Rags to Riches, Crowsnest Pass, AB | 5.8 - 6 pitches
A long weekend spent in the East Kootenays! Justin, James and I went out to Crowsnest pass to check out “Rags to Riches” near Emerald Lake. Let me tell you - those rocks are LOOSE. Canadian Rockies don’t mess around. Would definitely recommend strapping on the helmet right away.
The approach to the climb was only abour 3 minutes. We walked through a small scree field, and walked along a ledge that looked like it was the start of a via ferrata. There was a chain and a ladder.
James led all six pitches, Justin belayed the first pitch and I belayed the remaining five. Pitch 1 went up a short sharp rock to a scree ledge then traversed left across another short section of loose rock to the first anchor. There was a more direct line that we noticed on the rappel. Definitely good to keep eyes peeled on this route.
Pitch 2 was more of the same.
So was pitch 3.
And so was pitch 4. The rock became slightly more solid as we went higher up which could be where the name of the climb came from.
Pitch 5 was a traverse pitch. We traversed climbers left, then traversed climbers right higher up. The right traverse was spooky as there were very large boulders that were necessary holds but were also on the brink of being pulled off the wall. Mind the rope drag!
Pitch 6 was the “crux” pitch in my opinion. There was a move over the first lip that was harder than a 5.8 in my opinion (unless you’re over 6ft tall, maybe).
The views at the top were worth it! Then we rapped down with James and Justin on single strand rappels and myself on a standard rap.
