Papineau Lake

Ontario’s little-known Madawaska ice crag

Pound for pound, Ontario’s ice climbing is as good as it gets. When I mention to non-Ontario climbers that i n the winter months I continue to climb, they’re sur pr ised to lear n it includes excursions beyond the indoor climbing walls.

A few may know of the big ice in Ontario’s northwest, in Orient Bay, but in souther n Ontario, the popular sentiment is that the thing people do outside on the ice is ice f ish. That is, of course, if you consider sitting around a hole, waiting for a bobber to move in the water, doing something. Arguably, standing around in the cold and waiting for your turn to climb ice isn’t that much more fun, so wouldn’t it be nice if there was a crag where you could limit the standing around to shor t stretches ? Well, there just happens to be such a place. For those in souther n Ontario, it’s closer than you think.