Gripped – August 2019

In the mid-1970s, the Canadian Rockies were one of Canada’s

climbing centres, along with Squamish, the Niagara Escarpment

and Val-David. There were dozens of climbers starting to push the

limits on rock, ice and in the alpine.

Until the late 1960 s, any climb that was completed under three

pitches was considered training, never named and rarely graded.

That’s why you can find 50 -year-old pitons on two and three pitch

routes, but no historical information about them. That all changed

in 1973 , when Bugs McKeith rappelled into a line at Crag X near

Exshaw in the Bow Valley to clean it for an ascent. The result was

a three-pitch 5. 9 that became a good training climb and opened

the crag to more development.

Over the next few years, local climbers added long trad routes

to the 100 -metre wall, leaving pitons in place that marked the way.

Hand-drilled bolts were sometimes added to belays, but they were

few and far between. In 1976 , Chris Perry and John Martin (two

prolific route developers still establishing climbs today) made the

first ascent of Central Groove, a four-pitch 5. 8 up the centre of

the wall. The route had a few minor variations added in the early

1980 s and in 2017 , Steven Kovalenko and Dave Peabody replaced

the old bolts with new rap rings.

I found the rock on Sideline to be quite solid and the protection

reasonable, but I’d heard the other routes at Crag X were loose and

scary. I ventured out on June 9 with Alyssa Acchione to experi-

ence firsthand what the broken limestone on Crag X was like on

the far-right side. We brought a single rack, no hammer or pitons

and a single rope

I started up the first pitch up broken blocks to a smooth slab

and bolt about 20 feet off the ground. A few tricky moves led to a

Opposite: Avoiding

the crux bulge on

the final pitch

Above: Looking down

at the exposed traverse

on polished rock

How to Get There

Park in the small

open area west of

the dog kennels, east

of Canmore. Walk

east for 50 metres

and head into the

forest. Follow a faint

trail away from

the wall and then

up switchbacks.

Start

The start of Central

Groove is difficult

to find, look for a

high bolt in a corner

behind a tree at the

base of the obvious

“central groove.”

Gear

Single rack to

three inches,

small-to-large nuts,

single 60-metre

rope, helmets.

Route Info

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the route