Squamish

Chief - Grand Wall Boulders

Summary

We were here 09 march 2019

You don’t need any technical knowledge to go bouldering here but bear in mind that any type of climbing needs a certain amount of skill. In our opinion, the boulders were graded quite hard. Generally, the level of a boulder felt one or two grades above its reported grading. An important point to mention is that we aren’t used to climbing on granite and this was the first time in this area as well. It is fun though to have an outdoor playground at walking distance from Squamish.

​

Details

​

Bouldering - Easy chair Area

Price: Nada

Location

​

Google maps location of the parking lot

​

The Crag

ENVIRONMENT

Most of the boulders are located inside the forest here. There is a lot of shade the whole day and also some coverage from the rain.  

ROUTES

We tried some boulders in the V0 - V1 range and 1 V4 but it all felt really hard. We had a true Fontainebleau feeling of this area. Powerful and difficult for the grade.

TOPO

You can find a free PDF Topo here

Mountainproject

​

Gear up with

​

• Boulder mat for the rocky grounds

ROCK CLIMBING CANADA

Squamish

The Smoke Bluffs

Summary

We were here 10 march 2019

​

You need basic knowledge of single pitch crack and trad climbing for this crag. It is also possible to hang a top rope from the top in some areas. A bit more explanation about our rating. This was our first trad climbing experience ever and it felt like we were utter nubes again. Everything was scary, awkward and hard. Consequently, it was very hard to assess the grading here objectively. We did hear that it is a good place for beginning trad climbers to start cracking.​

​

Details

​

Trad climbing

- Burgers and Fries

​

Price: Ziltch

Location

​

Google maps parking location

Google maps crag location

​

The Crag

ENVIRONMENT

Granite walls with crack and face climbing. This area is very close to a residential area and by topping out some routes you almost walk into peoples homes. You do have another perspective on the Chief from here.

ROUTES

This was our first encounter with trad climbing and crack climbing, so our views might not be completely objective. Due to us being complete rookies in this field everything felt really hard and scary at first. Our highest grade here was 4c/5a (5.7) to give you an idea.

TOPO

Mountain project

Gear up with

​

• 60 m rope

• Harness, climbing shoes, helmet

Terrace

Extew wall - Where Wild Things Are

​

Details

We were here 18 march 2019

​

Multipitch sport climbing

Location

​

Google maps location where we had to park. Parking is normally a lot closer to the crag, but the forest road was snowed-in in our case. A dirt road perpendicular to the main road starts at the google maps location, which you can follow almost al the way to the crag.

On Wikiloc you can find and download the GPX track that leads to the wall 

​

Approach

​

Consequently, the approach will be a lot shorter when you are able to drive over the road. Full disclosure: The approach is actually the only part we did of this climb. We had so much snow that finding our way through the woods without paths proved impossible. We did get a good look at the wall from afar and it looked so much fun! So we would love to have someone climbing it and report back to us. When coming from the main road follow the forest road until the 4 mile indicator. Afterward, the road turns left and right again a bit further. Before the left turn, you need to get off the forest road on a climbers trail through the forest. When you follow the road to far an opening on your right side will give you a full view of the wall.

​

The Crag

ROUTES

We wanted to climb a route called 'Where wild things are', a 240 m Grade II 5.8 multi pitch sport climb. But of what we have found online it looks like there is much more to do!

TOPO

You can find a free PDF Topo of the route we wanted to climb here

A little bit more information about Extew wall
 

Terrace

Terrace Mountain

Summary

We were here 19 march 2019

It is both possible to do some sport climbing routes and some mixed climbing routes here, meaning a wider skill set will give you more options. The grading itself felt normal, but this is not the nicest crag to go climbing as an intermediate climber. The routes improve in style once you get to the 5.11 range. This crag has some potential but its main advantage at the moment is its close proximity to Terrace.

Details

​

Sport - and trad climbing

Location

​

Google maps location where we parked. a small patch is located in the residential area to the left of the road. Discretion is advised.

​

Approach

​

Behind the parking spot, a path leads to the left into the woods, goes over a stream and follows deeper into the forest for 15 to 20 minutes before you can turn of right and see the bigger wall with fixed quickdraws hanging on the steeper part. This is the Fantastic 4 wall.

​

The Crag

​

ENVIRONMENT

The crags are located in the forest but some of the trees are a bit further back, so the sun will hit the wall in the afternoon. The wall itself is west facing. This is a small crag but for sure enough to fill a day.

ROUTES

The routes here left us with a mixed feeling. Some of them were fairly easy for the grade, other felt quite hard. We did feel overall this is a crag for some more experienced climbers climbing in the 6c – 7a range.

TOPO

We found this online guide

Mountainproject

Gear up with

​

• Harness, climbing shoes, helmet

• 60 m

Jasper

Juno Wall

Summary

We were here 25 march 2019

If you are a sport climber visiting Jasper National Park, we recommend putting this crag on your list. It has a super cool perspective on Jasper and the climbing itself is really fun. The grading was exactly what it should have been and the rock delivers some technical, but secure climbing. And since this crag is not described on Mountain Project for some reason, we suspect it sees less traffic than others is the vicinity.

