Sonnie Trotter frees The Edge of Pan at Squamish, Canada

"One one of the most beautiful corners in all of Squamish, 45 meters, 5.13, thin gear, 1200 ft off the deck,  totally stunning." This, in short, is the crux pitch of The Edge of Pan, an five-pitch aid route established in 1983 at 5.8 A3 on the first summit of the Chief in Squamish freed a fortnight ago by Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter.

As the first ascentionist of Squamish testpiece Cobra Crack himself states, all that is missing now is the full ground up ascent of the entire route. To do this "one could choose to climb the Apron, or the greater, and most obvious line would be to link in "Never, Never Land" 5.12 directly into the Edge of Pan for a full straight up, top to bottom ascent. That’s the ultimate." No doubt it's only a question of time...

While Trotter was busy freeing the route on the Chief, fellow climbers freed some loose rock from Birds of Prey on the Squaw. The frightening video is posted below, and his words of wisdom are worth listening to: "It’s a good reminder that just because something is big, does not mean it’s “safe”. Be cautious out there, and DO NOT drop rocks without doing all the background work necessary, this group had people on the ground for public safety. Use the internet, chat rooms, billboards, climbing shops, the works. PLEASE PLEASE BE SAFE. Too many close calls that were NOT necessary are behind us, so please use common sense, we’ll all do the same. Have fun. Climb ON. BOO-YA."

Birds of Prey trundle