New Three-Pitch Slab Crag on Banff’s Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain is a tourist attraction in Banff for its gondola ride to the summit and now has a new three-pitch alpine crag.

The west-facing crag called Sistine Slab is high on Sulphur Mountain near Banff and while it is often windy, it gets plenty of sun.

There are currently two routes on the wall and room for more. The first is Michelangelo Corner, which runs up the right hand side. The esthetic three-pitch 5.9 corner was first climbed by Adam Greenberg , Phil Lester and Ruari Macfarlane in August 2014.

The more recent route is a three-pitch 5.11a fully bolted slab climb called A hope and a Prayer climbed by James Walter, Ruari Macfarlane in September 2015.

Sistine Slab is European-ish in that it is best accessed via the gondola to the summit and a quick hike. Head south along the ridge, past a 10-metre rock step, until you reach the first peak about 45 minutes from the top terminal.

Scramble down past a 5.7 gear route called Son of Three Roofs or stay high until you can spot the slab and head down.