New 15-Pitch 5.11 on Remote Vancouver Island Peak
A group of friends had a multi-day adventure far from any crowds
Mount Grattan is a remote peak of the Tlupana Range in the Alava Bate Sanctuary, an alpine area in west central Vancouver Island. It has a number of steep ridges that end at the climber’s summit. The rock mostly karmutzen pillow lava, a grippy type of stone that is nice to climb.
Kris Mutafov reported to Vancouver Island Climbing and Mountaineering that he and Keely Sifton established a new route up a steep face on Grattan last week. The new 15-pitch 5.11 is called Knock Your Crocs Off and climbs 600 metres to the summit.
Mutafov said, “As we navigated the bergschrund at the base, and got beneath the first pitch, it became obvious that the line was much steeper than we had imagined. Full of fear and doubt, I set off on vertical to slightly overhanging rock. The pitch was demanding, technical, and exposed. After 50 metres of endurance-testing rock, I arrived at an acceptable belay spot. Keely made her way up, but also struggled. We think this pitch went at 5.11a or b.”
They experienced hot temps and limited water high on the mountain. “The descent was just as hot as the ascent, and by the time we found a small snow patch with a trickle draining from it,” said Mutafov, “we were so dehydrated that we drank nearly a litre just by dipping our faces in a puddle.
Kevin B. and John Relyea-Voss summited Grattan via the West Ridge “as while we climbed the route, and Kevin summited Alava as well the day before on a solo mission. It was an adventure, with good vibes around camp, and humility instilled into us with reminders of our mortality in wild places.” This is the first known new route in over 20 years on Grattan.
Knock Your Crocs Off
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