The Urs Hole

A classic, early season Rockies ramble. The gully is threatened by a massive avalanche bowl, hence no one really climbs this after the first major snowfall of a season.

It's pretty hard to get lost on this one! Follow the gully and negotiate generally short sections of ice. The longest, continuous pitch is about 20 m.

The WI 2 climb is technically over at the top of the 5th pitch, but do yourself a favour and continue up to the collapsed pocket glacier and ice tunnels!

At the top is the Urs Hole Direct Finish; a beautiful rock tube of mushroomed ice. This goes at WI 5. Substantially harder than the rest of the climb, but unbelievably aesthetic if you can climb the grade.

Use the fixed anchors to rappel the route. Most rappels are easily done with a single 70 m rope. However, the second pitch is longer than 35 m and requires a double rap rope. Of course, opportunity abounds to build a v-thread to accommodate this. If you planned on climbing the direct finish, you will need a second rope to descend from the top of that pitch.

This is the next route to the right of Cascade Falls. Continue on the road to Lake Minnewanka for another 1 km or so, to a major drainage. You'll be able to see the first pitch from here. There is a parking lot on the left hand side of the road, but it has a "No Parking" sign in it the last time I was there. Park a few metres past, on the right hand side shoulder near a gated side road.

Fixed anchors at the top of every pitch. Generally, they are right where you would expect them to be, either in large alcoves, or right above steeper sections. Since this is an early season route, expect less-than-perfect ice and screws. Bring a selection of shorter screws, and expect some PG-13 sections at times.