Chinaman's Peak aka Ha Ling Peak aka Beehive  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Elevation:  7,900' Lat, Long:  51.03, -115.24 Map Page Views:  6,954. Good page? (1 like)    Administrators:  Peter Spindloe, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Leo Paik on Mar 9, 2007 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

From the parking area/approach. Thanks Ron Keller...

Description 

This is a prominent, subsidiary peak at the N or NW end of Mt. Lawrence Grassi in Kananaskis Provincial Park. It is between Thre Sisters and Mt. Rundle. The prominent N and NE faces call out to you to be climbed.

The peak itself is 7900 ft (2408m) high, with a 2400 ft (740m) elevation gain. The rock is coarse limestone, definitely loose in places. The exposure is quite nice. It can be a great place during a warm summer.

For the history buffs, the names for this peak supposedly date back to the 1880s when a bet was placed. Supposedly, Ha Ling, a railroad worker won a bet by making a round trip from Bow Valley in 5 1/2 hours. Now, some controversy is that Lee Poon actually did the ascent and won the $10 bet. Weird, one website says $50, that would have been a lot in those days. The peak was renamed in perhaps a revisionistic PC sort of way.

For rock climbers, there are both traditional and sport climbs here on the 550m (1650ft) face. Once, the 21-pitch (all 1/2 rope or less), 5.10+ N face route, Sisyphus Summits, was quite controversial. This was once possibly the longest sport climb in North America. The low-end difficulty NE Ridge attracts many due to its pleasant exposure and apparent ease of ascent, but beware, the route has some hazards. Check out the Alpine Club Canada site for a few details on 4 injuries & 3 deaths.

Map of the area.

Photo of peak from approach. Photo closer to the face. Photo on NE face with nice exposure. My old shots are all print film.

Getting There 

Highway 1 to Canmore. Then go on Spray Lake Reservoir Rd. past the Canmore Nordic Center. Hikers will typically park at the Goat Creek parking lot. Climbers occasionally park/poach near the dam/reservoir.

The hike up the scree to the base takes 30-60 minutes. It is a bit loose.

The descent (1.4mi/2.2km) goes down the backside with scree and scree-skiing for 1-2 hours back to the base.

The Classics

Featured Route For Chinaman's Peak aka Ha Ling Peak aka Beehive

NE Buttress 5.6 PG13  International : Canada : ... : Chinaman's Peak aka Ha Ling...

This is an aesthetic line on a prominent face that stands out in the skyline above Canmore. It is very attractive to the everyperson's climber who looks at the 5.6 grade, 11-12 pitches, 1500 ft of climbing, a direct line to the summit, and says "I'm there." However, there is more than what meets the eye to this climb.A rope, a helmet, and decent sense of routefinding are advisable for this line. There are stray bolts, stray gear, stray anchors to lead you astray.This face can gets sun in July...[more]   Browse More Classics in International

Photos of Chinaman's Peak aka Ha Ling Peak aka Beehive Slideshow

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One of the obstacles encountered on your way from ...	An amazing wall!	Ha Ling, as seen from the Junkyards ice area. Earl...