Most of the climbing around Canmore is in the canyons formed by the runoff from the mountains in the area. As such, many of the cliffs receive only a limited amount of sun, which is good on hot summer days, but can be cold in the early and late season. As well, keep in mind that recent precipitation, or warm weather in the early season may leave the creeks in the canyons very high, making the many crossings difficult, and some of the cliffs unclimbable. The climbing itself is quite varied. Acephale, Grassi Lakes and Carrot Creek are steep, pocketed crags, while Cougar Canyon and Heart Creek tend to be less steep, but more technical climbing. The long cliffs on Mt. Rundle and Ha Ling peak offer some fantastic multi-pitch climbing, both sport and gear, in a fine situation over 1000 metres above the valley floor.

The Crags of Canmore & Area

Acephale
Acephale is home to the highest concentration of hard routes in the Rockies. The steeply overhanging pocketed limestone crag has over 50 routes, of which only a handful are below 5.12.

Heart Creek
Heart Creek flows through a narrow canyon between Heart Mountain and Mount McGillivray just before it crosses the Trans Canada highway. The cliffs along the west side of the canyon offer a number of climbs, mostly in the 5.10 and 5.11 range. The rock is featured, though not very pocketed, and generally slabby or vertical. Most of the climbs are quite short, though there is definite possibility for long, hard, long routes on the wall to the north of Blackheart.

Grassi Lakes
Set in a picturesque canyon between Mt Rundle and Chinaman’s Peak, Grassi Lakes offers a number of excellent, steep routes on pocketed limestone of variable (poor?) quality. Owing to the steepness of some of the walls, Grassi is often a good place to climb when it is raining out.

Ha Ling Peak
The impressive 550 metre north face of Ha Ling Peak (formerly Chinaman’s Peak), which stands above Grassi Lakes and Canmore, is climbed by the longest North American sport route north of Mexico. Although the route goes at 5.10d, it is a long, serious climb, with 11 pitches of 5.10. There are also a number of gear routes on Ha Ling.

East End of Rundle and Kanga Crag
The east end of Mt Rundle offers a number of multi-pitch routes, both gear and sport, as well as some shorter routes at Kanga Crag at it’s base.

Carrot Creek
Carrot Creek, to the west of Canmore along Highway 1, has a number of outstanding routes on the very steep limestone walls along the gorge on the north side of the highway. Note that at the current time Carrot Creek is currently CLOSED to climbing, due to the importance of the valley as a wildlife migration corridor.

Bathtub Brook and The Alcove
Two small, relatively undeveloped crags near the Harvie Heights area of Canmore. The routes at The Alcove are generally a little stiffer than those at Bathtub Brook.

The Stone Works
The Stone Works is the gorge immediately west of Mt Lady McDonald. Most of the climbs are on the walls of the narrow canyon, as well as a couple of walls above. Climbs are generally in the 5.10 to 5.11 range.

Cougar Canyon
Cougar Canyon, the drainage between Mt Lady Macdonald and Grotto Canyon, offers a large number of climbs on some good quality limestone. The climbing is generally technical vertical face climbing, and the rock is edgy as opposed to pocketed.

Grotto Canyon
Grotto Canyon is the drainage to the west of Grotto Mountain, near the Baymag cement plant #2. Grotto is one of the oldest and largest crags in the Rockies, with over 200 routes; however, many routes are of poor quality. The climbing ranges from viciously overhanging to slabby, and offers a wide variety of grades (5.6 to 5.13). The rock is generally featured but not pocketed, and tends to polish easily, especially along the base of the cliff which is washed by the creek at high water. Usually wet for a few days after a storm.

Crag X
The tall, chossy looking wall just to the west of Grotto Canyon. Traditionally known for multi-pitch routes on horrific rock, there are now a few sport routes at the base as well.

Steve Canyon and the The Sanctuary
Steve Canyon is the next drainage to the east of Grotto. Although the Upper Wall has some longer (30m) routes, most of the climbs are short, and in the 5.10 range. The Sanctuary is a cliff a 45 minute hike above the canyon. With its southern exposure, the Sanctuary is a good early or late season crag.

