On May 24, 2023, we climbed Wheat Kings, a 225 meter multi-pitch climb on Cascade Mountain. This is a climb that I’ve wanted to do since it was first put up in 2016.
The hardest pitch was 5.7 with most of the climb going at 5.6 or easier. We found it a bit run out in places but the more difficult sections were well bolted. All anchors are bolted and it is set up for rappels with a 70 meter rope.
We enjoyed this climb a lot. We had a nice relaxed day.
Beta:
- 5.7, 7 pitches, 225 meters
- fully bolted, all belays are bolted
- one 70 meter rope is sufficient
- Approach: 3.5 km, can be a bit confusing, we had to look around a bit for the climb (see below for a detailed description and map)
- Descent: rappel, also can be a bit confusing, see below
The Approach
Park at Cascade Mountain near the base of the waterfall. This is the same parking as for Minihapa and Battle of Seven Oaks multi-pitch. Parking is shown on the map below as the green dot. The yellow road at the bottom of the map is the Trans Canada Highway.
The hike starts across the field and then continues along the base of the mountain into the forest.
There is a good trail through the forest. It is better to stay in the trees and on the trail until you are right below the climb. As the map above shows, we did not hike up to the base of the cliff until we were below the start of the climb.
Here the trail turns uphill towards the climb. To find the correct turn, look for a large broken boulder (looks like three separate chunks of rock) that sits right beside the trail and has some orange lichen on it.
This turn was marked with a cairn when we were there. There were more cairns at some of the switchbacks as the trail worked its way up.
The trail climbs, more steeply at the end, to a ledge at the base of the cliff where the climb starts.
The start of the climb is supposed to be marked with a cairn but when we went, there was no cairn. We walked right past the start and completely missed the first two bolts that are visible from the ground. As we walked around the base of the cliff, confused, we realized we must be in the right area and looked for a spot where it seemed obvious to belay. We looked up and found the first two bolts of the climb.
We built a cairn there before we left. Hopefully, it still stands.
There is also a good description of the approach on the Mountain Project website here.
The Climb
Overall, I thought the climb was fun for the grade. The rock was good and the movement was enjoyable.
The climb starts up nice slab. It is prickly and sticky here, not polished. It’s a lot of fun to climb.
Lots of fun climbing. Here on the third pitch, the route goes up a face with lots of great holds near an endangered white bark pine tree.
Great views across the Highway 1 and up the valley towards Canmore.
We alternated leads with Dan starting and finishing. I started Minihappa the week before so it was Dan’s turn to start today.
This pitch has more fun face climbing.
The Descent
After topping out we started our rappel. The weather was turning a bit cold and windy and we decided not to waste any time heading down.
There is a bit of weirdness on the rappel. At one point, you rappel to an anchor that is off the route. This gives a more direct rappel down. On one of the pitches after that, you must keep your eyes open for a row of bolts on the climber’s right. If you continue straight down, you will come down on the wrong side of a tree that will prevent you from getting over right to the anchor.
Overall, an enjoyable route and a great season opener for us. We are thinking of going back and doing it again this year. If we do, I will add to this trip report.
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