Native Stones
10 Years After its Boom, the Crag is Popular Again
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Back to Bataan
Bataan offers some of the most challenging and best rock for sport climbing in the Bow Valley. Just over a decade ago, it was the go-to place on weekends and evenings for locals and visitors to push themselves. As other crags, such as Echo Canyon, Planet X, Raven’s Crag, Black Feather and Acephale (which has always been a place to go) saw new, hard climbs established, Bataan had fewer and fewer climbers.
The crag was named after an infamous death march during World War II, although the one-and-a-half-hour hike up switchbacks and steep paths is not as bad as many make it out to be. Plus, we’re climbers and going up a hill shouldn’t stop us from climbing steep rock. There are over 100 routes from 5.10a to 5.13d and the crag faces south and southeast. Most of the pitches are 30 metres long and there are still a number of old, unfinished projects.
Although the walls seep in the spring, that didn’t stop climbers from searching out the dry rock earlier this year. The parking is on the road between Canmore and Exshaw and many van dwellers spend the night before heading up the wake-you-up approach. The crag is a prominent L-shaped featured wall that can be easily identified from the south looking up at Grotto Mountain. It is just above the ever-expanding quarry scar, which recently forced local access groups to move the approach trail in sections.
It’s fair to say that the approach does keep many climbers away, which makes it perfect on hot, busy weekends. The quality of the stone is unparalleled and the position provides scenic views down the valley and of the Three Sisters. The rock is slightly overhanging and has pockets, jugs and sharp edges. While the area fell out of favour among the crowds over the past few years, it seems many are heading back for the rewards of the pristine grey, yellow and blue streaks.—Gripped