Climbing Near Dawson Creek, British Columbia

Sharing the same access and many of the same features of the Bear Mountain Wind Park bouldering area, the Bear Mountain Crag is in two areas. The main area near windmill 34 is fairly developed with several smaller areas, projects and areas under development. The area under windmill 14 has several cleaned routes but no hardware and all climbs either need gear or top rope anchors built off trees. Follow the signs off the Dangerous Goods Route outside Dawson Creek towards Bear Mountain and the wind park. Follow the pavement then gravel up the ridge and to the first windmill. Park at the edge of the windmill and follow the off-road trail to the top of the cliffs. There is a lot of graffiti garbage directly below the lookout. The main area is to your left, and the down climb access is to the right. Many of the climbs are accessed from the top, and building TR anchors and rapping in is quite common.

Directly downhill of the main wall, below the flat slab that has a campfire area. This wall is partially developed and has 4 routes currently bolted. From the main wall area, look for a faint trail or way through the rocks to the flat open viewpoint area directly downhill. This is the top of the lower wall, and there is a scramble approach to the left to access the bottom.

Poorly cemented sandstone and coarse conglomerate. Thick layers of fine sandstone are interspersed with thick layers of concrete-like pebbly conglomerate. Boulder problems often climb through bands of both rock types. While many routes feature relatively solid rock, other routes are composed of such poor quality that they are not climbable.Due to a lot of graffiti vandalism and garbage, many climbs may not be climbable anymore.  There are lots of boulder problems, some sport climbs and top rope climbs.  The area is a bit under developed and has good potential.The Steps AreaOf all the sandstone boulders that lie scattered across the west slopes of Bear Mountain, the boulders of the Steps are the most accessible, lying only a short walk from the parking lot at Windmill 34.  Much of the bouldering is on short cliffs rather than boulders, but the rock is generally solid, the landings are flat, and they receive sun throughout much of the day. Unfortunately, this area also bears the brunt of the parties on the clifftop above.  Bring an extra bag to pack out some trash.Carlee's CaveFollowing the main trail is a short distance past the big overhanging cave, down the hill, and approximately 20m away from the cliff face, the distinctive overhanging boulder of Carlee’s Cave can be found.  This boulder is home to some of the steepest (and best) problems at Bear Mountain to date.Tower of Death AreaProblems 32 and 33 are on separate boulders in the forest just past the Tower of Death.Shaman Cave AreaThe Shaman Cave is several minutes walk past the Tower of Death.  Look for an enormous boulder split into three pieces.  The Shaman Cave is in the narrow alley between two of these blocks.  The two problems here (Shaman and Trickster) do not top out, but finish on big holds; these problems are among the very best at Bear Mountain. To get to Bear Mountain, follow the signs for the Bear Mountain Recreation area(heading up 223 Road off Adams Road on the southeast side of Dawson Creek) , and turn right at the ‘9 km’ marker of the Bear Mountain Road. This new road leads to the towers of the Bear Mountain Wind Farm(a drive of approximately 2 km). Park at the first windmill (Windmill 34), and walk down the short dirt track towards the cliff top. To get to the Steps Area, look for a trail leading right into the forest about 30 m before the cliff edge. Follow this trail a short distance to where it leads to a stone step at the end of the cliff. Follow the trail back left along the cliff face to find the boulders. To get to the other areas (Tower of Death and Shaman’s Cave areas) follow the dirt track to the top of the cliff, then follow the cliff-top trail left for approximately 5 minutes. You’ll first pass Andrew’s Penthouse(look carefully to find this small cliff-top area on your right or you’ll miss it). A short distance later, the trail will head down into a small treed gully. Follow this trail down to the bottom of the cliff. The trail will head a bit left, and you’ll soon encounter an apartment building-sized block of chossy pocketed sandstone (the Tower of Death). There are a number of unclimbed boulders in this area. Following the trail another 200 m past the Tower of Death you will pass a number of boulders before you find an enormous sandstone block split into several pieces. Between two of these pieces is the Shaman’s Cave (home to Shaman and Trickster); continue through the alley into the forest below to find the Rubble Boulder and several other large blocks of sandstone. There is much potential in this area, as well as further along the slope.