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Wild Extension to Boatswain is Alberta’s Hardest Multi-Pitch

Don’t Rock the Boatswain

In 2017, Miles Adamson and Zach Watson made the first ascent of Don’t Rock the Boatswain, a six-pitch 5.13a on Grotto Mountain.

They bolted a final seventh pitch that climbs through a steep and solid wall.

Adamson, known for his bold high-ball boulder climbs, returned to make the first ascent of Don’t Rock the Boatswain Extension with Alex Fricker this last week of spring 2018.

Adamson suggests a grade of 5.14b, which would make it the most difficult multi-pitch in Alberta and one of the hardest in Canada.

Adamson wrote on Instagram, “It is a strange overhanging corner to a good rest, which leads to a brutal boulder on the roof.

“The boulder is I think V11 and caps the entire multipitch. The exposure is insane as you can see 200 metres of wall straight to the ground as your feet cut.”

It is the hardest multi-pitch in the Canadian Rockies, a letter grade above The Shining on Mount Louis, Castles in the Sky on Castle Mountain and Blue Jeans Direct on Yamnuska.

It took Adamson and Watson five years to bolt the seven-pitch route, which they did ground up.

Some of Canada’s other hard multi-pitch routes include Tom Egan Memorial Route 5.14 in the Bugaboos, Temptation of St. Anthony 5.13R/X and Prow Wall 5.14a in Squamish.

Below is a clip from Adamson from 2017 looking down the 5.14b pitch. Click to watch.

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