Keeping B.C.’S Secret Crags Secret

A Tour of Some Hidden Walls in Western Canada

I’d heard of dozens of crags tucked into B.C.’S backcountry for years, but had rarely had the pleasure of climbing them. This summer, I put the effort into finding those crags, and the hunt was more than worth it. The catch here is that I can’t say where the crags are, but I will talk about the experiences of finding them and what the rock is like. The crags I visited are in the Columbia River Valley, Okanagan Valley, Fraser River Valley, Slocan Valley and Squamish Valley.

I’ve spent 20 years climbing rock in B.C., mostly in Squamish or Skaha, so when covid hit, I decided to head to more remote towns to visit old friends. Each of those friends had beta about local walls that were not in most climbers’ wheelhouses. One was near Invermere. I met a park ranger named Dale at Lillian Lake, where I was camping. His family had owned land in the area for four generations and he grew up climbing in the area. I’d spent the day with my friend climbing on a steep quartzite wall, similar to Back of the Lake, and Dale knew exactly where we’d been. On Dale’s right arm is a tattoo of a hobo; he told me that for the past 25 winters, he’d head south to the desert. With covid-19 having closed the border, this winter he’ll be staying close to home.

The wall had a few dozen bolted routes and some of the nicest steep 5.11 climbing I’ve been on in interior B.C. The approach took only a few minutes and the bolting gave you a lot of confidence. We spent a day sessioning the steep lines that had slopers, crack and crimps. I can see why locals wouldn’t want you to know about it; the wall would be the most popular between Lake Louise and Nelson.

From here, I left my friend and drove to Penticton, where I met Sonnie Trotter for a few days of cragging. He took me to a steep 40-metre wall with mostly 5.13 and 5.14 routes outside of the Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park. The area experienced a brutal wildfire in August which left many without homes and many forests burned down. I was lucky to visit a month before the blaze. We parked on a residential road, the kind where residents give you the stink eye when you’re walking by with ropes on your back. The approach took only 15 minutes.

When I arrived, local photographer Dave Mai was there waiting for us, and the three of us wandered through tall trees and past old chopped timber to the overhanging crag. A lot of people know about it, but access isn’t secured yet because of the parking situation. I jumped on a beautiful 5.12a that follows steep features, crack and dynamic moves. The extension goes at 5.12c. Trotter was there to repeat his two 5.14s that he’d established this summer. I belayed him on his two lines, both involving steep and gymnastic style movements. He sent both and even re-climbed the crux for photographer Mai’s top-down shots.

If access is ever sorted out, the crag will become one of the most visited in Penticton. The rock climbs like steep granite and the features demand core and precision. For now, it remains one of those secret crags that only the locals visit and project futuristic lines.