Super fun, tricky, powerful boulder moves, Tip: Hang the 3rd draw with a stick clip.

Gestaltwandler

Like Old Times

Scrubbing Bubbas

Winter is Coming

The Angry Inch

The Beastie

Hard Times

Paper Wafer

Hocus Focus

B-B-Buttress

Primitive Times

Approaching Armageddon

Air Barrier

Plate Tectonics

Dragon's Jaw

Beerless Leader

Nine Eleven

Wimp And Peel

Battle of the Bulge

California Chrome

Times Like These

B-B-Bubbas link-up

Shine On

The first corner you come to as you walk up the hill. Stem and jam you way up to the top of a crisp corner where your main hold is a loose fin sticking out of the crack. Continue up or find a place to belay. you can head right to the anchor of Paper Waffer. But hey this is adventure land.According to a 2021 Comment the route and the “dirty questionable rock” has been cleaned and anchors installed.  See below. Thanks! (R Hall NH Admin.)

Layback and stem up the left-facing chimney/corner to a ledge.  Chimney up to a steep crack that ends on the same ledge as Hard Times. 

  Ed is going to clean this a bit more, but pretty good as-is and the easiest warm-up in the area.  Likely to become popular.  

I'm trying to picture the route clean and dry to find it more appealing. But that's not how I experienced it, and that's the typical state of it. But here's how it is. 

  Behind a big boulder leaning on a tree find a mossy, normally wet corner with two visible bolts on a slightly steep face. Climb the corner laying back crimping and stemming. The crux is pulling out of the corner on to a slab. It's pretty tough. I ended up with a finger lock and a handjam when pulling the crux bulge. After pulling the crux climb fun lichen covered slab till you hit the clean corners on the upper 1/3 of the climb this section is classic (these corners were what made me want to do the route). Fun and interesting climbing mostly on cracks leads to a final slab romp to the anchors. 

  Over all, I wouldn'tgo out of your way to do the first half but if you started on bb-b-butress and finished on the upper half of this it would be fantastic!

Climb the arete and face to the right.

 Lee's note: Really fun thought provoking climbing on high quality stone. Balancy but also demanding some grip strength. Well worth doing!

This route has no consensus as far as grade goes.   The guidebook says "everything from 5.11d to 5.13!". 

  The bottom has nice holds. It starts in the dihedral/ramp. It goes up to the right and once you have a nice jug, you clip the third bolt on your left. Make a big move to another good hold and then start the traverse to the left on good feet. You can also use crimps to get to the jug without going way right. Clip the fourth then mantel to get established on the face.   From here... good luck!!!   For beta, you can read Lee's comment below.   The moves after the crux are quite easy.

Up and left of where the trail hits the cliff, this is the third bolted route from the left. Clip the first eyebolt, then step down and crank the bouldery  start.  Continue up to an anchor below the prominent pine tree.

The upper part looks like the crux but i found the 1st 10 feet to be much more strenuous... 

  Climb up in to the corner with a good deal of effort... Once you establish yourself up in the corner climb easier rock up to the final headwall... This section looked intimidating but with some careful route finding it didn't prove to be too bad... Crimps and funky quarts chunks lead to a ledge and the anchor...

This route recently received a clean as well as a new glue in protecting the runout near the topClimb the really sweet looking corner. Jam and layback past a cruxy mini roof to a nice stance... Climb the low angle face past one bolt to an anchor on a ledge by a birch tree.

Recently rebolted and cleaned (2015), this old formerly seldom done test piece should now be more appealing. The climbing certainly warrants more attempts. The route follows the thin vertical seam up the steep face, through a couple shallow overlaps to a short bulge and finishing mantel top-out.  

  Stick clip the first bolt and fire up in to this mega technical adventure. Coming straight off of a very close onsight attempt I have fresh perspective on this one. Right off the ground every foot placement counts. Small edges and smears tictac your feet up the vertical wall. Follow the seam using locks and  sidepulls as well as making full use of micro edges hidden off to the sides. As it steepens at the top the holds get better but energy wanes. The grade on this one includes the top out so don't let off the gas until you have solved the tricky mantel move and topped out.

A diamond in the rough... Most routes at the NW Territories cant hold a candle to this awesome 100 ft long low angle dance capped with a super fun corner. 

  This climb was retro-bolted and it seems like a good thing to me.   It saw no use as a trad climb and now it sees some use as a sport climb. There was even a little chalk on it the other day when i did it. 

  Start by clipping a bolt from a low ledge and pulling a boulder problem over a block to get on to the main buttress. The boulder problem is the hardest your muscles will work the whole time you are on the route but be prepared for your brain to get pumped as you think your way through the route finding above. Dance your way up the low angle face climbing for 70 feet or so to a stance below a corner. Stem the corner to a tricky but easy step left and clip the anchors with a little effort (you might wish they were a foot lower). 

