Chief, but is on the west side of the road. Although it is invisible from the road, it's considerably larger than you would expect, with routes up to three pitches. Some very high quality and legendary climbs are here. There are steep crack testpieces as well as more recent bolted slabs.

The cliff is divided into a lower and upper section, with a number of the climbs on the Lower Malamute closed due to the CN Rail right-of-way along the tracks at the base of the cliff.

On most days the Malamute is a windy place, even when the air seems calm on the Chief. It can be cold in the wind if the cliff is still in the shade (until about 1:00pm, depending on the season), even on a hot day.


Getting There 

If coming from the south, park as for the Chief and take the new pedestrian bridge. If coming from the north, there's a parking lot for about ten cars and a trail that takes you to the pedestrian bridge.

From the pedestrian bridge, head up a dirt trail, across the logged area and look for a trail that heads up on to the tree ridge. The trail will lead you to the top of the cliff between the Starr Wall and the Stooges Slab.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Malamute:
High Mountain Woody   5.8+     Trad, 1 pitch, 150 feet   
Old Style   5.9     Trad, 80 feet   
Stefanie's Tears   5.9     Trad, 2 pitches, 150 feet   
Caboose   5.10a     Trad   
Paul's Crack   5.10a     Trad, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Sparky   5.10a     Sport, 1 pitch, 45 feet   
Clean Crack   5.11b     Trad   
Fungus Razor   5.12b     Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
Browse More Classics in The Malamute

Featured Route For The Malamute
Looking south from the belay on Paul's Crack, climbers are visible on High Mountain Wood and Slap and Tickle.  The most prominent rock formation in the background is the Papoose.  The body of water is Howe Sound.

High Mountain Woody 5.8+  International : Canada : ... : The Malamute
This classic crack offers some excellent crack climbing with some of the most amazing views in Squamish. The 5.8/5.9 crux is right at the bottom, it's all smooth sailing from there....[more]   Browse More Classics in International


Photos of The Malamute Slideshow Add Photo
The logged area on the Malamute, looking south from where the old trail meets the new cut.

The logged area on the Malamute, looking south fro...

The trail is gone, but you can cross the cut entirely on fallen logs.

The trail is gone, but you can cross the cut entir...

This is the final log in the "new" trail that doesn't touch the ground once.

This is the final log in the "new" trail that does...

We crossed the logged area on the Malamute to scope the scale of the damage.  This photo is looking back at what we crossed by walking along criss-crossed logs.

We crossed the logged area on the Malamute to scop...

We couldn't figure out how to get to the base of The Malamute but at least I got some good photos.

We couldn't figure out how to get to the base of T...

A beautiful place. Too bad for the industrial area.

A beautiful place. Too bad for the industrial area...


Comments on The Malamute Add Comment
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By Peter Spindloe
Administrator
From: North Vancouver, BC
Apr 15, 2007

Everybody: Please read the note about access issues. Also, please note that the more standard approach is to park at the Grand Wall parking lot, cross the road and take the trail over the top of the Malamute. However, just a few weeks ago (March, 2007) much of the top of the Malamute was logged! It's quite a sad sight. More details on this later. I don't have any current information about access to the top of the Malamute in light of this.

By ScottH
Sep 6, 2007

As of 9/1/07, the majority of felled trees have been cleared from the top of the Malamute. It is straightforward to hike through the clear cut using the trail that begins from the parking lot at the chief. For updates on access at the Malamute, refer to this page maintained by the Squamish Access Society:

www.squamishaccess.ca/News/Malamute.html

The logging was illegal and will carry a fine of $1,000-$10,000 per tree. At 1,400+ trees, that adds up pretty quick.