Canada Route Developers
Building Climbs from Coast to Coast
If there’s one characteristic that Genereux loves in a climb, it’s the need to “actually climb the route.”
Route development in Canada is brutal work. In Squamish, developers spend hundreds of hours excavating vegetated splitters. In the Rockies, trundling thousands of pounds of loose limestone is par for the course. In Quebec and Ontario, once lines are scrubbed and bolted, access issues may still prevail. The hard-working developers who persevere are chasing the spirit of adventure on untouched stone, the satisfying soreness after a day of hard labour and a gift to the greater climbing community.
This article explores those who explore: Andy Genereux give perspective to his bold, ground-up ethics and the dangerous circumstances that arise on a fractured medium; Jason Green and Tess Egan uncover the hard work of developing sharp splitters in a rainforest; Dom Caron dives into the altruistic side of the craft, and more.
Andy Genereux
Pitches Developed: Over 2,000 Estimated Hours Developing Each Year: 1,000 Years Developing: 39
For Canadian climbers familiar with the Ghost Valley and Yamnuska, Andy Genereux needs no introduction. The 61-yearold has developed over 2,000 pitches of virgin terrain throughout Canada, from instant classics, like the eight-pitch Dreams of Verdon 5.12a, to alpine granite lines throughout the Selkirk Mountains. If you have repeated one of Genereux’s 500-odd new routes in the Ghost Valley, his comfort with a stout runout is immediately apparent. The local guidebook, of which he authored, lists routes with an “R” danger rating only when spaces between protection exceeds 10 metres. Most of the time, Genereux says, the spaced gear is a byproduct of the style in which he developed; often solo, drilling on lead without the aid of hooks to place bolts.
Genereux established the first bolted multi-pitch in Alberta, Southern Exposure 5.11a/b, and it is sure to be a proper introduction for anyone interested in climbing clean, featured limestone with exciting runouts. The 18-pound drill Genereux used on the first ascent had only 14 bolts per battery, which explains the conservatively bolted climbing. If there’s one characteristic that Genereux loves in a climb, it’s the need to “actually climb the route.” Don’t expect to clip a bolt right before the crux moves on a Genereux first ascent; the crux of Southern Exposure begins with a bolt well below your feet and anxious suitors are facing a 12-metre fall when they find the next one. Genereux did take the big whip during its first ascent, but he assures me, the fall was clean and airy.