Banff National Park of Canada

Climbing and Mountaineering

The Lay of the Land

Four national parks; Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay, as well as several provincial parks contain a vast portion of the central Canadian Rockies. Banff National Park includes a huge section of the range from the crest of the Continental Divide along the British Columbia - Alberta border on the west, to almost the edge of the prairies on the east.

Parks Canada safety warden on mountain summit
© Parks Canada

Local climbers distinguish between the higher, often glaciated alpine ranges along the continental divide, and the slightly lower, drier ranges to the east. The Trans Canada Highway provides the main east-west route through the park and access to the town and service centers of Banff and Lake Louise. An excellent park highway parallels the main Divide Range from Lake Louise in the south through to Jasper in the North. Along the way are some of the most spectacular alpine peaks and glaciers on the continent.

How's the Rock?

Climbers coming here for the first time may not be familiar with the type of climbing and the varying rock quality in particular. The Rockies are made up almost entirely of sedimentary rock including limestones and dolomites, shales, and silicas (including quartzite). The characteristics vary widely from the very worst to some fine rock, depending on the formations (the layers) encountered. The best rockclimbing is found on the some of the thickly bedded limestones (such as the lower cliffs of Mt Rundle) and dolomites (Castle Mtn), and the beautiful quartzites located along the main continental divide ranges.

Sportrock sites are limited to accesible areas of high quality quartzite, and waterworn limestone. Alpine climbs inevitably involve climbing through multiple formations, and highly variable rock some of which is extremely loose, as evidenced by the huge talus and scree slopes around the bases of most peaks. Terms used to describe some of these more interesting layers include: shattered, tottering, chipshale, briquettes, and occasionally even simply "dirt!" (to use some of the polite terms). Locals understand that contending with these sometimes horrific conditions, is 'part of the game', and considerable skill can be required to manage the risks. Most routes do involve at least some climbing on loose rock and for climbers not accustomed to this, this can slow progress down considerably. In addition, route finding can be difficult as routes are often convoluted and indeed, routefinding is often the key to successful execution of a route. Consequently it is sound advice to approach difficulty and length grades, and time estimates, conservatively.

For example, the East ridge of Mount Temple is rated IV 5.6\7 in Selected Alpine Climbs. The 5.7 pitches on the route are on steep, well protected, good quality quartzite. The real crux of the route lies in finding the correct exit gully through the 'easier', but crumbly fifth class of the black band onto the icecap. Hardware for most multipitch routes and all technical alpine routes should include at least a few pitons as well as the usual assortment of nuts and camming devices.

What To Do And When

The rock climbing season can begin as early as May as the cliffs at the lower elevations along the east side of the park begin to dry off. Alberta's most popular multipitch climbing crag, Yamnuska, is located 20 kilometers east of Banff Park and is climbable from May to October. A number of 8000' peaks near Banff town are popular for their rock routes however snow on approach trails and in some of the gullies can remain until June.

The higher alpine peaks (9000'+) only begin to come into reasonable summer condition in late June and early July as the spring avalanches taper off. This includes all the high peaks in the Lake Louise area and north along the Icefields parkway. The window for difficult alpine climbs is very limited. The North faces are usually only dry for several weeks in August, however, the season for alpine ice, climbs on steep ice faces and gullies extends into the cooler temperatures of September or even early October. Waterfall ice climbs begin to form in November throughout the Rockies. The ice is usually well filled in by December. The length of season after February depends on elevation and aspect as well as winter temperature patterns.

Avalanche hazard is a major consideration on many Rockies waterfall ice routes. Climbing early in the season before the snow arrives may mean reduced avalanche exposure but may also mean increased technical challenge on partially formed falls.

The dry, cold, Rockies snowpack is typically very weak and unstable during the early winter (December, January) and backcountry ski travel is usually poor at this time. Track skiing, downhill skiing in the park ski areas, and touring in the valleys are all that can normally be recommended during this part of the season. The snowpack can normally be depended upon to provide a solid enough base to carry off track skiers by mid-February but this is also when the larger avalanches of the season occur so careful route-finding is imperative on mountain trails and routes. The Alpine touring season improves from March onward and is recommended in April and May on the Icefields and snow peaks along the Divide.

