There are reports of chipping and torching going on in the Squamish boulders and locals aren’t happy.

Chipping is when climbers use chisels or drills to enhance a hold. Torching is when climbers use blow torches to dry damp/wet holds for better friction.

For those who don’t know, chipping and torching rock climbs, boulders and projects is an absolute no.

Bill Ramsey wrote an article in 2012 called Making the Grade, which digs into the deeper philosophy of chipping. He notes that some of the world’s most classic routes have been chipped, such as Just Do It 5.14c (America’s hardest route at the time) in Smith Rock and The Rose and the Vampire in France (the world’s first 5.13d).


In it, he says, ” The problem with this argument is that it has nothing to do with the issue. Of course, most things done badly are bad. But that has nothing to do with the propriety of the practice done responsibly. Note that few people think the existence of bad bolting entails the need to abolish all bolting.

“Route preparers who engage in irresponsible and gratuitous manufacturing await the same condemnation as those who engage in irresponsible and gratuitous bolting. Because my argument is a defense of the limited sort of manufacturing described above, the possibility of other kinds of manufacturing is largely irrelevant. Remember that irresponsible manufacturing sometimes occurs now; our current condemnation hasn’t prevented it from happening.”

Chipping holds is not accepted in Squamish and those climbers who are doing it should stop. The granite in the area is a finite resource and once a problem is chipped, it’s damaged forever.