Tag Archive for: sport routes

Rangers, Raptors & Revolvers – Busted in the Bend

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A few months ago I wrote a blog about a magical land just over the border from Rossland where you can climb steep, limestone in a solar oven in winter. The area’s called China Bend and it features tufa-pinching classics in a south-facing setting overlooking the Columbia River.

What it also offers is a nesting sanctuary for raptors, which is why the US Park Service closes the cliffs from mid-February to mid-July.

Now, I support birds of prey and their evident need for privacy but I also like mid-winter climbing in a t-shirt, especially when the ski season sucks. And, frankly, when you hear “mid-February” isn’t there a bit of wiggle room there? Like, say, February 14th at midnight to February 16th at midnight? The answer, according to a gun-toting US Park Ranger, is a definitive no.

Five Nelson climbers decided to take advantage of an unseasonably sunny Sunday (February 15) and drive the 40 minutes south of Rossland to enjoy some early-season struggles with the 5.11 warm-ups at China Bend. We completely ignored the official looking sign at the pull out and put up ropes on the classic 5.11a “Pork Sausage” and the fun 5.11c “Where’s My Hero.”

Cam Shute on Pork Sausage – right before the Pigs busted us!

Cam Shute on Pork Sausage – right before the Pigs busted us!

The latter climb is aptly named as 1.5 hours into our fun we were looking for a hero to rescue us from a park ranger packing a handgun, a taser gun and a canister of mace. (Evidently the wildlife are bad-ass in the USA.)

Thankfully ranger Matt Smith was a nice guy and allowed us to take down our ropes before escorting us away from the cliff and back to our car. He decided to forego the $125 fine (each!) we should have received for disobeying the raptor closure but he did run our driver’s licenses through his SUV’s dashboard computer. “Good news – you’re not wanted by Interpol,” he later told us. (We never did learn if he was joking or not.)

Interestingly, when we asked what raptors nested in the area, Matt had no idea. I guess they’re not wanted by Interpol either.

So let this be a lesson to all those Canuck climbers wanting to visit China Bend – the raptor closure is, definitely, Feb 15 to July 15 and there are Park Rangers there to enforce it.

If you’re looking for some alternative Washington areas that aren’t far from the border, consider Metaline Falls and Marcus (both featured in Marty Bland’s Inland Northwest Rockclimbs guide) or Onion Creek, which is featured on this site. The latter tends to be more shady and damp than the others though so it’s probably not a great mid-winter destination.

For more information about China Bend, pick up a copy of Marty’s guidebook mentioned above or check out November’s blog post.

US Park Ranger Matt Smith escorts us away from China Bend.

US Park Ranger Matt Smith escorts us away from China Bend.

Yellow Sling Wall Rock Guide Updates

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For further descriptions about climbs at the Kinnaird Bluffs area in the community of Castlegar in south-central British Columbia, Canada, refer to page 27 of the West Kootenay Rock Guide.

Access: See page 35 of the West Kootenay Rock Guide for a description on how to reach the Yellow Sling Wall and Red Rocks Wall from the Kinnaird parking area. This wall is an excellent early/late season one but tends to be a solar oven in the height of the summer. It offers everything from 5.4 trad to 5.12+ sport and the four pack of Extended Vacation, Yellow Sling, Glory Hole and Bakers Day Off are definite must-dos. However, note that the last two are 28m long and you’ll need 14 quickdraws for Glory Hole.

As with all climbing at Kinnaird, please be respectful of the nearby neighbours – these walls act like natural amphitheaters and every word you utter can be heard with surprising clarity by nearby residents. Also, do not cut through anyone’s yard or property to access the crags.

Yellow Sling Wall Rock Guide Updates: This is the eight in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

This overview of Kinnaird Bluffs shows Yellow Sling Wall and Red Rocks wall in relation to the seven other walls at this area.

Zebra Wall Rock Guide Updates

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For further descriptions about climbs in the Arrow Lakes region between the community of Robson and Syringa Provincial Park in south-central British Columbia, refer to page 19 of the West Kootenay Rock Guide. Access: Zebra Wall is located on Broadwater Rd. just north of Scottie’s Marina and around the first corner. There are five sport climbs there ranging from 5.10a to 5.11b and the tallest is 28m long. (You’ll need 14 quickdraws.)

