PRINT: Rock Climb Unfinished Symphony, Squamish

Unfinished Symphony

5.11b, Trad, 800 ft (242 m), 6 pitches,

Avg: 3.7 from 41 votes
FA: unknown
International > N America > Canada > British Columbia > Squamish > Stawamus Chief > Apron

Access Issue: SIGNIFICANT ROCK FALL CLOSURES - UPDATED Feb 29th 2024 Details

For the most up-to-date information about closures in the Stawamus Chief Park, please refer to the following link: bcparks.ca/stawamus-chief-p…

The closures posted on this Mountain Project page are the latest according to the date mentioned above.

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TRAIL TO THE PROW AND ECHELON WALL VIA THE SHERIFF'S BADGE CLOSURE

Due to a rockfall event on April 17, 2023, the approach/access trail to the Prow and Echelon wall via the Sheriff’s Badge have been impacted. Please stay out of this area until the full extent of this event has been determined.

Posted April 17, 2023

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Due to multiple significant rockfalls in the North Wall, Slhanay, Grand Wall, and Western Dihedrals climbing areas of Stawamus Chief, a large number of climbing routes and bouldering areas are currently closed until further notice. Efforts are underway to assess and remove hazards in the hopes of opening some of these areas soon.

NORTH WALL CLOSURE

The following routes in this area remain closed until further notice due to a large rock fall event. All routes between Lunar Tide and Polaris on the upper Zodiac Wall, as well as all routes between Parallel Universe and Polaris on the Lower Zodiac Wall. The Climb known as Angel’s Crest is open, please be cautions on the approach and avoid the debris field to the left.

Climbing Route Closure Map: nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/k…

GRAND WALL BOULDERS CLOSURE

Due to hazards created by significant rockfall events the following bouldering areas(and associated trails) remain closed until further notice. Lipsmack: Black Sabbath & Halfway Around the world, Octogon: Kemoslabby and Viper: Old and Serious, Beachcomber & Towlie.

Boudlering Closure Map: nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/k…

WESTERN DIHEDRALS CLOSURE

Due to hazards created by significant rockfall events the following climbing routes between Teenage wasteland and Deadend Dihedral remain closed until further notice. Including: The Black Dyke, The Gauntlet, The Façade, Sticky Fingers, Sunset Strip, Millenium Falcon, Rutabaga, Turnip Arrowroot, and Europa.

Climbing Route Closure Map: nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/k…

Updated June 30, 2023

Access Issue: Camping Details

The popularity of Squamish within the #vanlife community has increased to the point that there is great concern about the group’s collective environmental impact. “Wild” or “Freedom” camping has become unmanageable environmentally because of the high numbers of campers. This is a serious issue that causes conflict between locals, home owners, and climbers!

VAN CAMPING / WILD CAMPING

Within District Boundaries

The  District of Squamish PROHIBITS camping within the municipal boundary. This includes sleeping in a vehicle anywhere within District boundaries. A bylaw gives the District the power to issue tickets for contraventions.

Camping on urban / residential streets is prohibited under pre-existing bylaws.

The “hot spots” that have been of most concern are below.

· The whole of the Mamquam Forest Service Road under the North Walls of the Chief between the junction with the 99 and junction with the Stawamus/Indian Arm Forest Service Road (as a salmon run and sensitive riparian area, camping close to the Stawamus River is especially inappropriate)

· The Powerhouse Springs Road including the parking area for the Fern Hill cliff

· The dirt road to the kitesurfing “Spit.”

Outside of District Boundaries

If you explore forest roads in crown land outside the municipal boundaries, it may be possible to find discreet roadside sites suitable for tents or van camping. However, the provincial authorities do have some restrictions ;

· Stays are limited to 14 days.

· Campers should follow Leave No Trace principles. HUMAN WASTE is a major issue.

· Strictly observe any current fire bans.

DESIGNATED CAMPGROUNDS

Please see the District of Squamish website for a comprehensive list of designated campgrounds.

