Roche Lake is crown jewel of the Kamloops climbing scene. With fine routes on
quality rock and a quiet forest setting, not to mention a short approach, it's easy ...
HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR GUIDE BOOK
Climb Kamloops Guide Book by Trevor Lott
Version 0.1 - Spring 2010
Welcome to Kamloops. I hope that you find this guide useful and accurate as you explore the area. Through publish/print on demand, this guide book is updated frequently based on climber feedback so feel free to send comments to
[email protected]. The feedback will be rolled into new versions of the guide which will be posted on climbkamloops.ca.
This book is designed to be printed and put together. If you follow these instructions, use good paper and a reasonable printer (ideally a colour printer), you'll have a good looking guide that will help you spend more time climbing and waste less time route finding.
Printing - Choose Landscape printing on High Quality colour setting. - Do not print page one (this page). - Print page two (the cover) on strong paper, if you have it.
Assembling 1
2
3
Fold pages in half
Insert folded pages inside cover page
Fasten with staples Climb Kaml oo
This guide would not have been possible without the kind support of many members of the climbing community. First and foremost my thanks to the many local fanatics including Garry Brace, Brian Nuttall, Ken Attwood, Simon Griffin, Alejandro Lyle and Bruce Stover for their countless hours (and dollars!) required to find, clean and equip the routes we enjoy today. Without their enthusiasm, and willingness to share we'd be....mountain biking. A special thank you to Rockfax, the gold standard in climbing guides and the giant whose shoulders I stand upon, for inspiration to write this guide and for their generous loan of the icons within this guide. And finally, thank you to my wife and climbing partner, Paula. At almost half of my weight, she has twice the motivation as me to climb and explore new areas, and always gives me a soft catch.
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Prickly Pear Canyon
Savona
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Climb Kamloops
Dairy Creek
The Beach
Cache Creek
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Kamloops 1
Monte Creek
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Hen House
Guide Book
Chicken Little 97
Roche Lake
1
Spences Bridge
5 5A 10 km
by Trevor Lott
Version 0.1 - Spring 2010
Roche Lake is crown jewel of the Kamloops climbing scene. With fine routes on quality rock and a quiet forest setting, not to mention a short approach, it's easy to see why the area is a favourite. The area features 29 single pitch routes, up to 23 m, including the hardest routes in the Kamloops area. N
Roche Lake Photo courtesy of Garry Brace
ROCHE LAKE
1 min
Roche Lake - Left
approx. 1000 m
to Kamloops
Roche Lake
Ble
er ek
ke La
5A
5
Roche Lake Road Park Entrance Sign
Trapp Lake Road
Conditions As a west facing crag, the area receives its sunshine in the afternoon. Pockets of trees ensure that there are always slivers of shade before the early evening when the sun begins to descend behind the trees. While this makes climbing in the heat of summer a possibility, the altitude and restricted exposure means you're likely to have snow in the area, or a muddy access into early May. Take insect repellent in the spring.
Getting There
GPS: +50° 29' 49.50", -120° 11' 51.18"
While the area isn't difficult to find, the extra detail below will ensure that no one gets lost. Portions of the road can be muddy, rocky or quite loose. Most cars can manage but a truck or 4x4 will make the trip a little more comfortably. The Roche Lake climbing area 34 km south of Kamloops. From Kamloops, take the 5A highway south towards Merrit. Reset your trip odometer in Kamloops at the collection of gas stations on the corner of highway 5A and Rogers Way. Travel south 23.5 km to the well signed start of Roche Lake Road. Travel east on Roche Lake Road for 7.3 km (odometer 30.8 km) to the entrance sign of Roche Lake Provincial Park. From the sign, continue left on the road for 400 m to another fork and turn left (odometer 31.2 km). Continue straight for 700 m before turning left (odometer 31.9), N turning right will take you to Bleeker Lake. Ignoring the smaller private roads that branch off, continue straight along this road for 2.5 km (odometer 34.4 km). The climbing wall will be on your right and will not be visible until you are right next to it.
P
approx. 100 m
4
Roche Lake Provincial Park
1
6
2 3
Roche Lake - Left The northern most portion of the climbing area can be seen from the parking pull out and is easily reached by taking the left trail as you descend from the road.
1 Boogie Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8
The easiest route in the area.
2 The Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8
Make use of incuts on the slabby wall and make your way to the chains wrapped around the tree.
3 The Pea Pod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 5.8 4 Unnamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 5 Wild Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9
Approach - 1 minute
A quality route with a variety of interesting moves and big holds.
Park within the pull-outs or along the side of the road. The trail descends steeply for 15 m before reaching the forest floor immediately in front of the wall. The trail forks from there to reach various portions of the climbing area.
Start up the ramp.