Zebra Wall Rock Guide Updates: This is the seventh in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

Hall Siding Rock Guide Updates

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For further descriptions about the climbs at Hall Siding between Nelson and Salmo, British Columbia, refer to page 76 of the West Kootenay Rock Guide. Access: Hall Siding is located 20km south of Nelson towards Salmo. (Note: The WKRG erroneously stated the crag’s position in relation to Hall Siding Road – it is, in fact, 1.5km south of the road.)

Hall Siding Rock Guide Updates: This is the sixth in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the 2014 West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

Kootenay Kalymnos – Climbing at China Bend

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Keith Robine warms up on the über-classic Pork Sausage, 5.11a

Keith Robine warms up on the über-classic Pork Sausage, 5.11a

I’ve had the good fortune to climb at some of the world’s most famous limestone crags including Kalymnos in Greece, Potrero Chico in Mexico, Railay Peninsula in Thailand and Vinales in Cuba. And while all these locations offer epic sport cragging on tufas and stalactites, they also involve a lot of cost and effort to get to. This shoulder season I found myself longing for a trip to a warm destination that features fun limestone climbing – but time and money were lacking.

So instead I drove the 2 hours from my home in Nelson, BC, to China Bend – the Kootenay’s answer to Kalymnos. The date was November 16 and the thermometer read -12°C when I awoke at 7am. Not exactly inspiring climbing temps. But my Rossland friends had assured me China Bend (which is located 30 minutes south of Rossland in Washington State) was a rock oven and that we’d be climbing in light jackets all day. They were wrong. We climbed in T-shirts.

A shirtless (in November!) Jesse Brown on Big Wig Bill, 5.11b

A shirtless (in November!) Jesse Brown on Big Wig Bill, 5.11b

China Bend is a unique limestone rock formation located about 50 kilometres south of Rossland on the shores of the Columbia River. It is an overhanging, south-facing cliff that acts as a solar oven on sunny days, making it unbearably hot in the summer months. In fact, the cliff is closed from mid-February to mid-July to protect raptors that nest there. But when the weather is cooler everywhere else, you can guarantee China Bend is going to be warm.

When Jesse Brown, Keith Robine and I parked at the pullout on China Bend Road at 10:30am, the car’s thermometer read -5°C. But by the time we completed the 10-minute hike up to the main cliff, we were sweating.

The author on the tofu-pinching classic A River Runs Through It, 5.11c

The author on the tofu-pinching classic A River Runs Through It, 5.11c

Over the course of the next five hours of sunshine we hopped on four different routes, all of them excellent quality. (See topo map above.) The one thing everyone should know about this area, however, is that the majority of the routes are steep and hard. It was established by Marty Bland and friends, all of them 5.13 climbers, and even some of the “warm-up” 5.11s felt like .12s. (Apparently there are some 5.10s on a smaller crag to the east of the Main Wall but they’re not worth travelling to the area for.) There are 40+ routes on the Main Wall alone and most fall into the 5.12 range although there are a few 5.13s and 5.14s as well.

If you’re looking to improve your stamina and style, though, this is the place to do it. Many routes are 30-metres long and overhang 3 metres. They involve tufa pinching, roof pulling and delicate crimping – basically every style of movement you’ll find at the world’s best limestone crags except there aren’t any stalactites to rest on here.

If you’re interested in visiting China Bend this winter (seriously, you can – both Keith and Jesse have been there in late January) here are directions: From Rossland take BC-22 south to the Paterson border crossing. (Remember to bring your passports!) Once in the United States, drive WA-25 south towards the community of Northport for 11km and just before you cross the bridge,  turn right onto Northport Flat Creek Road. After 21.5 km, turn left onto China Bend Road and drive this for 2.4 km. Park at the pullout on the right and the trail is on your right leading up to the crag.

For more information about China Bend, check out Marty Bland’s guidebook called Inland Northwest Rockclimbs.

