ST JOHNS, NL – Like most sports and travel events and organizations the smallest Alpine Club of Canada Section, Newfoundland and Labrador, has been pretty dormant since the onslaught of Covid-19 two years ago. Public or organized events and trips all ceased but because we are a small section we tend to be pretty close even outside of the Alpine Club. This meant small groups of climbers and hikers formed up their bubbles and carried on with outdoor activities. It also helped that in Newfoundland and Labrador we did not get hit as hard as other provinces and had a lot more freedom of movement particularly in the summer months of 2020 and 2021.
They climbed rock, climbed ice and hit the coastal trails but one of the more interesting things that happened is that there was a boom in exploring and putting up new climbing routes by some dedicated individuals and teams.
Most people know about the ocean side crags at Flatrock just 20 km north of St John’s. It was first developed a little over twenty years ago and consists of well over 200 routes and boulder problems across four separate crags and a boulder field. There are also beautiful ice routes a little further north at Stiles Cove and Red Head Cove.
New routes
A new crag at Swift Current, 2 hours drive west of St John’s, has gotten a lot of attention in the past two years. Set back from the ocean in a forested area on a series of granite bluffs above the town. The first routes went up about six years ago. The approach is only a few minutes walk from the road which makes it extremely convenient. There is overhanging, vertical, and slab climbing all within a small area with huge potential for further development. The main attraction is the rock quality. Unlike many other local crags which are made of conglomerate sedimentary rock (Flatrock and other sea side crags) with sharp, pebbly micro-crimps Swift Current is mainly beautiful rounded granite edges and slopers or delicate granite slabs making for a much more pleasurable experience.
Danial Alacoque, David Bruneau, Ryan Pierce and Lewis Loader have all spent a lot of time building routes and access trails here and it is a great location for a full day trips or even overnighters with camping nearby.
“When we first found the cliffs at Swift Current we were mainly looking for trad routes. We were pretty excited when we found what we first envisioned as a miniature version of the smoke bluffs in Squamish, with it’s short approach and stacked granite bluffs. Unfortunately, we found fewer continuous cracks than expected, and very labour-intensive efforts required to dig out some of the shorter cracks.”, said Bruneau. “It was much less effort to clean and bolt the well featured faces near the cracks, which we thought would attract more people despite being more interested in trad routes ourselves. Development shifted towards safely bolted moderate routes, as the 10-hour long digging efforts seemed to attract very few visitors.”
Alacoque says, “One of my favorites is a 5.12b sport climb called Prism Break: an immediate classic with a sustained 50 feet of slightly overhanging climbing. The route is mostly pumpy technical climbing on comfortable granite edges with a single epic-but-not-too-cruxy lunge move to the final clipping jug. Another favourite is a 5.10d sport climb on the same section of slightly overhanging granite wall called Squareful What You Wish For. The route meanders on protruding granite features including a large square which is not as good as it looks.”
The Beta
Currently there are 30 routes on seven separate walls. Geometry Wall, Tiger Wall, Nowhere Wall, Halfway Wall Weather Wall, and the Tiger Slabs. Trad, Sport and Top rope are available ranging from 5.7 to 12a.
Swift Current is up on Mountain Project and gets updated regularly,
https://new.mountainproject.com/area/108197386/swift-current
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The Photos
