Cougar Creek in Canmore Might Close for Two Years

In 2013, a flood devastated much of southern Alberta, including the residential areas around Cougar Creek in Canmore. Since then, a big debris-net dam has been in place, but now the Town of Canmore is moving forward with a permanent structure.

What does that mean for climbers and hikers? Al Black, Chair of Climbers’ Access Society of Alberta (CASA), recently updated climbers on TABVAR’s Facebook page that access groups are in talks with land owners, but the entire area might be closed for up to two years.

What climbs are in Cougar Creek? In winter, only really Ghoster Coaster, but in summer, there are hundreds of sport climbs at famous crags, including Planet X (one of the Rockies busiest for 5.13 and 5.14 climbs) and Casino Wall (one of the Rockies busiest crags for 5.10 climbs). Hiking trails and the East-South-East Ridge 5.5 of Lady MacDonald would also be closed.

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Cobalt Gecko (5.14b) is a beautiful new(-ish) addition to the Bow Valley by local crusher and restless developer @hauonearth – It follows an unlikely path through some of the most improbable looking limestone at Planet X. Luck struck twice today, and I managed to clip the chains on this delicate, slightly overhanging line. This was my third day out on it and my first go did not go well. It was hot, slippery, and after nearly two weeks off I felt a little out of place. Before leaving, my good friend Nick @nwrpainting said “good luck, you might get that afternoon breeze” I made a joke, because honestly, I didn’t think I had a chance. Sometimes those low expectation, just for fun burns are the best though. Soon after, another good friend @mikedoyleca (with the luck of the Irish flowing through his bloodstream) arrived and gave me a catch. I wobbled my way to the 4th bolt, and just then, Nick’s words sprung to life and the wind picked up, so much so that every hold felt just sticky enough to help bring me to the top. Thanks Guys?. I needed the ?- Check out Planet X on the @sloperclimbing App! #limestone #sportclimbing ?

A post shared by Sonnie Trotter (@sonnietrotter) on Jul 22, 2019 at 9:04pm PDT

TABVAR Post on Facebook from Al Black

Al from CASA here, following up on the questions around Cougar Canyon closures and the damn dam construction. I’ll start with some caveats and context, because its important. First off nothing is finalized yet, the details are being worked out. Contracts haven’t been signed yet. These include start date for the project and the exact boundaries of the closures that vary depending on the kind of work that is happening.

In other words, do not treat this as a final announcement from CASA or the Town of Canmore or Alberta Environment and Parks. Second the initial plan of building a little trail around the construction on the Lady Mac side and dropping in, well that’s out the window now that all the different agencies are involved. That said, its appropriate to give the heads up now so that people can make plans etc and get their heads around things.

I believe we are looking at looking at a two-year closure of a significant part of the canyon that extends to both the Lady Mac side and further eastward. The closure will most likely start late June or July and run continuously.

There may be some intermittent breaks when construction is stopped, but our understanding is work will be going through the winter, so the closures will also impact access to things like Ghoster Coaster. We have a couple more meetings to get more details and explore some solutions that may allow access, but it looks like much of this is set by the nature of the construction. Feel free to ask questions or PM, and I’ll do the best to answer given some the ambiguity.

The Town of Canmore had recently kept the hiking trail and climbing routes on Ha Ling closed for well over a year for trail upgrades, more here. The town also recently made camping in your vehicle in Canmore illegal (unless in a paid stall or at a campground), more here.

Watch Simon Yamamoto on The Illusionist 5.14 at Planet X in Cougar Creek below.

The Illusionist