CLIMBING
Climbing in the Ottawa area has a lot to offer from waterfall ice/mix to sport and trad rock. The majority of the crags in the 1hr circle are shorter single pitch on decent quality rock. As you go farther out to the 2.5-3.5hr radius you will find cliffs up to 400ft and mountainous terrain below tree line. Further still in the 6-8hr realm is a variety of cliffs as high as 1000ft with long free routes and overnighters on aid.
Your best bet is to go to the climbing section of Mountain Equipment COOP(MEC) for guide books and Beta before launching out further.
GENERAL LOGISTICS
SEASON – May through to Sept would be the ideal rock window, with the ice forming early Dec at higher elevations and still climbable into March.
AREAS (1HR RADIUS)
CALABOGIE – Good rock and ice to the SW of Ottawa very near the Calabogie ski hill. Short single pitch and easy to set up TR. Grades from 5.6 – 5.11 or WI2 – WI5. There is camping, a lake beach, and groceries in the immediate area. The mosquitoes will carry away small children and equipment during some parts of the season so be prepared.
GATENEAU PARK – Located to the NW of Ottawa on the Quebec side, this park offers’ a great deal of single pitch rock (sport and trad) also from 5.5 – 5.11 or more. A few of the better areas within the park are-Farm rock, Down under(sport), and Western coum areas.
EDELWIESS – Another spot, not as well known to the NW of Ottawa (near Edelweiss ski hill) in Quebec this is best for ice rather than rock. With a few good mix routes and some straight forward ice this area is more conducive to the leader. You can start in an ice chocked chimmeny, continue onto WI4 ground then finish with a 100m stroll further up the valley to a 60-70ft grade 3+
AREAS (2.5-3.5HR RADIUS)
WEIR CLIFF – A great cliff of 200ft+ with sport and trad multi pitch. Located to the NE of Ottawa(2.5hrs)Grades are easy to very hard(5.12) on good quality rock. The area has a touch of adventure feel to it even though it is a 5 min walk to the base. Guide book can be hard to find.
VAL-DAVID – about 45min east of Weir is the St Moritz style town of Val-David. Here you will find slightly shorter but great quality rock with sport and trad(more so trad). This area will be busier on weekends but worth a visit for sure.
ADIRONDAKS, NY- Out at the 3.5hr mark this area must not be missed for both rock and ice. Peaks up to 5000ft and multi pitch 5 min off the road this is a great spot for all levels. One of the must see cliffs is Poko-moonshine. A 400ft cliff 10min off the road with a campground beside the road.
AREAS (6-8HR RADIUS)
CANNON CLIFF, NH – 1000ft big wall feeling cliff with easy to hard routes on bomber granite. Some aid routes still not freed and great lower grade multi pitch. A well known ice route on the cliff is "The Black Dyke" and a great rock route featured in 50 Favorite Climbs under Mark Synnott is "CMC Direct"-5.11, 10+ pitches.
CATHEDRAL LEDGE, NH – An hour or so to the SW of Cannon, this cliff also has some great classics on primo granite with the cool town of North Conway at the base. This cliff is around 300ft at it’s highest point and offers one or two ice routes but is better known for it’s rock. Camping and swimming is conveniently easily found nearby.
CAP-TRINITE, QC – Another 1000ft cliff, this one is quite unique. Imagine yourself in your porta-ledge on an overhanging face, looking out to Bay Eternite. As you rifle around the bottom of your haul bag for your last bag of GORP, Beluga whales swim underneath you and the tour boat cruises by belting out interesting tid-bits of info in French to it’s occupants. Last time I climbed here you had to write/email a performa of sorts to get permission to climb during your chosen window. And by the way, you need to paddle or hire one of the whale watching zodiacs to drop you at the base.
** These are just a few of the great areas around Ottawa. Many more can be found within the radius described**
