Climbing on Van Isle is often overshadowed by British Columbia's destination areas. Yet Vancouver Island offers something for everyone; from crazy overhung limestone sport in Horne Lake, to the glaciated peaks of the Vancouver Island mountains, to the remote granite domes of the Wapiti Valley. Vancouver Island is home to British Columbia's longest sport route (13 pitches) and home to Canada's second 5.14a.
Geologically, Vancouver Island is an interesting mix. The vast majority of rock on the island is bassalt; its quality is fairly hit or miss (but definitely better than the Canadian Rockies!). On the central island, around Nanaimo, there's lots of conglomerate and sandstone. There are a few patches of limestone, especially around Strathcona park and granite all over the northern island.
Most climbing is located on public land, however several areas currently are experiencing access issues. These include Horne Lake, Sugarloaf, as well as a number of areas around Nanaimo.
Getting There
Vancouver Island can be reached by car ferry from Vancouver, BC, Port Angeles, WA, and Anacortes, WA. Passenger only ferries run from Bellingham and Seattle. Vancouver Island also has three major airports: Victoria, Nanaimo and Comox. There are daily direct flights to Vancouver, Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto; as well as connecting flights to the rest of the world.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Vancouver Island:
Printer Friendly View
RSS Feed
Slideshow
