Description:

Gravitational Wave

Mt Cory, Banff National Park - 5.11a, 160m

Description: Good quality, sustained climbing in a cool exposed setting. The approach is a bit adventurous and requires
some route finding and tricky scrambling. A visit to the ‘Hole in the wall’ cave can be made along the way. All belays are bolted and the route works fairly well to tag a pack. The route gets afternoon sun from approx 1PM onward and is quite exposed to the prevailing wind.

Gear: 70m rope, 14 draws, Single rack camalot #0.3-3, Doubles #0.5-1 + some medium size nuts.

Approach: 1.5 – 2 hrs. Approach as for the route ‘Too Hard for Arbic’ (Banff Rock pg. 256). From the base of this route, continue along an exposed descending traverse with a hand line to enter the main drainage beyond. Follow the line of least resistance up the drainage, going up the left side of the most significant scrambling section to the base of the wall. There is a
somewhat beaten path through this section. See attached GPX file.

P1: 5.10a, 30m. Climb the corner past bolts. Place a couple pieces of gear before the delicate traverse left to belay. Bolt spacing is a bit friendlier on this pitch than the rest of the route.
P2: 5.10c, 30m. Climb the obvious flake past bolts. Delicate, balancy movement.
P3: 5.11a, 35m. Continue climbing the flake. Sustained delicate climbing culminates in a demanding undercling traverse. One section of this pitch requires some small-medium gear.
P4: 5.10b, 25m. Step left and climb the slab before pulling the overhang above. Place some gear in the corner before
continuing up with big exposure below. Belay on the prow to the right.
P5: 5.11a, 35m. Traverse left under the small overhang, clipping a couple bolts and placing gear. Clip a bolt before pulling the
overhang into a perfect crack. Extending some pieces here is recommended. Climb the crack to the base of the next overhang and traverse left slightly before pulling it. The difficulties ease here but the rock becomes a bit looser. Pay close attention to where you place gear. Follow the natural weakness and occasional bolts to the top.

Descent: 2 options - Either rappel the route with a 70m rope or walk off. To walk off, do a short final traversing pitch to the left and belay using a large boulder. From here you descend slightly into the forest to the NE before climbing again and traversing NE to the base of a small cliff. Follow the base of the cliff, climbing a bit, then continue traversing E. There is eventually some flagging tape and a beaten traverse track across the scree field to gain the Mt Cory scramble route! See attached GPX file.

Route Builder: Christian Schlumpf with some help from Bryce Shaw, Adam Campbell, and Jacob Downie.

FA: Christian Schlumpf, Isobel Phoebus. September 14, 2021.

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1aKZ27CquQ2I4rHceR6fNzWt8FQXmxJvh