Stu Smith Makes Coveted Repeat of a Big Squamish 5.14a
In 2016, Sonnie Trotter made the first ascent of the old project high on The Chief
Photo by: Brandon Pullan of The Prow Wall
Sqamish-based climber Stu Smith has made the second ascent of the eight-pitch Prow Wall on The Chief. About the send, Smith said, “It went pretty quick. Good route that.”
The Prow Wall was freed in 2016 by Sonnie Trotter who was belayed by Tom Wright. “After five days of work this month, rapping, bolting, scrubbing, trimming, fixing and jugging, I was ready to finally put this thing to bed,” said Trotter after the first ascent. Trotter gave the crux 5.14a, which Smith agrees with.
“We made it to the crux pitch (#4) by noon and on my third attempt, I linked through the boulder problem and onward upward toward the headwall. We topped out the 20-year-old project around 3 p.m. just minutes after the sun hit the wall.”
The Prow Wall is around 200 metres and goes at 5.10c, 5.10b, 5.12a, 5.14a, 5.11c, 5.13a, 5.12b and 5.12a. There are several other climbs around The Prow Wall, including Teddy Bear’s Picnic 5.12d, Written in Stone 5.11d, Gravity Bong 5.13a, Masher Told 5.13b, The Power of Yesterday 5.13 (which Smith also just repeated), Unbearable 5.12a and Speechless 5.13b.
“There is a younger guy that’s been working on it for over a year now,” said Smith about The Prow Wall. “Think he’s close.”
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