Wild Video Shows Huge Squamish North Walls Rockfall
The rockfall devastated a number of routes in the area where one occurred in 2015
A huge rockfall that occurred from the North Walls on The Chief in Squamish after midnight on Sept. 20 was caught on camera. Squamish-based Scott Milton is one of Canada’s most accomplished climbers. When asked if he heard the rockfall, he said, “Yup. I live right below it! Shook the house.”
Watch the rockfall in a video from the Squamish Chief Webcam Twitter account below. The Squamish Access Society is warning people to use caution if they’re going climbing today. “We have received reports of another rockfall-reportedly in the North Walls area of The Chief. Please exercise caution with A.M. climbing plans until we can provide more details as the impacted area is likely outside the existing closure areas.”
There are currently a number of closed areas on The Chief due to rockfall throughout this summer. In June, there was a rockfall on the Grand Wall, in early July there was one on Photophobia Buttress, and later in July there was a massive one far right of the Grand Wall.
Top west coast climber Matt Maddaloni has established a number of climbs, four of which have been damaged by rockfall over the past few years. Today he said, “Four routes in only a couple of years. The Black Dyke with its unreal Gargoyles pitch plus the big wall route Pan’s Labyrinth insane horizontal roof gold cams pitch and earlier next to this rock fall one of my all-time favourites that only a few ever got to repeat, the amazing 5.11 finish to Northern Lights, Chilkoot Pass. Happy to be still alive on this planet, though!”
There was a huge rockfall in the North Walls in 2015, the noise was heard throughout Downtown. As Squamish historian Anders Ourom said earlier this summer, “It’s not so much what just fell – it’s what else may be waiting.”
A video of last night's rockfall on the Stawamus Chief, seen from the Stawamus Chief Webcam. I think the flashes of light are sparks as the rocks collide on the way down. #Squamish #SquamishBC #StawamusChief #TheChief @squamishchief pic.twitter.com/CGtywhjvip
— Stawamus Chief Webcam (@StawamusChief) September 20, 2021
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