Woodbury Bluffs - Rock Climbing in the West Kootenay

The view

Located high above Kootenay lake overlooking the Purcell Mountains, the Woodbury Bluffs offer up some of the best climbing in the West Kootenays. High quality Granite, Easy Facing (afternoon shade) and a bit higher elevation make this a great summer destination. There are two developed sectors with lots more potential. The Goat Head Wall hosts technical moderate climbing on cool rock and the Yellow Wall is big, steep and exposed and full of fun pumpy climbing. If you happen to come across this page, take a look below at the link. It's free to download/print and it should give you everything you need to get after it :) Enjoy!

Link to Topo: Woodbury Bluffs Climbing Guide

Drew Nylen on the amazing THE LAST WALTZ 5.11c

Topping out on BIG HITS 5.10a with some fine exposure

Jarrad Monger on DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION 5.10D

PONDEROSA BOULDERS - Arrow Lake, B.C

Jonah on COBRA KAI V4

The new and improved Ponderosa Boulders; probably two of the biggest and baddest two boulders I've come across in the area!! For the past few years this area consisted of one really sweet tall boulder with 8 climbs of beautiful face climbing; but a bigger, badder and meaner piece of rock the size of a house (literally) loomed above. Requiring tons of labour to free the walls from it's dense foliage, the boulder sat untouched for 2 years; until the spring of 2017. After about a month of work with help from several keen friends willing to sacrifice actual climbing time for cleaning bush and lichen, a masterpiece was uncovered!!!

20 move problems, tall featured faces, good landings, aesthetic climbing, beautiful rock and almost 30 lines, this area is destined to become one of the best!! You hit the Ponderosa Boulder first to warm up on impeccable rock, then you get to bust uphill 1 more minute to the Fukushima Boulder to test your mettle on some of the finest bouldering around. Hope you enjoy all the amazing climbing we uncovered! Included here is the guide/topo for your (free) printing pleasure. ENJOY

Guide: PONDEROSA BOULDERS TOPO

Allen Rollin on GIANT PANDA (low) V7

Fantasyland Boulders - Arrow Lake, Castlegar, B.C

Jeremy Childs climbing 'RUBIX' V3

Some fine folks from Castlegar have been busy here in Spring 2017. A huge concentration of boulders right off a dirt road 10 minutes from Castlegar, the Fantasyland Boulders are another great addition to the seemingly endless potential for BOULDERING in the West Kootenays. The part that makes this spot a little different than some of the areas around in the sheer density of rock on this big bench under these enormous cliffs! More quality Gneiss, good landings and a long season, with some awesome climbs to boot!

Included here is the new topo for the area. There is still a lot of potential in this zone!
Have fun 😀

TOPO: FantasyLand Bouldering Guide Spring 2017

Allen Rollin climbing Nagini V7

Nelson Backcountry Skiing Season 16-17

Winter has arrived here in the West Kootenays. Probably the coldest consistent temperatures in the last few years, with the temps hitting a balmy -30 with the wind chill at 2000m. There has been a lot of outstanding skiing the last few weeks and it is shaping up to be a great season. Coverage is good, stability has been good (so far) and there has been some good days at Kootenay Pass, Whitewater Backcountry & Redfish Creek. Here are some of the most recent shots of the season, enjoy!

There are some really good resources out there for weather, avalanche conditions and overall winter conditions in Canada that can help you make good decisions while backcountry skiing/boarding. Here are some links; play safe out there!!!!!

MOUNTAIN INFORMATION NETWORK
A cool addition to the Avalanche.Ca Webpage, a place to share and view local observations.
MIN Link

AVALANCE BULLETINS
A daily avalanche bulletin for your region. Very useful tool for decision making.
Avalanche Forecasts

MOUNTAIN WEATHER FORECAST
A year round mountain weather forecast for BC, usually updated daily.
Forecast

SNOW FORECAST
Snow forecasting for ski resorts and backcountry ski lodges. Not always accurate but gives you a good idea of whats going on in the mountains with temperatures, etc..
Snow Forecast

ACMG MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS REPORTS
Mountain Guides post their observations here on skiing and climbing. Great tool.
ACMG Mountain Condtions

CUBE CLIMBING GYM - Nelson, B.C

Nelson's not for profit climbing gym is open again for the 2016-2017 season!! Tons of new holds, volumes, mats and recent upgrades mean that things are looking good in there and with the dark season arriving theres no better time to go check it out! Go see what it's all about. Hope to see you there!

