Update: Climbing in Ontario’s Bon Echo Suspended

Update: Park Superintendent Clark Richars told Gripped, “Climbing is currently suspended at Bon Echo Provincial Park for an undetermined period of time. No accident occurred at the park; we are currently working with the Alpine Club of Canada to update the Memorandum of Understanding that provides for climbing on the rock within the park boundaries.”

Bon Echo is one of Ontario’s premiere climbing areas, as it has dozens of long routes that climb above Mazinaw Lake. The wall is about 100 metres high and climbers have been visiting decades. For many years, the Alpine Club of Canada has regulated climbing in the area, but a recent unknown accident has resulted in a suspension of climbing. The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) Toronto section board of directors released the following message through the Ontario Access Coalition:

“We are passing along the following message from the Alpine Club of Canada, Toronto Section. The Superintendent of Bon Echo Provincial Park has informed the Alpine Club of Canada Toronto Section that starting immediately all climbing has been suspended until further notice. The suspension was a result of a recent incident, and no one was hurt. The board of the Alpine Club of Canada Toronto Section and the Bon Echo Committee are collaborating closely with the Park to open access as soon as possible.

“Weekends at the Bon Echo hut are subsequently cancelled until further notice. Until the matter is resolved please respect the wishes of the Park and refrain from climbing at Bon Echo. We will let you know as soon as the suspension is lifted. We appreciate your cooperation and we look forward to climbing at Bon Echo again soon. If you have any questions please contact either the Board of Directors (membership@alpineclubtoronto.ca) or the Bon Echo committee (bonecho@alpineclubtorinto.ca).”

The ACC has a been raising money over the past year to renovate the hut climbers use to access the cliffs at Bon Echo. You can read more about it here. We will update the story as more details are available. Hopefully climbing can resume in Bon Echo sooner than later.