Guinness Gully
WI4,
Ice, 850 ft (258 m), 3 pitches, Grade II,
Avg: 3.2 from 53
votes
FA: Jack Firth, John Lauchlan, Pat Morrow, & Jim Tanner; 1975
International
> N America
> Canada
> British Columbia
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> Yoho
> Mt Dennis
Description
After the short approach, you'll reach a short ice step before the first pitch - stop here and gear up. Solo the ice step and build a nice belay on bolts to the right.
Pitch 1: WI4, 30m.
Sometimes thin, but quite thick in Feb 2016. Choose your line and power up to a tree belay on the left. When your second reaches the top of the pitch, have them continue up the low angle ice and snow to build a belay for the next pitch.
Pitch 2: WI4, 20m.
We climbed a line on the left side from an ice screw belay in a nice ice cave. Tree belay to the left.
Pitch 3: WI4, 55m.
The money! Have your belayer stand out of the way and head up this long, sustained pitch. It looks like the easiest line was on the right in Feb 2016, but we climbed the left side which was solid WI4+. You can comfortably climb this pitch with 60m ropes as long as you have your belayer stand reasonably close to the base. On the right hand side there is a single bolt with a chain with rappel link, and a single bolt with a rap ring, they can be linked with cordelette or a quick draw. Run the ropes through the link and ring to rappel.
Descent: Rappel the route using the same anchors as you used on the way up. This route does get a lot of traffic, so it may be easier to walk off on a busy day. Please "improve this page" if you have walk off beta.
Location
Make your way to the Field Service Road as for the other "beer" climbs on Mt. Dennis. Park at the pullout and note the signage warning of avalanche danger. Hike back along the road a small distance to some flagging and make the short but steep hike up.
Protection
Ice screws and two 60m ropes. The last pitch is long and sustained, so consider a large rack of screws.
[Hide Photo] Justin heading up P1.
[Hide Photo] Looking up at Pitch 3. Belay at the top is on the right either on a ledge in the ice (screws, v-threads) or off a tree.
[Hide Photo] Travis leading pitch 2 - belay at the top is off a tree on the left.
[Hide Photo] Vik Sahney leading the first pitch of Guinness Gulley on Feb 13, 2022. Note that there is now a sign at the road indicating the boot path to Guinness Gulley. You can see the ice nearly the moment…
Seattle, WA
youtu.be/pKqsGqMevoY Feb 12, 2017
Bellingham WA