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Justin20
Jun 7, 2012, 11:37 PM
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Just looking for beginner rock climbing spots in the Canmore, Kananaskis, Banff area? I know of Grassi lakes but that place gets very busy and that isn't the greatest.
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d.vonk
Jun 8, 2012, 4:51 AM
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Justin20 wrote: Just looking for beginner rock climbing spots in the Canmore, Kananaskis, Banff area? I know of Grassi lakes but that place gets very busy and that isn't the greatest.
Grassi is a good fun spot when time is limited or a pump is needed. Also
cougar canyon
Heart Creek
Grotto Canyon
Back Of The Back Of The Lake (Lake Louise)
Tunnel mountain (banff)
Barrier (k-country)
Wasootch (k-country)
These are all great spots and you could spend years climbing these Few spots out.
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Mish1100
Feb 20, 2014, 1:10 AM
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Registered: Apr 25, 2012
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Doing a road trip across Canada this summer. Can u give me more info on the one in Lake Louise and Banff please? Sport/trad? Level of difficulty? Top rope-able? Thanks!
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amyas
Feb 20, 2014, 1:27 AM
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Lake Louise a must go. Beautiful quartzite in a breathtaking semi-alpine setting. Both sport and trad, 5.4-5.14.
Tunnel mostly sport, 5.5 -5.12 on limestone. Good and walking distance from town, need a 70m or 2 ropes for some single pitch routes.
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amyas
Feb 20, 2014, 1:30 AM
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oh and you'll have to lead at either place. a few routes you could share an anchor and top rope a second route after leading the first, but probably not a good idea at louise at least since people are usually waiting for a chance at the easy to moderate routes in high season.
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markc
Feb 20, 2014, 9:43 PM
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amyas wrote: Lake Louise a must go. Beautiful quartzite in a breathtaking semi-alpine setting. Both sport and trad, 5.4-5.14. Tunnel mostly sport, 5.5 -5.12 on limestone. Good and walking distance from town, need a 70m or 2 ropes for some single pitch routes.
The only time I climbed at Lake Louise was when I was visiting a friend for a week. It was in the middle of our trip, and we were so tired that we only did a handful of easy/moderate sport routes. Still, it was well worth it. It's breathtaking!
I've climbed just a little at a number of the crags d.vonk mentioned way back when. Just the variety of formations is really fantastic.
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markcarlson
Feb 22, 2014, 10:43 PM
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Registered: Feb 14, 2009
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Mish1100 wrote: Doing a road trip across Canada this summer. Can u give me more info on the one in Lake Louise and Banff please? Sport/trad? Level of difficulty? Top rope-able? Thanks!
On a related note: Many of the places near Banff and to the east of Banff were affected by flooding last summer. Some approaches are a bit different now, and some routes have first bolts that are much higher or lower than they used to be.
IMO, the best guidebook for the Banff / Lake Louise area is the new Banff Rock book. If you are strapped for cash, you can sometimes get the "Sport Climbs in the Canadian Rockies - 6th Edition" guidebook on Google Play for cheap ($8!)
For beginner sport routes, you can also check out the Sunshine Slabs area in addition to the already mentioned crags:
See here for a topo
It has a number of easy routes and has the shortest approach of any crag in the Canadian Rockies (as far as I know!) It was also affected by the flooding, but most routes are still climbable.
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