Ontario Crag Chopped by Land Managers
Rockwood was a closed crag, but many hoped that it would one day reopen. The folks at Grand River Conservation Area have sadly put an end to that
Photo by: (from) Ontario Alliance of Climbers
Ontario rock climbers have been dealt several blows this year. Earlier this season, Ontario Parks closed access to some of Devils Glen, one of the province’s most popular crags. The Ontario Alliance of Climbers (OAC) has been working hard to arrange for the area to be reopened.
While some positive steps are being taken and discussions between Ontario Parks and the OAC have begun, an upsetting turn of events has taken place at another historic crag, which has been closed for some time. Rockwood is a crag in southwestern Ontario that was once open and very popular. There are several hard classic routes, such as Wardens Cavalry 5.11d, Dog Town 5.12a and Cuban Rhino 5.12b, with the hardest routes being Deja Vu 5.14a and Nostalgia 5.13d.
The OAC announced online that the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has hired a rope access crew to remove all fixed hardware at Rockwood. The GRCA allows hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing and camping, but not rock climbing.
While Rockwood was a closed crag, the hope that it would reopen was always on the minds of climbers. However, it now seems like the crag is not only closed, but removed entirely. We reached out to the manager of conservation and the chief admin officer of the GRCA for comment, but have not heard back.
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