Six Rockies Ice Climbs With Low Avi Hazard

Ice climbers shouldn’t travel into avalanche terrain when the avalanche hazards are high – check Avalanche Canada here before heading out. Even if hazards are low you should always carry avalanche gear – read more on that here. The Ice Climbing Avalanche Atlas is a project that aims to document as much avalanche information as possible about classic climbs in the Rockies – read more about it here. Here are seven Rockies ice climbs that have next to no avalanche hazard with links to their Mountain Project pages.

Tangle Falls: Found near Tangle Ridge on the Icefields Parkway north of Mount Athabasca, this is a fun, close-to-the-road WI2/3 that offers lots of fun options. Beta.

Tokkum Pole: Located in Marble Canyon on Highway 93 South near Haffner Creek, this rappel-in WI5 single-pitch climb fun to lead when in condition or to top-rope. Beta.

Grotto Falls: Located up Grotto Canyon near the hamlet of Exshaw, this 45-metre WI2+ is a fun, rolling ice climb up a narrow slot. Bolted anchors so you can do two rappels with one rope. His WI4 and Hers WI4 are nearby, as are some fun mixed routes. Beta.

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Maligne Canyon: This is the go-to ice cragging area near Jasper. There are a number of half-pitch ice routes that form over the river. The main routes are: The Queen WI4, Last Wall WI2 and Original Route WI3. Beta.

Pure Energy: This might be one of the best pitches of WI4 along the David Thompson Highway. Found in the Cline River Gallery, there are several outstanding climbs that make for a great day out. Beta.