Northwest BC hides a wealth of excellent undeveloped and often completely unclimbed rock. Simply driving along the highway from Terrace to Prince Rupert there are at least half a dozen 200 metre cliffs, plus countless smaller bluffs, most of at least some potential for climbing. The slabs of Copper Mountain, one of the few developed areas, extend for nearly a kilometre and are up to 300 metres in length, with only a dozen routes. The towering vertical wall above the Exchamskis river provincial park rises from the forest for nearly 250 metres and may never have been fully climbed. For the even more adventurous, Split Mountain offers the potential for some true big wall climbing on cliffs up to 500 metres or more in the canyon formed when the mountain split down the center thousands of years ago. And for those willing to venture a little further from the beaten track the potential is almost endless.

At the present time, there is no published guidebook for rock climbing in northwest BC, though there has been talk of one for some time. I have included route information on the area pages for the three most popular Northwest climbing crags. For gear or information check out Azad Adventures.

Also, while it is not exactly north west BC, I have included a topo of Hells Bells near Fort St James which was provided by Lyle Knight.

Location

The areas described in this page are located along the highway 16 corridor in northwest BC. The nearest towns are Terrace, Prince Rupert and Kitimat, none of which is more than about 20 000 people.

Weather can be a problem in northwest BC. Although it is usually dry and in the low to mid 20’s for most of the summer, the spring and fall are often very wet, and the snow often doesn’t melt of the back roads until mid may. The climbing season generally extends from early April to sometime in September, though this can vary from crag to crag. For up to date weather forecasts, check out the Environment Canada WeatherOffice.

Gear

A standard rack up north would probably be a full set of nuts, maybe some doubled around the .5” size, and a set of cams to about 2.5”. Slings of various lengths for anchors, as some of the anchors are simply trees a way back from the cliff. Other than that, the gear required really depends where you want to climb. At Onion Lake, most people just top rope, though many of the climbs can be led, mainly on smaller crack gear. Note that the rock is of dubious quality in many places here. At Copper Mountain, bring a good sized rack for the longer climbs. A few longer slings are useful as some routes wander a bit, and some webbing and rappel rings are useful if you don’t want to rap off that sun-bleached, rodent chewed, nylon that’s been there for the last ten years. At Tyee, you can get away with only quick draws, but a small rack will give you a bit more freedom as there are still a couple gear routes here. If you plan on establishing new routes, bring a wire brush and be prepared to spend some time cleaning. The rock is generally solid, but can be very mossy, especially when it is well shaded.

Another vital piece of equipment is some bug dope. During the summer evenings, the bugs can be quite bad, especially at Onion and Tyee. Climbing a couple pitches off the ground the bugs tend to go away however.

Ethics

As the climbing community up north is quite small, the local ethics are not that firmly established. A few common courtesies should be extended to other climbers however:

• Don't leave garbage at the crags
• If you find gear around the crags, leave it for the owner to pick up (my rope for example!). Stuck gear on a route is legitimate booty, but keep in mind it may have been there for a few winters...
• Be careful about dropping rocks or gear from up high. This is especially a concern at Copper where there are lots of big loose rocks which could seriously injure someone on lower climbs or damage gear. When developing new routes, try to safely remove loose rocks and always yell rock if you drop something.

New Routes

There is a ton of potential for the development of new routes in the northwest, both at the existing crags and at the hundreds of potential crags. When developing new routes, please follow the following guidelines.

• Don't bolt where natural pro is possible. Mixed bolted and gear routes are fine.
• Think before you bolt a route. Is the route worth it? Is is too close to existing routes? Will it affect the character of other climbs in the area? If you decide to bolt, place bolts carefully. Most routes in the northwest are much less sporty than many other areas in North America. 5 to 8 bolts per half rope pitch is pretty standard.
• Rappel anchors should be of good quality. Manky little chains or sun-bleached nylon is not as good as proper chains or rappel anchors. Where it is possible to walk off a climb, it is fine to leave it without rap anchors.
• Don't alter the rock in any way (no chipping etc.). Loose rocks should be cleared off the route first. How much you clean the route (moss, lichen etc) is up to you.>/li>
• Report new routes at Valhalla Pure in Terrace.

Crags

The rock in northwest BC is exclusively granite, though it ranges in texture and quality. Despite all the potential, there are currently only three developed areas:

Copper Mountain

The 300 metre granite slabs at Copper offers some fine multi-pitch slab and crack climbing, and is a great place to spend a summer evening. Mostly the climbs are in the 5.10 range. Tons of potential

Onion Lake

The rough and highly featured granite bluffs at Onion are among the most climbed in the northwest. A couple dozen short routes on rock of variable quality. Some good climbs, but bring the bug dope!

Tyee

Tyee is the sportiest of the crags in the northwest. About a dozen climbs on some solid vertical and overhanging wavy granite cliffs. Some excellent routes, and although this crag is near completely developed, there are a number of similar cliffs in the surrounding area which are untouched.