A Famous Squamish Route is Falling Apart – Stay Clear!
Banana Peel is not safe to climb right now because of two precariously balanced pieces of broken rock high on the climb
Photo by: Anders Ourom
The Apron on The Chief is one of the most popular rock climbing areas in Squamish, but a classic route first climbed in 1965 is falling apart.
It was reported last week that Banana Peel, an eight-pitch 5.7R, had a big flake begin to break away. Not only that, but on top of the big flake is a large boulder. If one or both of the pieces of rock fell, it could have dire consequences.
Most climbers became aware of the cracked flake after Sonnie Trotter and North Shore Rescue posted a warning on social media. Someone has since installed rebar (see above photo) to hopefully keep the broken rocks in place for the time being.
Since the rebar has been installed, local historian and climber Anders Ourom made a trip to inspect the rebar solution. He noted that “the two pins beside the flake should discourage it from falling (with the block following right behind), but it may simply shatter, and then who knows? The flake is under tension and compression, and the block sitting on it weighs a lot.”
He said that the pins under the block should help support it, but that depends on the flake still being there. “Whether the pins are strong enough isn’t for me to say,” he said. The rebar was added to possibly prevent a rockfall, but doesn’t make the route safe to climb.
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