Gripped – August 2019

Access Notes: Bring bear spray and

be ready for bugs in June and July.

Study the mountain on the drive in to

get your baring.

Accommodations: Haines Junction

has hotels, restaurants and everything

else you need.

Season: The best months to climb

are from early June to September

with July being the best.

Guidebook: Look for more information

on this and other little-known classic

Canadian rock routes in Northern Stone

(Rocky Mountain Books), coming out

in late 2019.

areas on the peak: Buffalo Shoulder Buttress, Cranberry Canyon,

Orange Corner. Rat Mother Crack, Swiss Wall, Unnamed Area

and Unnamed Slab. Yukon has a number of climbers who are

busy every season, including Dylan Stuart, Vanessa Scharf, Paul

Henstridge, Reid Fink and Mat Trotter. In 2017 , Greg Barrett and

Charles Kalinsky found a splitter four-pitch route in Cranberry

Canyon, a zone many climbers would say has the best granite near

Haines Junction.

Most of the routes are single pitch, but Another One Bites the

Dust climbs five stunning pitches up Buffalo Shoulder Buttress.

This route climbs the buffalo’s shoulder that goes from the sum-

mit hump forming the back bone straight up. The area faces south

and gets sun most of the day. Cold winds can whip up out of no

where, so be prepared for cold temps while you take photos of the

stunning horizon and jam the nice cracks. The pitches on Another

One Bites the Dust are all long and require a big rack of gear. The

climbing is adventurous and will take you up some of the best

granite pitches in Yukon.

The views of Kluane set the backdrop for Chunder Gully, a

5. 10 b line that will take you into a five-inch offwidth that has

some fun features. Yukon is off the beaten track of most summer

rock climbers, but the one-day drive from Squamish isn’t much

to experience such raw Canadian wilderness. Not to mention the

unlimited potential for new routes. Chunder Gully would be a

must-climb anywhere in Canada. The first pitch takes you up thin

cracks at 5. 9. The second pitch is more of the same, the it’s the

offwidth third pitch that makes this climbs an instant classic. Head

past a few bolts and into the five-inch crack. There are good seams

to layback from, but you’ll need a lot of offwidth skills to get up

this exposed pitch. From there, follow slabs to the top.

Yukon is out of the way, but makes for a great location to get

away for a week. There’s also fun bouldering nearby and other

classic single-pitch routes, such as Swiss Family Robinson 5. 9 ,

Maestri Komplott 5. 10 b, Open Book 5. 8 + and Unnamed 5. 7 , all of

which are in Swiss Canyon on Paint Mountain.—Gripped

Right: Buffalo

Shoulder Buttress

Below: Charles Kalinsky
on the ground-up first
ascent of Chunder Gully

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