Recommended affordable camping:

- At the Chief: Stawamus Chief Provincial Park Campground BC parks site, spots start at $10.00 CAD/person. No reservations.
- 7 minutes north: Mamquam River Campground A non-profit site, spots start at $15.00cad/night for a drive-in site. Reservations recommended, not required.
- 20 minutes north: Chek Canyon Recreation Site A public site; no fees, no reservations and world class sport-climbing. No running water. The road is steep and rough but 4x4 not required

Description

This is one of the better routes in Squamish, it follows up a two 5.9/10a pitches, then back to back 10d layback pitches with a mix of bolts and gear(small tech very useful). Then a 5.11b slab, very well bolted throughout the crux, then the bolts turn a little homemade and well spaced for the last 30 feet, though significantly easier than the crux. Classic!!!

Location

This is the prominent corner to the left of Diedre.
Approach via the trail that cuts uphill into the woods where the bathroom in the Apron lot is. Follow the trail for a minute until it forks and skirts left along the base of the cliff. Follow the trail through the woods for a minute until you reach the cliff again at an eye-catching low angle crack (see P1 of Read Between the Lines) to the left of a low-5th class V-groove. Walk up the V-groove and this will deposit you at the base of Snake. Scramble up and then climber’s left 5-10m of low 5th class to a large ledge where you'll belay for P1. Alternatively, climb the before mentioned “eye catching” crack next to the V-groove to gain this same belay ledge.

Protection

Rack of cams up to 1", double up on small stuff up to a yellow alien.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Pitch 5. Bourdon calls this 10d, I would say it is 11a.

Out of all the pitches, this was the most difficult for me. This is the first 10d pitch of the route. Very small pro that never felt that great. A .1-.2 offset cam was helpful. If you can avoid i…

Very thin crack with very small gear. Trust your rubber

Snake

2nd 10d pitch

Pitch 4, 10d.

Simon following the fourth pitch (10a) of Unfinished Symphony.

Looking up at the 2nd 10d pitch from the anchor. I thought this pitch was considerably easier than the first 10d

I would call this pitch 3, 10a. Same as in the Bourdon book.

looking down the Snake approach pitch. the exciting traverse of Snake goes out upper right corner of this image.

The Crux

5.9 Corner, before the business

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

tradcragrat

The crux pitch has been retro-bolted; formerly it featured bad bolts on 5.10-ish terrain, it is now safe. There are, however, some difficult clips in the very thin crux section. The 10d layback pitches require a lot of small gear to protect adequately; there are some bolts on both pitches, but gear is needed in between. An alternate start links up the first two pitches of "Dirty White Boys" to join the route at the third pitch. Note that if you do the first 5.7 pitch of Snake, it is more than 60 meters so belay after the section of ledge scrambling. Awesome route with beautiful climbing. Aug 21, 2008

Scott W
Flagstaff, AZ

5.11b

I confirm, the last slab pitch is retro bolted, very safe now and way less of head game than it was previously. A little sad as it takes the excitement down a lot=( Jun 22, 2011

Geoff Georges
Seattle, WA

5.11b

FA: first three pitches: Jim Baldwin, Hamish Mutch, 1962. To Broadway ledge: Fred Beckey, Jim Sinclair, 1967. FFA: Peter Croft, Tami Knight, 1979 Feb 12, 2015

Tim Bonnell

5.11b

I think this route is the best line on the Apron. The gear is small but very good and the replacement bolts make this a safe outing. I recommend getting an early start since you want to get through the crux (at the top) before the sun comes out. Aug 9, 2015

Where's Walden

5.11a

50m rope will not reach from the tree after the 10a pitch to the bolted anchors. Jul 7, 2016

Joshua Thompson
Seattle, WA

Such a fun route. Could use some cleaning, quite a bit of vegetation in the lower cracks. Doesn't see much traffic so there was a lot of sandy grit to deal with when smearing, which you'll be doing a lot of on the upper pitches. The second time I did this, we started on Dirty Little White Boys (?) 10b slab, (accessed by making some unprotected moves to a ledge) parallel to the second pitch of Reading Between The Lines (new route). Then we linked up with pitches 3-5 of RBTL but traversed left just before the anchors of the 5th pitch to access the first 10d pitch of Unfinished Symphony. I think the first 10d pitch was the hardest, IMO. It was relentless and seemed to go on forever. The second 10d I thought was considerably easier due to how deep the pin scars were... or maybe it was just because I followed on that pitch.

