B.C. Crag Bought and Saved for Rock Climbers

A rock climbing crag in South Castlegar has been purchased so climbers will have access. The city of Castlegar’s has been focused on climbing for the past few years.

The 80-acre property in the Waterline area, uphill from Kinnaird School off 14th Avenue, has long been a go-to spot for locals. It was privately owned but recently purchased so access will be maintained for hikers and climbers.

The area was purchased by Mirek Hladik and June Ray, who’ve been involved in the climbing community for 30 years. The area was for sale for $350,000 last year.

Climbing in Castlegar was pretty awesome! Was able to flash a 5.11a! This is me working on a super fun route – Super Grover 5.11b. Definitely need to go back! Photo credit: Cali Olleck. #rockclimbing #sport #sportclimbing #supergrover #project #castlegar #rock #leadclimbing #ravenwall #waterlinewalls #superfun #heelhook

A post shared by Keith Chan (@islandtrailphotography) on Aug 12, 2014 at 11:37pm PDT

“When we heard that someone wanted to purchase the Waterline, we decided we had to act fast,” Hladik said in a news release.

“It’s exciting to have a guaranteed access to the Waterline area. We have seen too many areas shut down in the past and it would be huge loss to see this one go.”

Hlakid and Ray plan to divide the area and sell the climbers areas to a local group that can take on the liability risk, preserve climbing access and outdoor recreation.

The Association of West Kootenay Rock Climbers (TAWKROC) has been approached to take on the land. TAWKROC owns the Kinnaird bluffs climbing area.

“We are very excited about this potential opportunity and we plan to bring it to our membership to vote on in the near future,” said TAWKROC director Ian McDonald.

“We hope that this process won’t take more than four to five months and it will be ready for our spring climbing season,” Hladik said. “We would like there to be an improved parking area, outhouse and more hiking and biking trails as well.”