What's Popular? or Where To Start

Mount Louis
© Parks Canada / Brad White

There are several popular moderate scrambling peaks in the park with what amounts to trails to their summits. These include Cascade Mtn. and Mt. Rundle near Banff townsite and Mt. Fairview in the Lake Louise area. Mts. Edith and Cory each have moderate roped rock climbs to attractive peaks and are located close to the road near Banff. Mt. Louis is a challenging multipitch limestone rock climb to a spectaculer, spirelike summit. Castle Mountain west of Banff offers a number of steep rock routes ranging from moderate to difficult on gritty dolomitic limestone.The cluster of high summits around Lake Louise and Moraine Lake is one of the most popular alpine climbing areas in North America. It contains everything from moderate scrambles to the most serious alpine faces. Extensive trails provide excellent access. This is a good area in which to focus an initial summer climbing trip to the Canadian Rockies.

By mid summer (August) the easy/moderate route to the top of Mt. Temple, the highest summit in the Lake Louise area, is dry of most snowpatches and accessible to the experienced scrambler. Ascents of Mts. Victoria, Lefroy, Aberdeen, Deltaform, or any of a dozen other outstanding alpine peaks, all require a respectful early morning start and skillful routefinding by their easiest routes. There are many superb peaks along the Icefields Parkway north of Lake Louise. These are set back from the highway and often involve overnight or multiday excursions.

The Columbia Icefields area is located along the Icefields Parkway at the northern boundary of Banff Park. This spectacular glaciated plateau which is shared with Jasper National Park, is ringed by many of the highest mountains in the Canadians Rockies and is truly an arctic environment. Ski touring is the only reasonable way to access some of the more remote peaks across the Icefields. All travel requires crevasse rescue and whiteout navigation skills. Mts. Athabasca and Andromeda are two beautiful snow and ice peaks that can be ascended in a day from the road.

The Wapta Icefields is another glaciated plateau which stretches for 30 kilometers along the continental divide north of Lake Louise and is a very popular spring ski touring destination serviced by several Alpine Club huts. Alpine touring and mountain crosscountry gear are both popular. Knowledge of glacier travel and navigation skills are necessary.

Camping and Bivuoacs

Camping regulations and permits are explained in the accompanying Backcountry Visitors Guide. Climbers are permitted to bivouac on long routes or otherwise where necessary to safely complete a climb. Some restrictions apply. A backcountry use permit is required and specific guidelines are available at the visitor centres where you obtain the permit.

Safety Registration

A voluntary safety registration system is available for climbers in the National Parks. It is necessary to register in person at the park information centres or Warden Offices during business hours. On completion of the excursion, the party must notify the park by telephone or by returning the registration form. The park service will check overdue registrations within a reasonable time frame. Climbers are advised to prepare to spend a minimum of one night out after a registration becomes due.

Rescue Services

The Park Warden Service provides comprehensive rescue services for visitors to the National Parks. Costs of rescues will normally be recovered from the Park User Fees paid by all visitors at the park gate.

Maps and Guidebooks

A number of guidebooks are now available and cover the range of climbing/mountaineering activities including scrambling (easy/moderate ountain climbs) rock climbing, sport rock, alpine mountaineering, ski mountaineering and waterfall ice climbing. Each of these guidebooks contains excellent introductory information specific to the activity and the area.

Local Information

There are two Park Visitor Information Centres in Banff Park, one located in downtown Banff, the other in the village at Lake Louise.

Information Centres

Park Wardens, particularly those in the park visitor safety program, can answer many mountaineering inquires and provide information on current conditions, when they are available. They are responsible to provide a daily avalanche information bulletin throughout the winter.

The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides Mountain Conditions Report (ACMG) NEW!