Coire Dubh Integrale

Approach: 50 minutes
Climb: 3 - 6 hours
Descent: 1.5 - 2.5 hours
Car-to-Car: 5 - 11 hours
 Sun: little to none in winter

An ultra classic mini-alpine route only 45 minutes from calgary. This route is an awesome day out without too much commitment. It has real ice, snow, and rock climbing, tags a summit (Loder Peak), is never to hard, the rock quality is generally good and the decent isn't to bad. However, depending on snow, the rock pitch can be easy or epic.

Description for a summer ascent:

In summer conditions the grade is probably easy 5.6.  This is at the start of the crux pitch.  The rest of the route is very easy except at the start of the canyon (after the first winter waterfall pitch).  It follows mostly very good rock (when not hiking up scree/talus/boulders).

I am not sure that the route line on the Mountainproject.com photo is accurate but the route is obvious.  Here is a route description for a summer ascent:

- From the parking lot across Highway 1A from the Exshaw landfill hike about 45 minutes to the CDI gulley.

- Scramble around the right-hand side of the first winter waterfall pitch.  Above this the drainage narrows.

- Climb a short steep step (low 5th) on the left side of the drainage, fairly close to the water.

- The drainage soon becomes very narrow: the rock is extremely smooth at this point.  Bypass this by climbing up right about 15m then trend left and back down to the top of the smooth, narrow section.  The rock is reasonable and the grade is low 5th, but it is somewhat exposed.

- Scramble up right of the drainage a few minutes until it is possible to break through a short steeper section (easy 5th) on excellent rock.  Then head back to near the drainage.

- Up ahead you can see an obvious big left facing corner.  The start of this corner is the crux of the route.  Scramble up to this.

- Climb up on excellent rock with cool pockets staying close to (but not right in) the corner.  Once at the top, head up left towards the drainage.  You'll probably see a two-bolt anchor on a boulder at the start of more hiking up boulders/scree.

- The final climbing follows an obvious huge, long left-facing/left trending corner about 150m up and right.  Hike straight up until you have to head right, along the base of the final rock wall.  Continue up right, to the base of the final corner.

- Follow this corner, to the summit ridge.  The climbing here is very easy and on mostly excellent rock.  Thirty metres from the top the excellent rock ends but topping out is still easy and fairly secure.

- Descent: follow a scramblers trail south over Loder Peak and down to Highway 1A.  It is about 2km along the highway back to the parking lot at the landfill.

- A note on pro:  I climbed the route with no protection so my comments may not be accurate.  The crux has excellent pro (mid sized cams).  The low 5th-class climbing lower down in the drainage may be difficult to protect: pitons might work.  As the route is normally climbed in winter, climbers simply climb up the narrow part of the drainage on easy ice, so rock protection is not required.  The rest of the climbing can be protected with a standard rack of cams/nuts/tricams.