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Sport Climbing in Skaha

Posted on 3 mins read

The drive from Kelowna to Penticton was beautiful. Highway 97 hugs along the shore of Okanagan Lake and provides constant vistas as we make our way to Penticton.

Penticton is a small city but it’s got everything you need. We picked up some groceries and dinner and settled in at our campsite at Banbury Green RV Park.

As the dawn breaks, the campground is abuzz with activity. I took a short walk around the campground and pretty much everyone who is awake at 6am were climbers. People are starting the day as I am just getting out of bed, despite my body clock being three hours ahead!

Sunrise over Skaha Lake

The approach from Skaha Bluffs parking lot to the walls is rather pleasant. The altitude increase is minimal, the path is very well-travelled, and generally has good visibility (for spotting bears).

My first time seeing official signage for rock climbing

Because Skaha has so many climbing routes, the guidebook maintains a list of selected “Top 100” routes. This is very novel to me because back home in Southern Ontario, there is simply no such density of quality climbing routes.

My favourite part of the trip was completing an on-sight of “Watching bananas bend (5.10b)”. It felt like the toughest climb I’ve ever done, and it was great to finally use up almost the entire 70m length of my rope.

Watching bananas bend, my peak climbing achievement

On day two, I climbed the most relaxing and scenic 5.7 that I’ve yet to experience – Granola Bar (5.7), shown in the cover image. Here is what the view from the top looked like:

Difficult to find views like this in Ontario climbing...

Day two moved at a slower pace, as the rain moved in later. We checked out Doctors Wall, an impressive slightly overhanging wall that not only provides great climbing but also some shelter from light rain (rightmost picture, below)

Log of Climbs on this trip

For readers unfamiliar with rock climbing – Climbers like to name things after strange and sometimes innuendo-filled themes. The names can denote routes on a wall, individual rocks, or even areas of rocks.

  • Day One
    • Watching bananas bend 5.10b (Screeching Wall)
    • all the way to Pluto 5.10a (go anywhere wall)
    • It’s about time 5.8 (go anywhere wall)
  • Day Two
    • Granola Bar 5.7 (Blipvert Tower)
    • the naysayer 5.11a (Doctors Wall)
    • Real Special Forces 5.11a (The Fortress)

As the day ends, so does this little excursion. Skaha was really fun and I can’t wait to go on more climbing trips!

Sunset over Skaha Lake