Ontario Climbing

[Fred]

well we've been in Ontario for a couple weeks now and managed to do some climbing. I thought I would share some beta here in case anyone else is ever heading out this way.


Mt Nemo
For starters, this cliff is much longer than you expect from reading the guidebook. Thus, we made a big mistake by thinking we could start at one end and walk the base of the cliff to scout the routes we wanted to climb. In doing this we headed for Mt Nemo North. Big mistake! This end of the cliff sees little traffic. Most of the routes at this end are on chossy broken limestone with sport routes few in between. Avoid going to Nemo North. Instead, take the main trail that goes to the Main Lookout. There is an easy descent just left of the main lookout. Here you will find much better walls and quality routes. The closest (only?) camping is at the KOA where the Guelph line crosses the 401 about 15min from the cliff.


Old Baldy
You need to buy a pass to climb at this cliff. It goes for $25/person/year and you can get registered at http://www.greysauble.on.ca/ The Ontario sport climbing guidebook suggests camping at Metcalf but this camping area has since been closed. The closest camping is about 30min away and your best luck would be near Collingwood. The climbing at Baldy is quite nice. We enjoyed a very quiet day with NO crowds and got to climb some supperb overhanging limestone. I give this crag two thumbs up for sure. The cliff is easily accessible with a 15min walk on flat terrain. The trail takes you to the base of the cliff so no rapping in like in some other areas in Ontario.

Sudbury
Driving around town we spotted some bouldering. On the Laurentien campus there is a fairly high wall with some overhanging stuff. Further down the road past the campus you will get to Lake Laurentian Conservation Area. Look for some boulders in the woods on both sides of the road. Also, look for a creek with rock on both sides. Offers some nice climbing but landings may be wet if water levels high. Otherwise bring lots of pads and you should be ok.

White Bluff
It's strange that Gripped featured this area as a good bouldering spot. There are a few nice boulders scattered on the beach in a nice setting but the quantity is very limited. We climbed a few very nice lines but I think someone would definitely be disapointed if they planned a bouldering trip to this neck of the woods. We didn't get a chance to try out the cliff but it looked pretty sweet. STEEP climbing and mostly 5.11's and 12's. BEWARE the bolts are super rusted. The swimming here is amazing.

Niagara Glen
This is a fantastic bouldering spot. It's free, it's in a beautifull setting and there are TONS of boulders. Unfortunately it was late July during a heat wave when we visited and the limestone was as slick as poop. October would be a better time of year to visit. There is a great PDF guidebook available at DrTopo. The closest camping (5min.) is Shalamar Lake. It's not the best campground but it's close.

[Fred]

updated August 1, 2006