Ice Climbing Is Game On in Northern Ontario
Several classic moderate ice climbs in Orient Bay and Kama Bay have been climbed
Northern Ontario, which spans over 1,000 kilometres from Kenora to Sudbury, has hundreds of ice and mixed routes, some famous, some hardly known. And while November was unseasonably warm to begin, it ended with extreme cold and snow, which resulted in several ice climbs forming.
The majority of the climbable ice that formed was in Kama Bay and Orient Bay, two corridors that run north of Highway 17 near the town of Nipigon on the north shore of Lake Superior. But with no end in sight for the frigid conditions, there will surely be more fat ice forming in the near future. I was lucky to be in the area over the weekend and had a chance to team up with local Aric Fishman to kick the season off.
We ventured to Kama Bay with Jared Miller and Charlotte Stone and ran laps on the popular Grandy Mardy Falls WI3/4. We could see from the road that the famous Ice Breakers WI5+ was forming nicely. From what we saw, it looked like Kama Bay might have an exceptional year of ice climbing.
The following day, we drove to Orient Bay, making our way north along an icy Highway 11. Through snow squalls we could see steep climbs, like Reflection Wall WI5 and Obsession WI4, were almost in condition, but we opted for the famous Hully Gully, a 100-metre WI2/3 with 25-metre pitches and a long ramble between them. Miller and Stone swang tools on Mellow Yellow WI3+ (top photo), while other climbers topped out Andromeda Weeps WI4+.
Orient Bay is a little like Field, B.C., where you have dozens of potential climbs along one stretch of road, except there’s no avalanche danger and more routes. As we drove south, we could see that the famous ice pillar Parallax WI5 was forming up – it’s a must-climb for steep ice enthusiasts.
If you’re a fan of cold weather, short approaches, and vertical ice, then be sure to head to Orient Bay and Kama Bay this winter. Follow the NWOIce Conditions page on Facebook here for updates, and if you’re looking for a climbing guide in the area touch base with Fishman here.