6 Denise's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
A handful of routes, not covered in this guide are found 7 minutes to the east if you follow the trail uphill. 1
2
Roche Lake
Roche Lake
Photo courtesy of Garry Brace
Roche Lake - Left Centre
Roche Lake - Right Centre
17 7
16 15
8 13
9 12
10 11
14
14
Roche Lake - Left Centre The left centre portion of Roche Lake is easily landmarked by the prominent roof.
15 7 NASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.10d
As in Not A Sport Route. Two bolts protect the start.
18
8 unnamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
A chimney route that ends at a pair of bolts.
93 Hard Day At The Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10b
Thin face climbing leads to an awkward crux at the last bolt.
15 Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12c
10 Palmer's Walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9+ Sustained face climbing on thin holds..
16 Something Totally Inappropriate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12b
11 Midnight Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
Sustained climbing thin holds.. The directface finish goes aton 5.10b.
17 Going South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12a
12 The 5th Day of Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12d
Not so much as climb, as a series of distinct cruxes. Certain to keep your attention.
13 unnamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . project
18 Airheads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11d
14 Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10d A short route that packs in a surprising amount of movement..
3
4
Roche Lake
Roche Lake
Roche Lake - Right The right (south) portion of the wall hosts a collection of the best routes in the area for the grade with lengthy, well bolted lines on compact and slightly overhanging rock, featuring (mostly) positive holds.
Roche Lake - Right (continued) Landmark using the tree leaning on the wall on the right. The first route on the left of the tree is "Separating Sanity", the first route on the right of the "Juice". Roche Lake - Right
Roche Lake - Right
22
21 22
21 20
19
20
28 23 19 Killing Yourself to Live. . . . . . .
5.13a
Local lore claims that skipping the last bolt makes the crux sequence easier. The extension to the second set of anchors is "The Fresh End" at 5.13b.
20 Flick of the Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12d Start on "Killing" and finish on "Fedoras". The extension to the second set of anchors is "Flicked It" at 5.13a.
24
23
25
21 Men in Fedoras . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.12c
Start up "The Verdict" to a roof and large horizontal crack system. Use good holds within the crack to traverse left before continuing up on small holds. Finish on the chains for "Flick the Switch"; continuing up to the higher anchor will earn you a 5.13a.
22 The Verdict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12a Save something for the pumpy bulge.
23 Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.11a
An excellent route whose popularity is making it a tad polished. The finishing move is the reach for the chains.
5
24
25
26 27
24 Flight Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11d 27 Separating Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11d You'll understand the name when you're moving between the last bolt and the chains.
25 Circumstantial Evidence . . . . .
Three tough moves on sharp, tiny crimps have earned it the name "the stupid climb" amongst locals.
5.11d 28 Juice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11a
Move right when you hit the roof to step onto the face and navigate a cruxy sequence of side-pulls. Milk any rest of you can find before taking on the remaining face.
Big moves on juggy holds. Good luck getting off the ground if you're short.
29 Brass Monkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a Not shown in picture. Start to the right of "Juice" and Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12b 26 follow a broken arrete. 6
PRICKLY PEAR CANYON
4 min
Prickly Pear Canyon
Prickly Pear Canyon is a new development west of Kamloops. The area features vertical basalt columns on good quality rock with routes up to 13 m high. While it won't keep you busy for a full day, the short approach makes it is a nice place to knock off a few routes on rock that differs from the other local crags. N
10 km
97
Prickly Pear Canyon Cache Creek 1
Kam
s La
loop
ke
Savona 1
Conditions The south facing rock is best climbed in the early spring or late fall, before the summer sun turns it into a basalt solar oven. However, the area moves into the shade in the late afternoon and cool air seeps from the canyon making it a nice after work escape during the long summer evenings. Beware of the Poison Ivy deeper in the canyon and of course, watch out for the Prickly Pear cacti that adorn the ground at the base of the routes.
2 The Spanish Indecision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8
GPS: +50° 78' 89.54", -121° 78' 85.55"
Short. The crux move is the reach for the triangle anchor.
3 Beware the Prickly Pear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10c
Pumpy, even more so if you can't find the hidden holds around the arete.
4 Something to Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9
Approach - 4 minutes
approx. 100 m
Park on the side of the highway, near the BC Hydro access gate. Just beyond the gate you'll see an old dirt road, follow it east (right), approximately 250m, until you see a trail (left) leading to the canyon. Please note that this area is on leased land and that climbers should keep a low profile. Do not hop the barbwire fence (use the access gate). Stay on the established trails, avoid damaging any fencing, don't litter and clean up any garbage you find.
dirt road
barbed wire fence
gate
P
6
Tucked behind a corner, 20m left (west) of the main wall.