  60m ROPE NEEDED TO LOWER OFF!!! 

This one is another that would be well worth while if it was clean and solid. However. This is not the case. It is covered in moss and the rock is very fragile in some places. 

  Interesting enjoyable moves lead up the corner then switch to the arete on the right side. As if this part wasn't dirty enough haha the exit from the corner is so piled with leaves and over grown i was laughing out loud as i grabbed fist fulls of plants while manteling. 

  After this you might want to set up a belay and then you can rap off or continue up picking your route how you like...Dirty...

pitch: Climb the first few bolts of B-b-buttress Then cross right over Scrubbing Bubbas to belay at a pine tree. 

  Pitch 2: This pitch is dirty but if it was clean it would be really cool. Climb the dirty slab up to the dirty corner. Fingers in the corner interesting holds out right. Stem your way to the the anchor. I replaced some really nasty webbing at the anchor but it will likely be nasty again in 10 years when someone else climbs it, haha.

This is another welcomed addition to the left side of the NW Territories. Air Barrier is three bolt lines left of the classic B-B-Buttress. Shine On and Times Like These are to the left of this route. The climb starts with some easier climbing up over a bulge to lead into to a thoughtful crux up a small corner.If rappelling, be mindful of where you toss your rope as I accidentally threw mine right into the small gully underneath the corner on my first attempt.

This is the steep clean face right of Hocus Focus that I have been walking past for 25 years.   Stick clip, then climb fun crimpy moves up the increasingly difficult wall to a definite crux.  Probably much harder for the short climber. 

youtube.com/watch?v=ILYY935…

Short and stout! Under-cling the giant jagged flake that gives the route it's name. Bring your magnifying glass to find the footholds. When you are done with the traverse you meet the crux moving up a shallow corner and making a mind and body bending move to the holds just beyond the anchor. The FA proposed 5.12a, I found it to feel a good bit harder. Could it be body size? Conditions? strengths/weaknesses in the style? I don't know but I would love some other opinions if you get on it. I found it to be mid-level 5.12.  Fun and challenging.

The start is easy on big holds. A series of very good holds(big cracks between blocks, huge side pulls and big underclings)will still request cool moves to get to the last part of the climb. The route finishes with a bouldery sequence to get to the anchor.

The climb starts on the right end of a short horizontal roof. Climb up a ramp to gain a finger rail under the roof and the first bolt. Traverse left on the rail on good holds to the 4th bolt and make powerful moves to gain the lip of the roof. Depending on your height, decipher the tricky and powerful lip moves onto the slab above, (potential crux). 

youtube.com/watch?v=E56QKp2…

This is the next to right-most route at the crag. Up moderate ground, then move left to a good rest. Dynamic and blind moves out and over the white bulge above.

Just left of where the trail meets the cliff at the start of B-B-Buttress.   Climb the face just left of B-B Buttress (5.8), then angle up and left on easier ground to the crux headwall (seasonally wet).   Still a bit rough, but destined to become a destination for the 5.9 climber. 

  60 METER ROPE NEEDED!

Left-most route at the Northwest Territories.   A low bulge (crux) leads to an easier arete.

This is a great link up that avoids the usually mungy and reachy start of Scrubbing Bubbas by climbing the beginning of B-b-buttress, then moving right at the 7th bolt to join Bubbas. The top is fantastic, following steep cracks and other positive holds up an exposed arete. It is pretty well protected, but may feel slightly spicy the first time if it is near your limit. If you are gripping out it is usually a case of needing to reach up for a hidden hold that magically appears when you most need it. The grade is whatever you think the start of B-b-buttress is; 9+ if you climb to the left of the first bolt and keep on your feet.

Shine On (You Crazy Friends). Up and left from where the trail hits the cliff, this is the Second-to-left-most route.  Up easy ground, then move left through a bulge, up a slab, then over another bulge at an under cling pocket.  Sustained, with three cruxes of similar difficulty.  "The best sport 5.4 in the park." 

  First done at the end of Jason's trip, just before he flew back to Alaska, it was lead in a steady rain.

Once a bit of a bastard of rumney crags NWT has seen some hard work, anchor replacement, scrubbing, and god knows what to dig up the new routes on the left haha.   Anyway, it is worth the hike and it hosts routes from quite easy to quite hard.   As of now it is a good way to escape the crowds but who knows, it could be the next big thing. So get it while it's hot! With the improved trail, passing by here is now the best way to the Prudential, NW Passage, Yellowknife and Hinterlands crags, avoiding the steep eroded trail up from Triple Corners

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in The Northwest Territories