Stawamus Chief rock slide: 10 climbers were just metres away

Approximately 10 climbers who were just metres away from a massive rock slide on the Stawamus Chief on Sunday all made it safely off the rock face, says Squamish Search and Rescue.

Manager Katy Chambers says the climbers were on a route called Angel's Crest on the North Walls area of the rock face, located north of Vancouver, when the 1,000 cubic metre granite slab fell away.

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Fortunately, no one was caught in the slide, said Chambers.

"All climbers that we know have been accounted for," she told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.. "All vehicles have been accounted for in the area."

Chambers says the climbers were in "quite a bit of shock," as a huge cloud of dust and noise surrounded them.

"Most of them continued to climb up and complete the day and we interviewed them in the evening," she said.

"A lot of them just hunkered down, they weren't quite sure what was happening."

Geotechnical engineers have assessed the slide from the air, but the debris pile, described by Chambers as being the size of two square city blocks, is still considered too unstable to examine.

Chambers says a report on the long-term stability of the area could be ready by the end of the week.

The cause of the slide is not yet known, and the area is closed to climbers until further notice.

To hear the full interview with Katy Chambers, listen to the audio labelled: Climbers found safe after rock slide in Squamish