UKC

Off to Banff tomorrow to go work the ski season until April and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for climbing logistics out there?

Even though I’m going snowboarding I’ll be taking rock shoes, chalk bag and harness (I’ve heard there’s a pretty good wall in town), but does anyone know if there is any bouldering/sport/trad accessible from town?

Obviously unless the sport and trad is pretty easy I’ll need some gear (I’ve heard the Canadian Rockies isn’t the best soloing venue anyway because some bits are quite crumbly), but there seems to be a good online second hand climbing market out there.

My other question was about accessing easy ice climbing/alpine routes. I’ve done a Scottish winter season (and a Welsh one, if that counts for anything!), but would love to do some Canadian ice/winter routes while I’m there. I’d have to do a bit of research or look for someone willing to teach me the quirks of Canadian winter so I don’t catch dead. Are there any easy routes people recommend around Banff to cut my teeth on? 

If anyone happens to be going out there climbing too and fancied climbing together that’d be great too!

Easy ice routes, then head to junk yard,  canmore, loads of easy ice, easy access, also grotto canyon,  just outside of canmore , they would be the most obvious. 

There are gear shops in canmore that I'm sure can point you in the direction of local guides if that helps for winter stuff. There is also a climbing wall in canmore .Only spent a day in Banff so could be way off the mark but it felt more ski/snowboard orientated , stayed in canmore earlier this year, certainly seemed to be more climbing oriented there. 

Junkyards

Grotto Canyon

Those were just what I was looking for thank you mate!

I’m going to have to go into canmore anyway to sort out my bank and social number and stuff so will check out the shops and crags while I’m there at some point. They look like the perfect places to start though. 

I did the same snowboard/climbing winter season trip in about 2004! You’re going to have an epic time.

im a bit out of date obviously but;

Banff was a party town (and a lot of fun!)

canmore was where the serious climbers were.

grotto canyon was incredibly beautiful and grotto falls is highly recommend (it’s lower grade, split into two sections by a large rear ledge and has bolts to belay off and abseil off). We did it on Christmas Day

we also had a lot of fun trying harder but less committing ice and mixed at Haffner Creek.

the bigger stuff was up the ice fields parkway but needed a car. Be sure to be switched on to avalanche risk as the lower grade stuff is often gulleys and higher risk than the harder stuff.

snowboard wise;

lake Louise was great but a fair commute to get to.

norquay is really really steep and was too hardcore for us to really get into

sunshine was amazing. Closer to Banff and a real mix. We spent a lot of time there.

any other advice I could give is probably too dated (and inappropriate {you’re going to have a good time!})

good for you for making it happen! Enjoy!

Ypu will have a great time, I didn't want to come back ! 

Also enjoyed norquay for snowboarding but was also was to steep for me, so I enjoyed sitting in the snow a lot 

Spent a month ice climbing based out of Canmore a few years back.  Had a great time.  I was on my own and not confident enough to just join up with people so used guides.  There is plenty of everything from easy ice cragging and multi pitch to the hardest stuff around.

As said above watch the avalanche risk.  I did an avalanche awareness course whilst out there.

I met people ice climbing on their own who were finding it pretty easy to join up with others but I'm not sure what they were using to find partners.  I stayed most of the time at

https://www.hostelworld.com/st/hostels/p/321269/hi-canmore-alpine-club-of-c...

which might be a good place to meet other climbers.  

The guides I used were

https://yamnuska.com/

They are very friendly and am sure would help if you popped in.

If you check the various courses they offer you will see good recommendations for where to climb (both rock and ice).  For example

https://yamnuska.com/ice-climbing/basic-instruction/

that mentions The Professor’s Falls, Louise Falls, Rogan’s Gully and Cascade Falls.  Make sure you do some big multi-pitch ice routes whilst out there.

Louise Falls is probably my favourite ice climb.

Ghost Valley is the place to go if you want to be remote and climb some hard classics.  But it is not easy to get to and best to stay there for a few days.

Ace thanks for the extra advice! Funnily enough sunshine is where I’ve got my job as a liftie for the season so I’ll be spending a fair bit of time there!
 

Looks like I’m gonna have to get out to Canmore and find some partners as well 

There's a couple of facebook groups that I've used to find climbing partners; Canadian Rockies Ice Climbers and Banff belay monkeys. 

As mentioned above, overhead avalanches are a concern for many of the popular ice routes, avalanche canada have a bunch of info specific to ice climbers which is useful https://avalanche.ca/resources/ice-climbing.

Have fun!