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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 7, 2012 - 01:50am PT
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which one and why?
bonus style points for pics and your trip's details and recollections
for me, think moderate and not total death route in the mountains, more than a couple pitches.
Squamish is different.
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bmacd
Mountain climber
100% Canadian
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Definitely Sir Donald rocks
Jim you dont rap the scrund any more, new rap descent off of Minaret from the Howsers
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Sunset Rock at the Escarpment...
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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+1 for the Bugs. Get on the biggest, best thing in your gunnery range.
Unless you're gunning for choss, of course. There's always the North Face of North Twin, ftw.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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WoW! never seen a photo of Mt lewis before. Stunning!
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Erik
Trad climber
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The Grand Sentinel in Paradise Valley, near Lake Louise, is one of my favorite all-time climbs. Nice quartzite rock in a spectacular setting, on a sheer spire on the slope of a deep valley.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Lotus Flower Tower?
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Think about the Bugs. If you get good weather you are guaranteed a good time and if the weather craps out there are lots of other alternatives within 4-5 hours drive
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Bad Climber
climber
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If you only have one trip and one objective in mind, prepare to sit in the rain/sleet/snow and watch your dream wash away with your dwindling vacation time. As Chris Jones wrote so accurately: "Canada has a built in mechanism for turning great plans into unfinished business." In short, Canada requires either extreme luck or great persistence to get up routes of any size. For a good, moderate, spectacular, non-death route in the mountains, consider the East Ridge of Edith Cavell. Short approach and you can't beat the exposure. Walk off descent--but long! You'll be moving all day to get up, down and back to camp. Good quartzite, btw.
BAd
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Emperor Face - go big or don't go.
Or the Beckey-Coonyard if'n yer gonna take the wifey.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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For easy to moderate...Brewer's Buttress on Castle Mtn is fun. Nice hike in, too.
I'll second (or third, or fourth...) going into the Bugaboos, though. Plenty to choose from. Super area. Weather can be crap.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2012 - 12:45pm PT
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weather is an expected possibility
weather radios work up in the mtns?
limestone and quartzite look wild to climb. something new excites.
A Castle Mtn TR got me thinking in this direction. Something about getting lost in the fog on the mtn combined with going down a wrong gully in the rain, and the reall possibility of getting creamed if another party is behing you and starts heading down after you are already below them on the descent (loose rock bowling alley)... well let's say I'm not sure that's the top of the list, but its not at the bottom.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Depends on how much time you've got, and whether or not you need the comforts of civilization for rest-day activity.
If you've got a couple of weeks, and want the most memorable experience, I'd suggest the Waddington Range. There are plenty of moderate objectives there, as well as the real hardman stuff you read about, and no place I've been in Canada is even close on the spectacular scale. (Except Baffin, and I doubt that's really on your list of potential destinations.)
All the other suggestions so far have been great, but none of them can really compare.
I know Jim Brennan has climbed in the Wadd region, so maybe he'd offer an opinion. I expect Bruce McD and Bruce Kay have been up there too.
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Binks
climber
Uranus
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Icefields parkway. Stay at Rampart Creek. Climb classic ice routes to your heart's content.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Choice really depends on what type of climbing you want to do, and on what type of rock. Most visitors never realize how much variety is in BC and Alta.
If you head up here it is useful to have the book Select Climbs of the West by Kevin McLane. You will know what rock options are available if your alpine objectives get weathered out
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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I've only climbed in Canada a couple of times (being from the other side of the Atlantic). But in nearly 50 years of climbing I find it hard to think of a more spectacularly beautiful rock spire than the Lotus Flower Tower, anywhere in the world. August 1981 with fellow Brit Robin Pearce, we free-climbed it and descended in a 21 hour push. Now, of course, that sounds pathetically slow, but at the time there were no fixed raps on the second half and so a good deal of those 21 hours were taken up on the descent of a long steep loose couloir to the left of the tower. On the last rap we couldn't see if the ropes reached the snow cone or not, but staying put wasn't an option as we were sitting in the barrel of a loaded gun which kept firing off rounds - which we luckily managed to dodge. The rope reached and we left it in place till the morning, and glissaded down the neve in our EBs to our sleeping bags atop a large flat boulder. Sadly, my photos are really not great, but for what it's worth, here are a few:
Someone above mentioned the NW Ridge of Mt Sir Donald. Well here's a picture of that, from the same trip. The guy on the left is Jim Langdon from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The other guys name is Dave. Any ideas of his second name? Weather was so warm and balmy, we just soloed up in shorts and tee shirts.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2012 - 05:41pm PT
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cool thx
Yeah Ghost, Baffin is in the ether as a possible idea, but logistics seem harder to deal with and winter ascents, mostly aren't my thing. Cali spoiled to be sure.
But the idea of a nice route up a canadian peak at the end of a gorgeous valley has appeal.
thanks for the all pics, they totally help.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Bob, can you afford helicopter under your once-in-a-lifetime dream scenario?
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Gimli, in the Valhallas
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