Quinn Mason eyeing down the seventh draw early on in the hard climbing of Spirit Quest (5.14d), Paradise Wall, Squamish, British Columbia. Mason made the route’s first female ascent on October 9, 2025. Photo: Don Mason
Paradise Wall is one of the many gems at Squamish, British Columbia, a granite mega-destination known for its breadth: everything from classic moderates, to cutting-edge single-pitch trad like Drifter’s Escape (proposed 5.15a: FFA: Connor Herson, 2025) and Cobra Crack (5.14b; FFA: Sonnie Trotter, 2006), to endless bouldering, to technical sport. The wild traverse of Dreamcatcher (5.14d) on the Cacodemon Boulder, freed by Chris Sharma in 2005, might be Squamish’s most iconic hard sport climb. But the 5.14d face climb Spirit Quest (2021: FFA by Mike Foley) at Paradise Wall has garnered recent attention, too.
Spirit Quest offers a direct start to Tom Wright’s 2015 classic Spirit of the West (5.14a). “Interestingly. [Spirit of the West] was the first route I ever bolted. And in all of the 35 meters, only one small piece of rock broke off during cleaning. I was thinking, Man, putting up routes is a piece of cake!” says Wright. “It’s an immaculate piece of stone, and I think it’s important to point out that all the routes on that wall are fully natural, including Spirit Quest and Midnight Way—which I think is rare at that level.” (Midnight Way is a 5.15a that breaks left off Spirit Quest, put up by Connor Herson in 2024.)
In autumn 2025, Quinn Mason (@quinn.midori), who contributed both the story below as well as imagery of Hamish McArthur’s bouldering tear through Colorado in 2025 to the inaugural American Climbing Journal, made the route’s first female ascent. The redpoint process, though initially intimidating, ended up being meditative and joyful—a chance for Mason to connect with a beautiful climb in a serene setting amidst friends. May your summer (and fall) projects give you such meaning as well!
—Matt Samet, Editor, American Climbing Journal
First Female Ascent of Spirit Quest (5.14d)
Dan Beland on the classic Spirit of the West (5.14a), Paradise Wall; Spirit Quest takes a direct start to this line, upping the difficulty significantly. Photo: Sonnie Trotter
Spirit Quest (9a/5.14d) snakes up the middle of the sheer, breathtaking Paradise Wall in Paradise Valley, Squamish, BC. The first routes went up on this crag in 2015, making it a relatively new addition to Squamish sport climbing. Paradise Wall is stacked with stellar, all-natural climbing, with about one route per grade from 8a+/5.13c to 9a+/5.15a.
Squamish local Tom Wright bolted Spirit Quest as a direct start to Spirit of the West, a classic 30-meter 5.14a he freed in autumn 2015. After Wright opened up Spirit Quest to the community, it saw its first ascent in 2021 by the talented Mike Foley. Until then, Dreamcatcher had been Squamish’s premier hard sport climb. While Dreamcatcher famously demands bouldery, gymnastic climbing, Spirit Quest stands in contrast, asking for head-to-toe tension and technique combined with powerful closed-hand crimping for 30–40 consecutive moves through its cruxy middle section, with an equal number or more of foot sequences.
I climbed Spirit Quest on October 9, 2025, making its first female ascent after 14 days of effort.
An overview of Paradise Wall, Paradise Valley, Squamish, B.C. Spirit Quest (5.14d) makes its way right up the middle of the wall. Photo: Sonnie Trotter
When I first walked up to Paradise Wall in summer 2023, I was blown away by its aura—in particular by Spirit Quest, the obvious king line following crisp, crystalline fractures up the slightly overhanging, monolithic panel. I waited awhile to try the climb—I didn’t know if I was ready and feared what my first attempt might unveil. What became more apparent during the process, however, is that if you perpetually wait to “feel” ready, that feeling might never come. It became a balance of embracing uncertainty and allowing for doubt while simultaneously fostering the deep belief that I could and would complete the route.
I fell in love with Spirit Quest’s intricate, dancelike sequences, in which the hand and foot movements played against each other in perfect harmony. The route tempts you with the opportunity to crimp with all of your might, but with over 35 meters of climbing, it also insists you learn to relax into tenuous positions and find harmony with the rock.
Tackling one of the most infamous moves on Paradise Wall—and the culprit of many a large fall. The move revolves around a left-hand sidepull undercling, settling into an uncomfortable box, and creeping across to a right-hand slimper you could seemingly spend all day readjusting on. Photo: Don Mason
There’s a move shortly after the seventh quickdraw that required me to lock a right-hand edge to my shoulder and pull over an unlikely-feeling left foot to reach a left-hand undercling at full extension. From there, walking my feet through and then bringing the undercling to my waist was one of the most challenging sequences—it not only required the most physicality but was also a barrier to reaching the more sustained climbing above, where I knew the real battle would begin. Two weeks prior to sending, I linked from the fifth quickdraw to the chains, climbing all the difficult sections. This encounter left me grappling with the contrived nature of climbing, and I lost patience and respect for the projecting process. In the following two weeks, I spent time sitting with my thoughts, eventually gaining the equilibrium needed to clip the chain.
That day, wind moved through the trees of Paradise Valley, a welcome occurrence both for me and the community of climbers who’d spent many a summer morning here. Spirit Quest was my first true project, requiring at least 10 more days of effort than anything I’d done before. Those additional days represented many hours of rehearsing moves in my head, stressing over weather, trusting what was in my hands, and making peace with what wasn’t. I am grateful to have shared the experience of working the route and eventually sending it with so many familiar faces present.
—Quinn Mason
Ascent Info: First female ascent of Spirit Quest (35 meters, 5.14d), Paradise Wall, Squamish, British Columbia; Quinn Mason, October 9, 2025.
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New Cutting Edge Podcast: Le Bombé Bleu
On February 11, Erwan Legrand—son of the legendary French climber François Legrand—took down one of the longest-standing open sport projects in the world: Le Bombé Bleu (5.15b) at Buoux, France. Bolted in 1991 by Marc Le Menestrel, the 100-foot route features a notoriously difficult precision dyno on its blue-streaked bulge, followed by ferocious tugging on tiny pockets. Famously, Le Menestrel had opened the route as long as it was left in its natural state, a vision—35 years ago—of what climbing might someday become. Join host Jim Aikman as he talks with Legrand about his remarkable barefoot redpoint, as well as chats with UK icon Ben Moon—one of the route’s early suitors—and American Climbing Journal Editor Matt Samet.
