Ha Ling Reopens to Rock Climbers and Hikers

After a year-long closure, Ha Ling above Canmore will reopen this weekend with an improved trail. The extensive upgrades have made the hiking trail longer but safer. The official opening is on Aug. 10.

According to the ministry, the previous trail wasn’t designated and had to be improved to handle the heavy traffic it was getting. The trail now has rails and cable ladders in areas where the grade couldn’t be reduced, reshaped bedrock and a new viewpoint overlooking the East End of Rundle.

The Ha Ling upgrade project cost about $850,000, according to Alberta Environment and Parks and took four days longer than the expected 115 days. The mountain will be very busy for the rest of the summer, so be careful out there.

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Lots of ground covered tonight with @brandonpullan. Climbed soft moth on Ha Ling in just over an hour and a half!! Then over to his new route Godzilla to clean it up a bit. Rapping off Godzilla was interesting with a rather stout rain storm. Such a quality evening!!

A post shared by Cory (@cory_rogans_) on Jun 25, 2018 at 9:55pm PDT

Warning for Climbers

– The climbing routes on Ha Ling haven’t had traffic in over a year, so there will be a lot of loose rocks.
– Wait a few weeks to head up to climb a route as there will be countless climbers heading up to climb the classics.
– The routes on Ha Ling are considered alpine rock and should be treated as such: bring layers, food, water and a phone.
– All but one route requires a rack of trad gear, be prepared.
– Communicate with your partner by using each other’s names to avoid confusion with other teams.
– Don’t climb under another party if you can avoid it.
– Again, watch for loose rock.