Situated directly west of Calary and a few valleys north of the Canadian Rockies’ most famous crag, Yamnuska, the Ghost River Valley has drawn climbers since the 1960s. Exploration by members of the Calgary Mountain Club in the late 1960s and early 1970s brought back tales of endless limestone walls and better rock than in the better-known Bow Valley around Canmore — all easily accessible by vehicle. Soon, the CMC was hosting regular forays into the valley, and by 1975, the charge was on.
The seasons of 1976 and 1977 really lit the fire for new routes in the valley. Trevor Jones, Chris Perry, Jack Firth, and several other expatriate Brits were leading the way, climbing bold traditional lines on clean gear and pitons. Canadian climbers quickly joined in, and soon 5.10 was firmly established in the valley on multi-pitched routes such as Crack-a-Jack (5.10b) and Thor (5.10c R).
Bolts were shunned in the early days, but more and more began to appear in the 1980s as the obvious traditional lines were picked off. Trying to honor the original spirit of Ghost River climbing, climbers such as Jon Jones, Dave Morgan, and Andy Genereux at first only used bolts sparingly to connect features, always drilling on lead. By mid-1980s, Jones, Genereux, and others embraced rap-bolting, but still kept the routes spicy — lines like The Chimera (5.10c R), for example. But by the end of the decade, the Ghost’s solid limestone had become a major venue in Rockies climbing, producing lines in every style, from pure sport lines like Boy Wonder (5.11c) to run-out multi-pitch adventures like Creamed Cheese (5.11a/5.10 X). The Ghost currently boasts 400 routes from 5.7 to 5.12 and one visit to the valley will convince anyone several lifetimes of routes still await discovery.