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A Climbing Hut in Northwestern Ontario? Maybe Soon

Direct Lake north of Kenora has tall granite cliffs with several trad climbs, and room for development

Western Canada has a lot of climbing huts scattered around Alberta and B.C., but eastern Canada only has a few. The only one in Ontario right now is run by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) at Bon Echo – read more about it here.

A push to build a new climbing hut in northern Ontario has begun thanks to Stephanie Demers, who’s working to raise money to purchase the property. The goal is to acquire land near Direct Lake north of Kenora, where a 50-metre granite cliff rises above the lake. To learn more and to donate to the fundraiser, visit here.

Much like Bon Echo, the climbing would be boat-access, but the hut would give climbed a base to sleep, eat and come together. Climbing development at Direct Lake started in the 1990s, with waves of new-routing taking place up until 2007.

There are routes up to 5.11b, including a three-pitch 5.9 trad called The Three Bears. There are currently around 30 climbs with a lot of room for development. For route descriptions visit here. Below is from an ACC trip in 2007.

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