We did this variation because the bottom of Snake was wet and I found it pretty enjoyable. May 13, 2019

Isaac Kroger
Little Rock, AR

Detailed route description:

Unfinished Symphony follows a long, right facing corner up the Central part of the Apron. The climbing slowly builds in difficulty before culminating at a baffling crux mantling over an arete. The climbing protects well with Totems/offset cams and nuts, and all the bolts are bomber 3/8” stainless steel.

Scramble up the first 10m of Snake to reach a good belay ledge. Some parties choose to rope up for this. (Note: the Squamish Select Guidebook describes this as a pitch, but this description does not.) Unfinished Symphony shares most of the first pitch with Snake.

P1: (5.7) Follow the right facing corner for 55m to a tree belay directly below the large roof. Note: Snake breaks left at the juggy dike encountered shortly before the belay.
P2: (5.9) Follow the right facing corner around the large roof. Continue following the same corner until it pushes you onto the face for a short section, then continue to another tree belay. There will be bolts visible to your right, but these are for a different climb.
P3: (5.10a) More right facing corner, this time with some cracks and flakes on the vertical face to your left. The corner leads to a small roof that protects with a hand-sized piece, then spits you out on a ledge at the base of the next pitch. Note: With a 70m rope, this pitch can easily be linked with the previous 5.9 or with the next 10d pitch.
P4: (5.10d) From here, the corner gets a bit steeper and has intermittent pin scars and small hand holds. This pitch protects with finger sized gear and small offset nuts, with a few bolts here and there. The climbing gets more challenging as you near the next bolted anchor.
P5: (5.10d) More of the same, but slightly more sustained. Ends at a bolted anchor.
P6: (5.11b) This section of the route is very well bolted. Smear your way up to a good hold on the right side of the arete, clip a bolt around the arete, and figure out how to turn the arete. You’ll be on top rope for this move. Go for it! After you turn the arete, continue up the bolted slab to a bolted anchor. Note: With a 70m rope, this pitch can be linked with the previous with minimal rope drag.
P7: (5.7) Follow the slab rightwards to finish on Broadway ledge.

Thanks to the numerous routes around Unfinished Symphony, it is fairly trivial to rap the route at any time with a 60m rope. Tie knots and watch your ends!

Gear: BD .1-.5, with double .2-.4. Small offset nuts. 10-12 draws. Optional hand sized piece for P3. As many of the belays are slung trees, you may wish to bring some fresh cord for anchor material. Sep 11, 2021

Benoit Potvin
North Vancouver, BC

Great line. As described in the Mclane's guidebook, we did 2 pitches (10a/b & 5.9/10a) between the snake's pitch (tree belay) and the first 10d pitch.. The first bit just after the Snake's pitch (10a/b) was the mental crux for me as I had a hard time protecting the first 10 meters. I got a little bit scared thinking the 10d pitches were going to be similar but harder. This was however not the case. I was able to place plenty of pros using c3 and z4 cams. I did not have ball nuts but this would have been the best way to protect these pin scars. It is really good. Go climb it! Aug 13, 2022

Uknown Unknown
Vancouver, BC

BEST CLIMB IN SQUAMISH! Felt like more of a mental game than physical.I had loads of C3's and offset cams. I would not do them without. Nuts/offset nuts were not very useful IMO.

Bolt spacing is questionable on the 10d pitches. Felt like there was a bolt when you didn't need it, and no bolts when you need it/runout.

I did this on a full overcast day, little windy, 17 degrees. I would not do it on a sunny day. Sun peaked over slighty here and there and could feel my foot slip everytime it peaked.

The movements on this were outstanding.

Can the 11b pitch be aided? Ish, not exactly a bolt ladder. The runouts increase significantly past the first few bolts and there's still some 10-/+ slab climbing between the bolts. You could technically stand on each bolt as a foothold, but you still need to climb a little bit before the next bolt. Slab game needs to be at least decent to make it to the next bolts while half aiding. May 31, 2023

Alex Randolph

Just climbed this route and my feet are killing me. I found offset aliens very helpful, as well as the yellow Z4. A hand sized piece is good to have on the first three pitches. The second 10d pitch was much easier than the first, so if you made it safely to this pitch, keep going!

In terms of progression to this route, I found the slabby corner of Great Game and other popular apron 10's casual, whereas this was the upper end of my spice tolerance. Jul 19, 2023