MUSIC!! - Indy House Music

Ive got a few new ones I've been listening to lately, both are a kind of indy dance music, really awesome beats......Hope you enjoy.

GLASS ANIMALS - HAZEY

ZHU - MONEY

Revelstoke Bouldering

Revelstoke has been on the map for its sport climbing and multi-pitch for a few years now, friendly juggy climbing in beautiful interior rain forests,  and an abundance of quality routes in a mountain setting, are all valid reasons for making a trip. Now over the past few years a few ambitious and hard working locals have been putting in a lot of time to develop a whole lot of sweet boulders. There are a few unreal spots worth checking out and if you happen to be in the area on a hot summer day, you should DEFINITELY go check out the Englishman Boulders. Attached is a link to the awesome website that Nic and Ryan Williams have created that should give you all the information and stoke you need! Have fun...

Link: Revelstoke Bouldering Website

WEST KOOTENAY BOULDERING - Arrow Lake Bouldering Guide

Jeremy climbing 'JEDI MASTER'

Jarrad on 'THE HIVE LEFT' V3

THE best all around Bouldering area in the West  Kootenays has got to be Arrow Lake just outside of Castlegar, BC. Every type of problem imaginable, some right on the lake, others amidst beautiful interior forests exists here for all grade/climbing abilities. Come check it out, the gem of the West Kootenay Bouldering scene with unlimited potential. Here is the link to the free guide :)


A Guide to Bouldering at ARROW LAKE

Shawn climbing 'SEGA' V5

Fred on 'PISTOL GRIP CRACK' V1

Allen climbing the tricky 'EL PADRONE' V4+

MUSIC! - L'INDECIS - Chill Hip Hop

Super awesome chill hip hop vibe, with some amazing tracks on his new album. He hails from France and has some other albums worth checking out as well. Take a listen.

BANDCAMP PAGE:    
L'Indecis Bandcamp

Ladybird Creek Boulders - Pass Creek, B.C

jonah on 'SUPERNATURAL' V4 and absolute classic

This has got to be one of the better Bouldering areas in the West Kootenay's. Fantastic rock, beautiful setting, awesome problems and lots of potential. Scott Jeffery, David Bristow and Marcus Norman  found this place about 10 years ago and started scrubbing some great lines, but the area fell under the radar for some time. Now more recently, this area has seen a huge surge in development and the new problems (classics) just keep on coming. All of the problems as of late seem to have a very unique feel to them that make for some really cool climbing. A good summer destination due to the ability to hide in the shade and the cool caves that give off a nice chilly breeze, The Ladybird Boulders are an epic climbing destination waiting to happen. Don't listen to me, get your pads, chalk and stoke and get out there and see what all the hype is about :) 

Included here is a New Guide/Topo to the area, with 64 problems as of October 2016, there is something here for everyone, the fall is an amazing time to visit with the golden larch trees in full bloom and perfect temps. Have fun and any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
ALLEN

LADYBIRD CREEK BOULDERS - Mini Guide

Hannah climbing LUKE'S ARETE V4

The Central Intelligence Boulder

Jarrad climbing the DOLPHIN V2

Jeremy on LIQUID LOGIC V3

Max on LIQUID LOGIC V3

Clayton on GREAT WHITE V3

Max on LUKE SKYWALKER ARETE V4

Max on SUPERNATURAL V4

Allen on ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE V4

Allen climbing RAZOR SEX V2

LATE TO THE PARTY V7

THe opening moves of CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE V6

Jarrad on the awesome opening rail of SIGNIFICANT DIGITS V3

Jeremy climbing STINGRAY V4+