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Elevation: 1,792 ft
GPS: 49.70087, -123.11425
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Shared By: Brian Stevens on Jul 20, 2015 · Updates
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Description Suggest change

Top Shelf is a relatively new crag in the Squamish area that is stacked with high quality crack lines. The rock is bomber, the routes are clean, and the lines are aesthetic. My hat goes off to the folks who developed this area, as I'm sure it was no easy task to get this wall to the beautiful condition that it's in. The wall faces northwest and gets shade for most of the day. The base of the wall is very well maintained with logs and flat belay areas. Nearly all of the routes can be climbed with a 60 m rope (always tie knots!), most anchors have fixed draws on them for lowering (don't remove them!), and most folks will want a double set of cams from fingers to wide hands and a #4. It would not be out of the question to bring triples up to a #1 camalot, as many of the routes are so splitter! The only thing lacking at this wall are moderates. Most of the climbs are 5.10 and up, and the grades felt a bit harder than similarly graded climbs in the area. The wall is steeper than it appears, so the climbs tend to be pretty pumpy.

There are quite a few projects on the wall. Please respect those as the route developer has put a lot of hard work in to the line.

Additional info can be found at squamishclimbingsource.word…

Getting There Suggest change

The closest parking pull out to the trailhead is about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) along the Mamquam Forest Service road. Before you get to the pullout, you'll pass a black and yellow "2 up" road sign on the right.  Directly across from the sign, on the left side of the road, is a small pullout.  Consider this "pullout 1"  A little futher, there is a large pullout on the left with a no camping sign, "pullout 2."  And little further is another pullout on the left, "pullout 3."  The trail, which starts on the right side of the road, is between pullout 3 and pullout 4 (pullout 4 is a little further along the road).  As of June 2019, the trail was marked with orange flagging tape.  Using Gaia, the waypoint at the trailhead was 49.70334, -123.11871.

Follow the trail into the forest. The trail is pretty well worn and easy to follow, but steep.  After roughly 15 minutes, you'll come to a cairned junction.  To the right is the New Dehli and Lantern Wall.  Stay left for Top Shelf.  After another 15 minutes or so, you'll come to another junction.  This junction is about 100 feet away from the base of a dirty, mossy cliff.  Go right at this junction, and after a couple minutes you'll you arrive at the well worn base area.  Eye Catcher is the obvious left-facing dihedral just to the left of where the trail meets the cliff.

A fixed rope left of Eye Catcher leads to the left side of the wall.  

Looking at the photos in McLane and Boyd's 2018 guidebook, it would be easy to mistake the second trail junction as the split between the left and right side of the walls, but this is not the case.

Using Gaia, the waypoint at the base of Eye Catcher was 49.70085, -123.11427.

28 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Top Shelf

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 8
● Bob's Your Uncle
Trad
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 31
● Cursed Crack
Trad
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 38
● Eye Catcher
Trad
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 15
● Allright for Me
Trad, TR
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 23
● Kitten Fists
Trad
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 4
● Innocuous
Trad
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c
 19
● Cursing All The Way
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 15
● Hand Slotter
Trad
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 9
● Ludovico Technique
Trad
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
 9
● Persistance
Trad
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 27
● Meltdown
Trad
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 10
● Headbangers in Leather
Trad
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 7
● Shock Collars for Christmas
Trad
5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 20
● Made From Fire
Trad
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c
 7
● Trippett Out
Trad
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Bob's Your Uncle
 8
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Trad
● Cursed Crack
 31
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Trad
● Eye Catcher
 38
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Trad
● Allright for Me
 15
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Trad, TR
● Kitten Fists
 23
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Trad
● Innocuous
 4
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Trad
● Cursing All The Way
 19
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c Sport
● Hand Slotter
 15
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Trad
● Ludovico Technique
 9
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Trad
● Persistance
 9
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c Trad
● Meltdown
 27
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Trad
● Headbangers in Leather
 10
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Trad
● Shock Collars for Christmas
 7
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad
● Made From Fire
 20
5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad
● Trippett Out
 7
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c Trad
More Classic Climbs in Top Shelf »

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Right side of the wall
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