Types of Climbing

Free Climbing
Free climbing is rock climbing which does not involve any direct aid. That is, the climber uses only the features of the rock to climb with. Any gear or bolts which he uses are only for protection in the event of a fall and never hold his weight. Free climbing does not mean un-roped climbing. That is called soloing (or free soloing).

Aid climbing
Aid climbing uses gear such as nuts, pitons, hooks and bolts to pull up on and make progress in a climb. Although it is less practiced today than in the past, it is still widely used on big walls and mountaineering.

Traditional Climbing
Often called trad climbing or referred to as ‘slinging gear’. Basically, climbing without placing bolts. Only natural protection such as nuts and cams in cracks, or slings around trees or rock horns are used.

Sport Climbing
Increasingly popular is climbing on routes with only pre-placed bolts for protection. Usually short, often hard climbs. Only a rope, harness and a few quickdraws are needed. Many traditionalists feel that sport climbing is a somewhat lower form of climbing, as it permanently scars the rock, and removes much the mental game from climbing.

Lead Climbing
Climbing where the first climber takes the rope up with him or her and clips the rope into protection (bolts, nuts or cams in cracks, slings around trees etc.) as he or she ascends.

Top Roping
Climbing where the rope runs through an anchor at the top of the climb, and then down to the climber. The climber does not have to worry about placing protection, or taking big falls.

Bouldering
Un-roped climbing low enough to the ground that a fall is not too serious (usually a few metres or less). Bouldering allows a climber to work on very difficult sequences without worrying about gear and equipment.

Equipment

Climbing equipment has evolved steadily over the past 50 years. Originally, pitons were pounded into cracks with hammers to provide protection. Today, most climbers use aluminum nuts and spring loaded camming devices instead. Ropes, carabiners, harnesses, shoes and everything else have been constantly refined and improved. Almost all climbing equipment is designed to withstand far greater forces than are ever created in all but the most extreme climbing situations. For gear to fail when used properly is very rare. The following is a brief explanation of basic modern climbing equipment:

Rope
One of the most important pieces of equipment a climber uses. Climbing ropes are dynamic (stretchy) so they absorb some of the impact in a fall. Climbing ropes are extremely strong and durable.

Harness
A nylon harness (usually just a waist harness) which both the climber and belayer (person who feeds rope out to the climber and catches falls) wear, and which the rope is tied into.

Shoes
Traditionally, climbers wore stiff soled boots to climb rock, but over the years climbing shoes have evolved to today’s tight fitting shoes with soft, high friction rubber soles. These shoes have been one of the factors in the dramatic increase in the technical difficulty of climbs now considered possible

Carabiners
Often just called biners. These are the more or less oval metal links climbers use to attach ropes and other gear.

Quickdraws
The sport climber's gear of choice. Two biners attached by a short nylon sling. These are used by a lead climber to attach the rope to a piece of protection or to a bolt.

Belay Devices
Any one of a number of devices which allow the belayer to stop a climber's fall by putting a great deal of friction on the rope. Before belay devices were common, climbers used to use friction of the rope on their body to stop a fall (waist belay, hip belay etc). Needless to say, modern belay devices are far less painful.

Nuts (chocks, stoppers
Small metal (usually aluminum) wedges which are fit into cracks to hold a fall. Most nuts have a wire loop which is used to clip a carabiner into.

Spring loaded camming devices
Often called cams or Friends. These are complicated devices with three or four roughly semicircular lobes which may retracted, and then automatically expand to fit into a crack. These devices make protection much simpler in large cracks.

Helmet
While helmets are rarely found today at sport crags, a helmet is still very important on a big wall where the danger of falling rocks and dropped gear is much greater and the consequences of an injury much more serious. Climbing helmets are similar to industrial hard-hats - they are designed to withstand impact from above (i.e. - falling rock) more than side impacts.