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Canmore is the last town outside of Banff National Park on the east side. As such, it has become somewhat of Mecca for people looking to get into the mountains without having to deal with the regulations of the park. The Canadian Alpine Club is based here, which has certainly helped raise the profile of Canmore as an outdoorsy town.
Canmore is populated by a healthy mix of climbers, mountain bikers, rich people, and hippies, and has a very laid-back though acitve atmosphere. Although it is getting worse, Canmore is still not as commercialized or touristy as Banff and Lake Louise. For the climber, Canmore offers virtually everything one could want. Fantastic mountain vistas and lots of rock (at least 8 crags within a 20 minute drive) including sport, trad, multi-pitch, and alpine routes. For days when it is too wet to climb there is lots of great hiking and mountain biking. In town there are all the conveniences a modern climber could want: a good coffee shop (the Coffee Mine), a good restaurant (the Sherwood) and a good liquor store (across the street from the Coffee Mine).
And best of all for all those stuck to jobs back in the city, all this is only an hour and fifteen minutes away from Calgary.
Location
Canmore is located on the Trans- Canada highway about 120 km west of Calgary, and about 20 km east of Banff. Most of the amenities in town are on the south side of the highway, and the Alpine Club is located just out of town heading east on hwy 1A. Access to the crags is either from hwy 1, 1A, or Spray Lakes Road. For complete directions to each crag refer to the guidebook Sport Climbs in the Canadian Rockies.
The Climbing
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
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Acephale |
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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. |
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Heart Creek |
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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. |
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Grassi Lakes |
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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. |
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Ha Ling Peak |
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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. |
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East End of Rundle and Kanga Crag |
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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. |
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Carrot Creek |
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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 CLOSED to climbing, due to the importance of the valley as a wildlife migration corridor. |
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Bathtub Brook and The Alcove |
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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. |
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The Stone Works |
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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. |
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Cougar Canyon |
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Cougar Canyon, the drainage between Mt Lady McDonald 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. |
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Grotto Canyon |
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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. |
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Crag X |
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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. |
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Steve Canyon and the The Sanctuary |
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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. |
