We are pleased to announce that Calgary-local Scott Eveleigh has released the topo for a bouldering area in the Bow Valley!
Directions
From Calgary head West towards Canmore on highway 1 until you reach Dead Man’s Flats. Turn into here and follow signs for Calgary until you are heading East on Highway 1, do this for 3km until you can turn into a small gravel parking lot on your right. Be careful as it is very easy to miss, there is a sign saying “Caring for Alberta’s Highways, Bridgeland 7th Day Adventist Church” just before it. From Canmore head East on Highway 1 until you reach Dead Man’s Flats then follow the instructions above to find the parking area.
Approach
The hike, in typical Bow Valley fashion, is a long one. It can take anywhere from 1.5-2 hours depending on your hiking ability. Sections may require route finding abilities and/or bushwhacking so make sure you are prepared with proper equipment. From the parking area, hike South on a large trail until you come to a junction with the Trans Canada Trail. Take a right and hike for a couple hundred meters until you reach a small trail heading left into the forest marked by a small stone cairn. Follow this trail until you hit a large river bed, take the trail heading left and uphill staying out of the canyon. Continue on this trail as it goes uphill then eventually into the now open canyon. Stay in the canyon passing two bolted sport climbing sections until you reach a large and spectacular chockstone wedged 5 meters above the canyon floor, this is roughly a little over halfway. After hiking past the steep rubble beyond the chockstone follow a faint trail marked with pink flagging up the hill on the left. At the top of the hill you will reach an open talus field. The rough trail and flagging continues after the talus through mostly flat terrain. Eventually this leads to a larger trail through mossy forest, take this trail up some steep hills until it levels out and you get close to the edge on the slide. Hike up the outside edge of the talus on a faint trail until you reach your desired sector. Look for the huge boulder with a smaller boulder on top of it, this and surrounding boulders make up The Proving Ground and the sectors continue up the slide from here. Be very careful when traveling through the talus, any rock may be unstable!