Ymir Swimming Hole Rock Guide Updates

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To reach Ymir Swimming Hole’s Southern Bluffs, continue past the Lower Bluffs on the path towards the swimming hole for about 30m. On the right take the faint trail (it’s opposite the path to the river.) There are a few small faces tucked in this area:

Ymir Swimming Hole: This is the fifth in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

Riverside Crag Rock Guide Updates

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This east-facing crag boasts a great view of the Salmo River in a tranquil setting away from traffic. It is located in the woods across the highway from the Hall Siding climbing area. (See page 76 of the West Kootenay Rock Guide.) To access it, though, you must take an earlier turn-off. About 800 metres south of Hall Siding Road there is a dirt road by a Forest Fire Sign to your left. (If you’re approaching from Nelson, you’ll only see the back of the sign.) Turn onto this good-quality road and after 300m turn right at the fork and after 400m turn right again down a narrow track through the trees. In another 200m you’ll come to a grassy parking area. You’re now across the highway from the Hall Siding climbing area. Walk east into an opening in the forest and pick up a flagged trail that takes you to the old railroad line (it’s a five-minute walk). Turn right and walk 10m to see the 15-metre-high crag on your right. There is a short trail on the left to access the base of the routes. For detailed route descriptions please download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

Riverside Crag Rock Guide Updates: This is the 14th in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

Breaking News: A good samaritan has done a lot of work at the base of Riverside Crag. They’ve built two retaining walls and flattened an area so it’s now a decent spot to bring your kids. There’s also a large flat stone at the base of Orange Crush now that a belayer can stand on comfortably.

New Access at Koch Creek Climbing Area

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There’s something so satisfying about improving access to a climbing area – even one that hasn’t seen a lot of traffic in the past decade. Last Sunday myself and six other volunteers enjoyed some late-autumn sunshine at the Koch Creek crags in the Slocan Valley (about an hour drive from Nelson & Castlegar) and built a new access trail. It was part of a joint CASBC/TAWKROC Adopt-a-Crag day and we moved the trailhead so climbers would no longer have to walk the road. We also built stairs up to the new trail, brushed the encroaching foliage, dug steps, carved switchbacks and cleared blow-downs. Here are some pics from the day:

The volunteers for the day included David Lussier, Bob Sawyer, Khaled Ben-rahba, Craig Stowell, Hannah Roy, JT Croston and me and together we cut in about 500m of new trail.

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Directions for the new trailhead are as follows: from the parking area walk west for 30 metres until you see the stairs on your right. Take these to the path and then follow up until you reach a small rock face (there are no routes here). Continue east along the trail, through the switchbacks and the next rock wall you come to is Lower Hydro Slab and the two crack climbs Flying Lichen Crack (the 5.8 on the left) and The Grunge (the 5.11c on the right). From here continue east until you come to a prominent dead stump and fork in the trail. Go further east to reach Upper Hydro Slab and Glacier Slabs or turn west and scramble up the narrow ravine between the slabs to the next trail on the left, which will lead you to Grizzly Slabs. To reach Ambrosia, walk the skid track from the parking lot (ignore the stairs) to its end where you’ll pick up a flagged trail. Follow this for ~10 minutes to the base of the route.

There are 19 routes at Koch Creek and many are excellent crack climbs, including the fun Leaning Corner (5.11b) pictured in black and white below. There are some excellent slabs as well, including the three-pitch classic 5.8 mixed route Ambrosia (seen below in colour – Dave Lussier is poised at the start of it).

There is also plenty of potential at Koch Creek. Just 50m east of the parking lot is a huge boulder tucked into the trees on the north side of the road. And then there are cracks like the one below that still have yet to see a first ascent:

In the Spring of 2015, the TAWKROC volunteers will again return to Koch Creek to continue trail-building efforts and to scrub the routes and retrofit anchors and hardware, some of which have been there since the early 1990s. For more about Koch Creek, check out page 113 in the West Kootenay Climbing Guide.

The TAWKOC volunteers enjoying a beer after a hard day’s work: Vince Hempsall, Bob Sawyer, Craig Stowell, David Lussier and Khaled Benrhaba.

The TAWKOC volunteers enjoying a beer after a hard day’s work: Vince Hempsall, Bob Sawyer, Craig Stowell, David Lussier and Khaled Benrhaba.

 

 

Roadside Wall Rock Guide Updates

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Roadside Wall: This is the fourth in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.

 

Gotham City Rock Guide Updates

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Gotham City: This is the third in a regular series showcasing the new rock climbing routes in the West Kootenay Region of south-central British Columbia. For written descriptions of these and other routes, download the West Kootenay Rock Guide updates.