Running of the Buller

This climb is well-bolted compared to other alpine objectives. We linked pitches 1-2, 4-5, 6-7 with lots of rope drag. The rock is generally pretty good, but there is lots of loose gravel on the ledges so be mindful of this especially if you opt to rappel the route. Pitch 3 and 8 are short pitches but the rest of the pitches are around 20-30 meters long and go at around 5.7-5.8 with the odd 5.9 crux move. Every anchor has a chain and single rap ring.

Pitch 1: Climb just left of big corner, climb up ok rock on good jugs trend left, anchor is up to the left on vertical rock, lots of drag if linking 2
Pitch 2: Climb up loose rock to an anchor just below pitch 3's anchor
Pitch 3: 10m scramble
Pitch 4: Trend right up steeper stuff pull one (5.9) move on a side pull to eventually reach the anchor which is near the ground under an overhang.
5. Go up and right, then clip a bolt and traverse back left to pull a small roof on good holds (5.9) then move up through broken steps
6. Climb up through steep steps
7. Climb up and right through steep terrain. A couple of tricky moves including one step right that is airy (5.9)
8. A really short pitch up to a rock-covered ledge. Anchor is at bottom of yellow wall, bring your second up instead of linking pitches to reduce drag and limit rock fall risk.
9. This pitches starts right of the anchor. Go up the steep gully moving out right then come back left on slab to a big ledge and an anchor.
10. Short steep moves go up to a big ledge which has the final anchor. There are two bolts beyond but they lead nowhere unless you make a tree anchor. (Some info claims there is an 11th pitch, but we couldn't find the anchor for it.)

Descent: The route is set up to rappel, but be extremely mindful of the loose gravel and rocks on ledges. Apparently, you can walk off on the scramble route climber's right of the route, but we couldn't find this option.

*Alternatively you can continue up the long alpine ridge (5.0-5.5 with only 3-5 bolts the whole way and limited options for placing trad gear) ONLY ATTEMPT IF COMFORTABLE SOLOING 5.5 OR PLACING TRAD GEAR (THE RIDGE IS NOT A SPORT CLIMBING ROUTE) OR utilizing mountaineering techniques such as short-roping and placing limited gear for protection. 

If you can successfully navigate the ridge you can rappel down 1 pitch and then summit by climbing the iconic boot crack which is the width of a mountaineering boot and has a mix of bolts and trad placements (big cams) or climb 3 pitches of amazing bolted slab (5.8) to the right of the boot crack. Descend from the summit by going down the scree slope on the backside and rejoining the Buller Pass trail to the High Rockies to the car.

Located approximately 45 minutes from Canmore, 2 hours from Calgary. Drive up the spray lakes road and park at the furthest buttress of Mount Buller (closest to the road). From here make your way up to the base of the cliff (15 minutes) look for a big corner where the grey rock meets yellow rock. There is a hanging rope climbers right and the climb starts on the corner. There is a small cairn at the base.

Bolts for the entire 10 pitches of the Running of the Buller route. All anchors are bolted and chained with a single rap ring. Bring at least 9 draws, more if you plan on linking pitches. Alpine draws are helpful to reduce drag.

*If you plan on continuing up the ridge bring some small nuts and cams for occasional protection. We couldn't climb the boot crack since it was wet, but apparently it takes big cams (1-5).