Archangel Valley Climbing

This digital Archangel Valley climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Archangel Valley days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Archangel Valley is the cradle of bouldering in Hatcher Pass, comprising two large talus fields with the greatest density of developed boulder problems. There are more than 550 problems split between two gigantic areas (further broken into smaller subareas). New to this guidebook is the inclusion of the Lost World, Old World, and Super Bowl with roughly 250 problems, substantially developed by Ian and Britta Brecheen; by itself the Diamond has more problems than the original guidebook included for all of Hatcher Pass. You could boulder for many years and not visi... Show more

This digital Archangel Valley climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Archangel Valley days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Archangel Valley is the cradle of bouldering in Hatcher Pass, comprising two large talus fields with the greatest density of developed boulder problems. There are more than 550 problems split between two gigantic areas (further broken into smaller subareas). New to this guidebook is the inclusion of the Lost World, Old World, and Super Bowl with roughly 250 problems, substantially developed by Ian and Britta Brecheen; by itself the Diamond has more problems than the original guidebook included for all of Hatcher Pass. You could boulder for many years and not visit every problem in this stretch of the valley. These rocky labyrinths conceal an endless amount of secrets and potential to explore. Access to these areas is relatively easy, if you have enough ground clearance on your vehicle. Beyond the bridge near Reed Lakes Trailhead, Archangel Road is completely unmaintained and it shows: big potholes and dips, rocks, washouts, and thick alder growth choking the shoulders. All of these factors become present about a half a mile past Reed Lakes where the road climbs a steep hill, which is the crux of the drive. The “beaver dam” sector is a consistently wavy section of road about a mile in, where the beavers are trying to wash out the road (dam them)! A competent driver can safely navigate a Subaru up this road, but high clearance would give you peace of mind. Turning around can be very difficult, so you need to know that you can make it or don’t even try. Do not bring your RV or extended Sprinter van up here. Parking is limited to a few pullouts scattered along the sides of the road or sometimes just pulling onto the edge of the road. The pullouts are unmarked and pretty specific to the approaches for certain areas, so check the maps. Parking has become more difficult since the alder growth on the road shoulders has exploded. Sometimes we like to bring loppers to cut out the troublesome veggies and make our own spot. If you are worried about valuable vegetation than just keep this in mind, “If it’s an alder, then don’t hold back.” Creek Crossings: Some of the boulders are in the tundra below the road, but most of the climbing is on the far side of Archangel Creek. Although it is not wide or deep, this swift stream proves to be a major barrier for children, dogs, and people unaccustomed to boulder hopping with bulky pads. Where possible, the preferred crossings for each climbing area are included on the maps. At the specified crossing points you can usually keep your feet dry; however early season meltwater or heavy rainfall can make the creek crossings nearly impassable below the Monolith in Lane Valley. You can always ford the creek in the pond below the outhouse on the Diamond approach, but the water is about thigh-to-crotch deep in the shallowest spots (brrrrr).