Caribou Mountain Rock Climbing

Caribou Mountain (1950m) is a prominent peak sitting above Choutla Lake to the east of Carcross. It is a popular day hike but has also seen some ascents via a couple of the ridges on it's craggy South face, with plenty of opportunity for many more lines.

The first climbs put up on this face were done by Eric Allen and Martin Williams in the 80s. They climbed two lines Windhover (5.9) and Gwaihir (5.7). Eric's description of these is published in the Canadian Alpine Journal in 1983, which has been down for months at this point so I can't confirm finer details. The line that I believe is Gwaihir has seen increased interest lately with a handful of ascents.

The rock is primarily granite on the ridges but, as per the norm for the territory, there is a variety of layers on the lower bands. GeoYukon claims the primary rock type in the area is shale/sandstone/conglomerate but there seems to be lots of volcanic type rock reminiscent of the stuff you see on Dail Peak further south.

Seasonal Closure: Although Caribou is not settlement land, it IS CTFN traditional territory. They ask that everyone respects a seasonal closure from April 1 to June 15 for the sheep and goat lambing season. This would be outside the usual Alpine rock climbing season here anyway, so shouldn't be an issue.