Prickly Pear Canyon is 28 km west of Savona (reset your trip odometer at the Super-Save gas station) and 10 km east of Cache Creek. The canyon is located approximately 150 m north of the Trans-Canada highway. N
5
1 The Pigeons Were Talking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12a
As a new area, loose rock is common here: wear your helmet.
Getting There
3 4
2
5 Passion is a Remedy Against Boredom . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
Nice moves and good flow, leaves you wanting more.
6 Spanish Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10d
Stick to the arete on the right when the holds become thin and the rock becomes brittle.
7 Propriorception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10c
Work the face and arete before moving into the crack.
8 Tweezers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9
Easier than it looks from the ground; the crux lies in finding holds to the finish.
1
Park along side of highway
7
8
7 8
THE BEACH
8 min
The Beach
A great view, a comfortable base area and a collection moderate grades makes The Beach a popular climbing area in Kamloops. Most routes are on good quality vertical and incut laden rock ranging from 7 m to 20 m in length. The sport routes are well bolted and have fixed chain anchors. N
The Beach
to parking
5
Savona
Kam lo
The Beach - Right ops
Lake
Kamloops 1
1
5
5A
10 km
Conditions With its north face and pleasant lake view, The Beach can be a peaceful and comfortable oasis during hot summer days. The sun eventually reaches the rock face but not until later in the evening which also makes it an ideal place for after work climbing. The area is quick to dry out in the spring or after passing showers.
Getting There
GPS: +50° 45' 4.08", -120° 43' 36.36"
The Beach is located along the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Kamloops, 24.5 km west of highway 5 or 9 km east of Savona. Park within the public rest area on the north side of the highway. N
approx. 100 m
Approach - 8 minutes Park within the rest area and look for the gate next to the large information signs. Take the left trail up to the top of the hill and follow it (west) as it descend and turns east.
5
7 6
5
The first two routes approximately 15m right (west) of Needles on the Beach.
1 Unnamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4
The farthest route on the right (west) side of the crag.
2 The Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 3 Needles on the Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10b
The first route you'll find from the parking lot approach.
4 Impermenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
Sustained moves on thin, crimpy holds.
5 Burnt and Peeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10c
P
picnic area
6 Little Crack 1/2 Way Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10d
1
Interesting moves off the ground before the route fades off into the crack.
7 Bawanna's Vendetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11b 9
3
The Beach - Right The left (west) portion of the main wall at The Beach contains the first group of routes you will encouter from the trail in.
A couple of tough moves up to the second bolt give it the grade before it eases off.
fence
1 4
10
2
The Beach
The Beach
ck ro
ck ro
y lle gu
y lle gu to parking
to parking
The Beach - Left Centre
The Beach - Right Centre
ck ro y
lle gu
13 15
14
12
11
10
9
18
8 19
to parking
The Beach - Right Centre The centre portion of the main wall can be best landmarked by finding the large off width crack that spans the height of the crag.
The Beach - Left Centre Another full height fissure in the wall landmarks a cluster of routes.
8 Cottage Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10d
Just like its neighbour, but harder.
16 Lichen in my Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10b
9 Sound of One Wave Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
Shares the anchors with Exodus.
Short and steep.
17 Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10c
10 Sod Wrestler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
A pair of powerful pulls and delicate balancing moves keeps your mind from wandering.
A deservedly popular introduction to outdoor face climbing.
11 Going Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 Where's Waldo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11a
5.10a
Gear is only required if you climb past the first station where two bolts will get you started toward the crack that requires a couple of small pieces. 30m from the ground to the top.
Start on the face, left of the arrete. Named for the tiny hidden incuts that are critical for the lower half, the upper half eases off a lot.
12 Wolly Bully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a/b
19 The Voices Told Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9
Sustained and well protected climbing.
13 Riptide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
A nice long route up the arrete.
5.10a
Climb the crack and finish on Jealosy.
14 Jealosy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10b A fine route with a variation start (right) at 5.11b.
15 Fairies Wear Boots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10b 11
12
19 18 17
16
to parking
The Beach
The Beach
ck ro
The Beach - Lower New development, among the handful of old and seldom climbed routes, is being looked into by Mitchell Forgie. New routes will be added into this guide in the near future.
y lle gu to parking
The Beach - Left
24 23 22 21 20 24
to parking
The Beach - Left The centre portion of the main wall can be best landmarked by finding the large off width crack that spans the height of the crag.
20 Seamstress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.8
Climb the crack and finish on the anchors that complete the routes on the left.
21 Static Cling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11c/d
Thin and smooth off the ground..
22 Punch the Monkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10a
A fun route with a challenging roof to pull over at the end..
23 Never Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.8
Considered a dangerous route and probably named by the first ascensionist.
24 Tachycardia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11a Quality moves on vertical rock..
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15
