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Some of the finest and most featured blue streaks of limestone with likely the most exposed approach in the Bow Valley.
Pets and small children will NOT be able to safely get through the chain section. Wear a helmet through the chain section, you can potentially knock rocks down on other party members. If you get caught up here in the rain it can be very hard to get down.
Drive 10 minutes pastGrassi Lakes to Goat Pond. There will be a small bridge. Park either before the bridge on the right or after the bridge on the leftat (51.02371, -115.40108).
Walk west across the road/dam on the north side of Goat Pond. Once you get to the other side (10 minutes), you will hit a large bike trail. Do not take this trailand continue going straight up towards the base of the drainage.
Flagging leads you to a trail in the woods, which you access by going up the left side of the drainage. It's a bit steep getting out of the drainage, but then youfollow the gentle uphill in the forest with a well-worn trail until it leads back into the drainage up higher. Continue up the drainage until you see flagging up andright. You will then exit the drainage on the right-hand side to enter a dense bushy area.
Follow the trail in the bushes up to switchbacks on the scree. Follow this to the base of a cliff next to a waterfall in spring/early summer. To this point it's about 25 minutes (halfway). Follow the trail up and right, now much steeper. It sometimes switchbacks but is usually just straight up and right. Soon you will hit an extremely exposed system of ledges and slabs which have chains equipped. Follow sections of chains up exposed terrain for about 25 minutes until you reach the perch where the wall is. Finish the last bit up the mossy slope with a poor trail, heading slightly right to get to the actual crag.
This wall was first developed by Jeff Relph, Paddy Jerome and Ross Suchy approximately 15 years ago (2007?). A handful of the most obvious blue streaks were bolted and climbed, and are some of the finest and most featured blue streaks of limestone in the Bow Valley. While the crag was clearly incredible with much more potential, the approach was going to take so much effort to build that it was abandoned until 2012. The crag sits upon a cliffy perch, surrounded by slabs, gulley’s and bluffs which make it very difficult to access safely.
In 2012, Kate Johnson and Miles Adamson heard about the wall fromJeff. Just getting into route development at the time, they checked it out and decided to add some more routes and try to build a trail. They added 5 more routes and built a trail up the right-hand gully, installing some sections of chain as a handrail. While the approach got you there, it was not safe enough due to rockfall hazards in the gulley. This approach was decommissioned and the wall remained inaccessible until 2022.
This year (2022) Matt Hendsbee, Kelsey Fleming, Kate Johnson and Miles Adamson installed chains and ladder rungs up a left to right rising traverse on slabs and narrow ledges. While they took every measure possible to make sure it is easy to get up there, an uncontrolled fall off the second half of the approach would be fatal. People who struggle with exposure or do not trust themselves with their hands on a chain will not be able to get to the wall. Even with the chains, it is likely the most exposed approach in the Bow Valley (at least for sport crags).
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Author(s): Alex Buisse/Mont Blanc Lines
Date: 2022
Towering above Canmore, in the heart of the Bow Valley, the Three Sisters are impossible to ignore and probably among the most photographed peaks of the Canadian Rockies. Though not prime climbing destinations, a few adventurous summer and winter routes weave their way through rock whose quality allegedly varies from adequate to abysmal.
Author(s): Derek Galloway
Date: 2021
ISBN: 9781777147112
The Bow Valley is known amongst sport climbers as some of the best summer climbing in Canada. The third edition of this comprehensive guide includes the newest crags, as well as the best cliffs that Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise has to offer. Tips on trip planning and rest day activities, info on the local flora and fauna, and tof topos and action shots get you psyched for your visit.
Please note that there is no guarantee that the area will be covered in this guidebook. Please read the description on the seller's page carefully before purchasing the product.
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