Details

​

Sport climbing

​

Price: 136 CAD, entry included in our annual Canadian ‘Discovery Pass’

Location

​

Google maps location where we parked, viewpoint on the side of the road.

​

Approach

​

From the viewpoint, cross the street in the direction of the rock on the other side of the road. Go left and around the back to find a climbing trail going up. Keep heading up and in southwest direction. Our GPS track will show that we followed a path under the ridge (to far to the climbers right). When coming back down however we found a much more established trail on top of the ridge, which would be much easier to follow. Keep on this path until you see two big trees growing very close. Follow the climbing trail to the right and downhill before traversing over the slope again. In this way you can avoid rappeling to arrive at the crag. Follow for a bit longer until the wall becomes visible at the left hand side.

​

The Crag

​

ENVIRONMENT

This crag is located on top of a slope with some amazing views over Talbot Lake. You defintely get to see another side of Jasper National Park from here. Also, this is one of the earliest crags for outdoor climbing in the area. The wall itself faces west and gets a lot of sun in the afternoon since there is no cover around.

ROUTES

The routes here were spot on! No problem with climbing at our usual level. We had a lot of fun out here. The friction on the wall was very good. Sometimes even a bit on the sharp side. The style climbing is very similar over the whole wall: technical, straight up and long

TOPO

A free, very basic topo of Juno Wall

Summitpost has some more information

You can also find a very good guidebook in Jasper town, this book features much more climbing crags in the area.

Gear up with

​

• 60m rope

• 14 Quickdraws

Banff National Park

Sunshine Rock

Summary

We were here 03 april 2019

​

This was not our favorite climbing spot around Banff. The climbing felt really hard and scary, even on low grade routes, and the style of routes was not to our liking either. The only good thing is that the approach is super short. If you have a little more time, check the other places around here.

​

Details

​

Area: Sunshine Rock

Approach: 0 min

Shade / sun: Shady sections / Afternoon sun

Type: Sport climbing

Grades: 5.6 to 5.11d

​

Price: 136 CAD, entry included in our annual Canadian ‘Discovery Pass’

How to get there

LOCATION

Google maps crag location is right at the parking location 

(No approach)

​

The Crag

ENVIRONMENT

The crag is located next to the road with a river running by, so the setting is not really special, but it is the quickest approach in the Canadian Rockies. Some sections of the wall are shaded by the trees, while others see a little more sun. Most of the sun is found on the wall in the afternoon.

ROUTES

The general feeling of these routes was that it was graded really difficult. On top of that, the routes were also bolted really sportive which made our nerves stand on end. There are some slabs and some straight walls, but all of them had the same difficult feeling for us. Grades from 5.6 to 5.11d can be found here, keeping in mind that even a 5.6 can feel quite hard here. This was not our favorite climbing place in Banff National Park for sure.

TOPO

Mountainproject

Gear up with

​

• 60 m rope

• Boulder mat: Might actually come in handy to reduce the fear of falling on the lower section of the route

• Harness, climbing shoes, helmet

Banff National Park

Tunnel Mountain

Summary

We were here 4 April 2019

A really fun crag to go sport climbing. Nice technical routes with the grading spot on. As with all sport climbing you do need basic leading skills to be safe out here. If you are staying around Banff, we would definitely recommend to check this place out.

Details

Area: Tunnel mountain – Black band sub area

Approach: 20 min

Shade / Sun: Some shade for the belayer / Afternoon sun

Type: Sport Climbing

Grades: 5.6 – 5.11c

​

Price: 136 CAD, entry included in our annual Canadian ‘Discovery Pass’

How to get there

LOCATION

​

Google maps parking location 

Google maps crag location

​

Approach

​

GPS route tracked with our Garmin watch

Distance: 1 km

Elevation gain: 50 m

Time: 20 min

Take the ‘Hoodoo trail’ from the back of the parking lot and go left in NE direction. Keep following down the path down into the valley until you hit a sharp bend in Bow river. Walk around the ben until you see a fork. Then head left in N direction up the slope onto a small climbers trail until you hit the crag after 100 m.

The Crag

​

ENVIRONMENT

A secluded crag right in the middle of a forest with some nice views over the valley and Bow river running trough. We even saw some eagles flying overhead while climbing. The wall gets mostly afternoon sun. In some spots there is some shade to be found for the belayer, but the climber will be in the sun from a few meters up.

ROUTES

This was a really fun crag to go climbing. All of the routes were graded on point and the climbing was quite technical with small crimps and ledges to get yourself up the wall. The friction of the rock is really good. Sometimes the first bolt of the route was placed quite high, but this could be solved by climbing a route next door. A little more up the valley there were also some good options for multipitch. We didn’t have the change to check them out, but they looked really fun.

TOPO

The crag was extremely helpful at this crag

Mountainproject

Gear up with

​

• 70 m rope

• 18 Quickdraws

• Harness, climbing shoes, helmet