Bugaboo Spire is world-famous in the climbing community, for good reason…read more It contains a coveted 50 classic climb. (5.8) It also contains the historic "Kain Route" (5.6). It's a fun moderate climb. The crux is "the gendarme" a "5.6" move that is extremely trick and very exposed. You'll wonder how the hell Conrad Kain did it in crappy old-timey leather boots! Any of these routes are a LONG day from the hut, so make sure you start early. (before the sun)

It's like the Chamonix of Canada. (with way less people and way less infrastructure)…read more It's a mountaineer's playground. Black and white speckled granite fangs jut out of massive glacier systems. There is so much to climb here, you could spend every summer here and not get it all done! Just be sure to wrap your car in chicken wire so the porcupines don't eat the hoses/tires of your car! (seriously)

I had a blast doing the Via Ferrata here at Norquay. My running group company booked this adventure…read moreas an excursion on our trip to Banff. The Via Ferrata (Italian for the Iron Path) has five different types of adventure tours: Explorer, Ridgewalker, Alpinist, Skyline and Summiteer. Each of these trails cater to all different types of skill levels. My travel company booked the Explorer package for our group which is 1 km (3,280 feet) in distance and lasts just over 2 hours. The views are breathtaking and I really enjoyed doing my first Via Ferrata. You can see one of the coolest looking mountains Mount Rundle in the distance while on the trail. Mount Norquay has a rich ski culture that goes back to the early 1900s. It lies directly northwest of the Town of Banff and is one of Banff National Park's three major ski resorts. The mountain has a top elevation of 6,998 feet. The main chair lift is one of the oldest lifts in North America and has been providing riders with views of the Bow Valley since 1948. Mount Norquay Ski Resort is operated by Norquay Mystic Ridge Ltd. Norquay has a total of 60 runs and is a huge supporter of alpine ski racing. The Mount Norquay Via Ferrata is located in Banff National Park. We had a great guide that took us up the sheer rock wall and across the suspension bridge. I initially was a little nervous, but felt safe the whole time with the harness that attaches to the mountain's steel cable pathway. Those cables can hold a ton of weight. Anyone without rock climbing experience can do this. Before we started our climb, our guide went over all of the safety rules and let us do a practice run on a short wall before we headed up the chair lift. Norquay Via Ferrata offers complimentary hiking boots if you forgot to bring some and has a bistro and snack bar if you are hungry. The Norquay Via Ferrata is a must if visiting Banff National Park.

The best experience we have ever gone into blindly. Very well curated guided experience, great…read morecondition equipment, amazing and funniest guide. We had lot of fun with the Ridgewalker hike/climbing we did. Worth every dollar we spent on it. It was safe and the instructions were clear, concise and easy to follow. The work that goes into maintaining those trails is very much unknown and underappreciated. So thank you!

Great guide service based out of Banff. Kris was professional and fun. We had a great day out.read more

We just returned from 6 days of hiking in the most beautiful mountains imaginable. The Heli-hiking…read moreis fabulous. We were able to go to out of the way places unreachable without a helicopter. We felt we were on top of the world. The guides were exceptional. They were so sensitive to our ability and needs. Plus they all knew so much about the environment. They all seemed like well educated naturalists, informing us about rock structures, flowers and the animals we were lucky enough to see. The food at both lodes was fantastic. We felt so lucky to be able to have such a great experience.

It doesn't get any better than this!!! I never knew that HeliHiking existed until my husband…read moresurprised me with this trip. The staff are knowledgeable, fun, and will show you a great time. They separate you into hiking groups according to your abilities so everyone is happy. If you do go helihiking you definitely have to do the Via Ferrata. We stayed at the Bobbie Burns Lodge and loved it! How can you not have a great time flying in a helicopter daily around beautiful mountains and landing on incredible peaks and glaciers where you hike and explore for the day. If you have the opportunity to do this it is definitely worth the money!

Small gym operated by a dedicated teacher - Herb Weller, who provides his time and skills to make…read moresure this climbing wall is available to introduce anyone interested to climbing. Even though this wall is small when compared to whole gyms, it has a wide enough range of routes to keep the majority of climbers busy for a long time. New routes get put up often enough, and there are always creative ways to challenge yourself. I would drive down from my home after work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and climb from opening to close all winter and never be bored. In the summer time our visits were a little less frequent since we'd just hit the outdoor crags after work. I wish a gym like this existed in Toronto - small yet always interesting, cheap, and run by someone as awesome as Herb. Prices are super low - last time I was by it was $5 to climb for the evening including rentals or $80 for the year. Prices like this are unheard of anywhere else. Beginners get free lessons and there are plenty of helpful, well-skilled climbers around to assist with anything you may need help with. If you're around Invermere any weekend stop by and pull on some plastic in a supportive and helpful environment.

This is the nicest places to stay in Bugaboo Provincial Park…read more Also known as "The Bugaboos". Climbers love crowd-isolating jargon, so you'll often hear it shortened all the way down to "The Bugs", or, worse "DA BUGZ!" It's a great place to wait out the notoriously fickle weather in the area. It's run by the delightfully-friendly Alpine Club of Canada. (it's cheaper if you're a member, and if you plan on staying here for more than 5 days, the membership practically pays for itself) It's got: Power (WUT?!) Sleeping pads Running water (they say you probably shouldn't drink it straight up, but we did, #YOLO) Pots and pans Tables Lots of climbing books to study Posters of Conrad Kain doing his famous pose Burners for cooking It does not have: Plumbing (outhouse only, sorry) Bedding (other than the squishy pads) Food for sale (although people hiking out might give you some if you're nice...) You need to bring: Sleeping bag Food Adult beverages (whisky for light weight, beer for a strong back) Climbing gear Clothes Some people choose to camp rather than stay in the hut. There are a couple of reasons they generally do this: - They are cheap - They came last minute and the hut was booked - They desperately want to have "dirtbag credentials" because they slept in a tiny, humid nylon box rather than a large, dry wooden one - They want to be much closer to the climbing routes The last point is the one I empathize most with. By staying at the hut, you are adding another 1,000 ft of gain to the beginning and end of every climbing day. Is it worth it? If the weather is iffy, I'd say: "definitely".

Cascade Mountain contains some of the best moderate alpine ice you'll find anywhere. You get:…read more -1000+ ft of WI2-3 - 5 minute approach - bolted rappel stations - incredible views (you're climbing up a small piece of the much-larger Cascade Mountain) There is also a hike that goes up the backside but I've never done it.