Climbing Near Lake Cowichan, British Columbia

Cyberia is a bouldering area located near Victoria. There are several decent boulders found within a forest, which can be accessed via the Mount Work Regional Park/ Hartland Landfill. Driving Directions (from Highway 1) - turn onto Helmcken Road, then turn left on Interurban Road, then left on W Saanich Road, then left on Hartland Ave and pull into the parking lot right of the landfill entrance. Walking Directions (from parking lot) - while approaching please be careful, as the area has several bike trails. Be ready to get out of the way. From the parking lot walk across the street and follow the obvious trail down. Pass an trail area map on the right and go uphill until you see a trail marked with a blue square (and A3). Take the left trail spur and follow it through until a clearing. Look for a well worn path that goes left and down the slope towards the lake. Follow the path along the lake to the corner of the water's edge, and start looking for the boulders. In all the approach from the parking lot should take about 15 minutes.

Climbing on Van Isle is often overshadowed by British Columbia's destination areas. Yet Vancouver Island offers something for everyone; from crazy overhung limestone sport in Horne Lake, to the glaciated peaks of the Vancouver Island mountains, to the remote granite domes of the Wapiti Valley. Vancouver Island is home to British Columbia's longest sport route (13 pitches) and home to Canada's second 5.14a. Geologically, Vancouver Island is an interesting mix. The vast majority of rock on the island is bassalt; its quality is fairly hit or miss (but definitely better than the Canadian Rockies!). On the central island, around Nanaimo, there's lots of conglomerate and sandstone. There are a few patches of limestone, especially around Strathcona park and granite all over the northern island. Most climbing is located on public land, however several areas currently are experiencing access issues. These include Horne Lake, Sugarloaf, as well as a number of areas around Nanaimo. Vancouver Island can be reached by car ferry from Vancouver, BC, Port Angeles, WA, and Anacortes, WA. Passenger only ferries run from Bellingham and Seattle. Vancouver Island also has three major airports: Victoria, Nanaimo and Comox. There are daily direct flights to Vancouver, Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto; as well as connecting flights to the rest of the world.

Numerous sport and Trad routes of varrying difficulties positioned above the Nanaimo River. Rock is sandstone and conglomerate and is quite solid making for excellent climbing on a variety of features. There has been a lot development here over the years but there's still room for more. The picturesque setting and swimming hole adjacent climbing makes this a worthwhile crag to check out.See Nanaimo Crags guidebook for full details. Exit the island highway onto Nanaimo River road and follow it 2.5 km untill the powerlines cross the road. Park and follow a dirt road east towards the cliffs (10 minute walk). From the end of the main trail, a narrower trail descends down a short distance to a ladder and the crag below. There is also trail access to the river and the clifftop trail. See guidebook for more details.