Rock Climbing in North BC: Being a land full of mountain ranges, alpine lakes, streams and rivers - the Northern BC landscape is a natural for rock and ice climbing enthusiasts. Climbing is year round in the north. In the warm summer months the mountain cliffs in the north become playgrounds for mountaineers and in the winter months the waterfalls turn to ice inviting the picks of ice climbers.

There are many crags, ridges and bluffs in the region that are undeveloped and unexplored. Experienced climbers with good gear, common sense and excellent climbing abilities will enjoy the mountains of the north. Any self guided rock or ice climbing adventure should be planned well in advance after collecting good information on the local routes.

Some communities have rock climbing clubs which is always a good source of information for local rock climbing routes. The clubs provide route plans and locations of many of the more popular climbing routes in the area and the best access roads and trails to reach them. But to enjoy many of the climbing routes in North BC you must have your own gear and skills.

The area is prime for rock climbing, but there is very little available in tour groups providing the gear and lessons to climb the local cliffs. Climbing the mountains in the north requires the proper use of crampons, axe, rescue, trip planning, rope handling and protecting yourself from the elements.

The looming Coastal Mountains to the west, the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cariboo Mountains to the south make for many undeveloped climbing walls. To grasp the magnitude of the climbing environment ... there are at least sixteen 200 metre climbing walls spotted from Hwy 16 between Prince Rupert, BC and Moricetown, BC.