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Climbing Access in Gatineau Park: Important Notice to All ACC Climbers

A new three-year climbing management plan, negotiated by the climbing community with the National Capital commission (NCC), is now in effect for all climbing areas in the Eardley Escarpment. This includes some area closures as well as other climbing restrictions. The NCC have installed signs in areas that are off-limits. It is important that ACC Ottawa members who climb in Gatineau Park respect the various closures and restrictions now in place. Our long-term access to climbing on the Escarpment will, in large measure, be based on how well climbers “follow the rules” over the next three years.

Note that ice climbing and bouldering are not affected by this agreement, but strict “Leave No Trace” practices should still be followed when involved in these activities.

The Ottawa-Gatineau Climber's Access Coalition has been hard at work to keep the cliffs open to climbing. If you are a regular at Luskville, please consider joining the coalition. Membership forms are available in English or in French.



General guidelines:

  • Do not sling trees for top anchors in any areas, at any time. Bolted anchors are installed, or shortly will be installed, on all routes. Please use these, or set top anchors that do not involve tree-slinging.
  • Do not climb outside of open areas on the Escarpment, or on cliff top areas where these are closed.
  • Please encourage other climbers to respect the rules. If you see climbers in closed areas, or involved in any activity that harms plant life or violates the “Leave No Trace” ethic, please explain the new rules to them (politely). NOTE: climbers are not being asked to be “policemen”, but we need to make an effort to inform others of the rules governing climbing.
  • If climbers, or other groups such as rappellers, persist in climbing in closed areas, or cut tress, rip out plants, or do other sorts of damage, please inform the ACC Climbing Coordinator (access@alpineclubottawa.ca) of the incident (key information: time, place, nature of the problem, identity of the culprits if known). This information will be forwarded, through the Coalition, to the Park. It is believed that much of the damage that has been done in climbing areas over the years was not done be area climbers, and we need to ensure that we are not blamed for these incidents.



Climbing Areas



Closed Areas:

Rock climbing is no longer permitted in the following areas, in their entirety:

  • Red Rocks
  • The cliff above Luskville Falls, on the trail
  • Black Bear Slabs
  • Erlkoenig



Restricted Areas:

Restrictions and partial closures are in place in the following areas:

Farm Rock:

All Farm Rock routes east (climber’s right) of Piece of Cake are closed. Signs are being installed to show where the closed area begins.

Setting top ropes from the cliff top is permitted in the open area, but climbers are asked to restrict their access to the first 10 metres back from the cliff-top.

Home Cliff:

The open area at Home Cliff runs from the Main Corner area climber’s-right to, and including, Piton Highway. All routes to the east climber’s right of Piton Highway are closed.

For setting top-ropes, the cliff top is open from the Main Corner to the top of Peggy’s for 10 m. from the cliff edge.

The cliff top is closed to the right of Peggy, with ground-up climbing required on the remaining open routes.

Western Cwm:

The open areas in the Western Cwm include the main east and west cliffs.

On the west side, the following areas remain open:

  • Baby Pnu
  • Burple Buttress
  • North Wall
  • Reaper Buttress
  • Spindrift Wall
  • Cave Wall

On the east side, the following areas remain open:

  • Shpinava Wall
  • Banana Republic
  • Colonel Buckets Buttress
  • White Wall
  • Corruption Buttress

Note: no cliff top access for setting top ropes is permitted within the Cwm, all climbing must be from the ground up and the installed bolted anchors should be used for setting top ropes. As well, climbers traveling between the eastern and western areas are asked to use the main trail, descending to the fork where the metal sign is posted, rather than using the trails below Bird’s Nest Buttress and Red Wall.

The following areas within the Western Cwm are closed to climbing:

  • Bird’s Nest Buttress
  • Up and Over
  • Red Wall
  • Upper Slabs, including Pascal’s Hole
  • Eastwood Buttress
  • Lower Walls



Climbing Areas With No Restrictions:

The following areas remain open for climbing with no restrictions:

  • Balcony Step
  • Bald Face
  • Big Overhang
  • Cardinal Rock
  • Castle Wall
  • Cirque
  • Down Under
  • Eastern Block
  • Froggy Crack Buttress
  • Heffalump
  • Hidden Face
  • Left Rib
  • Mount King
  • Ron and John Cliffs
  • Shrine Boulders
  • The Chin
  • The Shrine
  • The Throne
  • The Gallery
  • Twin Ribs
  • Western Chalet Cliffs
  • Western Slabs