Going to Squamish? Here’s Which Guidebook You Should Get

Are you taking a trip to Squamish soon and currently shopping for a guidebook? Here’s a quick overview on the strengths and weaknesses of the four books currently available in stores. Whether you’re bouldering, sport climbing, trad climbing, or multi-pitching, there’s a high-quality Squamish guidebook for you that’ll help you make the most of your trip.

Squamish Bouldering by Marc Bourdon (2022)

If you’re coming to Squamish for bouldering, your choice is simple: pick up a copy of Squamish Bouldering by Marc Bourdon. The guidebook is undoubtedly the go-to resource for bouldering in and around Squamish. Now in its 4th edition, this classic guidebook was extensively updated and re-released in 2022.

If you have an old 3rd edition version, it’s definitely worth upgrading to the new 4th edition, as it includes a ton of new problems, particularly in the North Walls. For sale in both physical and digital forms, the guide covers 3,590 problems – a mind-blowing number.

If you’re coming to Squamish for roped climbing, your choices are a little more complex. There are three books currently for sale covering roped climbing in Squamish: Squamish Select, Squamish Rockclimbs, and Squamish Sport Climbing.

Squamish Select by Marc Bourdon (2020)

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more user-friendly book anywhere in the world than Squamish Select. Now on its 4th edition, this 2020 book is Squamish’s most recent roped climbing guide. While the book is technically a “select” and doesn’t cover every previously established route in town, it easily covers the needs of the vast majority of climbers.

Murrin Park, the Smoke Bluffs, and all of Squamish’s sport crags (as of 2020) have full comprehensive coverage in the book. The multi-pitching walls in and around the Chief are still extensively covered – the classics are all there – but the book does omit some of the more obscure lines and crags.

I’d recommend Squamish Select to essentially every climber looking to climb routes in Squamish. The area maps, parking and approach instructions, crag topos, and route descriptions are of the highest quality. The guide is sold as both a physical book and a digital PDF. If you already own the old 3rd edition from 2012, you really should upgrade as the 4th edition covers lots of new route development.

Squamish Rockclimbs by Kevin McLane and Andrew Boyd (2018)

Squamish Rockclimbs is the first installment of a two-part series by High Col Press. The book covers Squamish climbing from Murrin Park in the south to the Smoke Bluffs and Crumpit Woods in the north. Squamish’s major northern sport climbing areas (Paradise Valley, Area 44/Pillary, Chek, Rogues’ Gallery) are not covered in the guide.

The book is the only one currently available that has extensive coverage of Mount Habrich and Sky Pilot areas, including crags around the Sea-to-Sky Gondola and the epic Fluffy Kitten wall. It also includes stunning sea cliff climbing near town. You’ll find more lines, link-ups, and variations in and around the Stawamaus Chief than you will in other guidebooks.

The topo photos throughout the book are extremely high-resolution, making it easy to decipher your line. Route descriptions tend to be brief or non-existent, a style that some climbers may enjoy. In the middle of the guide, you get a fascinating section nearly 100 pages in length of old photos, classic stories, and the history of climbing in Squamish. This book should not be missed by those living nearby, visiting often, or staying for an extended trip.

Squamish Sport Climbs by Nic Vissers and Kevin McLane (2019)

Squamish Sport Climbs is the second volume to Squamish Rockclimbs described above. As the title suggests, the book covers sport climbing in and around Squamish, from Murrin Park in the south all the way to Whistler in the north. Because Squamish Rockclimbs features extensive coverage of Murrin Park, the Chief, and the Smoke Bluffs, this volume doesn’t fully describe the sport climbs in these areas, which means you need both books for a comprehensive guide of Squamish sport climbing.

This sport climbing guide contains information on a few crags not covered in any other guidebook currently for sale. These include walls in “The Gorge” near the famous Star Chek 5.9, Starvation Crag (a peaceful wall of trad and mixed lines on the Sea to Sky Trail), and a bunch of crags in nearby Whistler. This book is the lightest and least expensive of the ones included in this list. Like its first volume, the route descriptions in Squamish Sport Climbs tend to be brief or non-existent, but the topos are very high quality and easy to follow.

If you are on a tight budget, want a thin, light guidebook, and plan to climb at sport crags north of Squamish, then Squamish Sport Climbs is a good option for you.