Discover high quality alpine rock routes with a seasoned local guide…
Located in the heart of the southern Selkirk’s in south-eastern British Columbia, Valhalla Provincial Park is home to some of the finest alpine rock climbing in Western Canada. The Mulvey Group, near the southern end of the park, provides a fantastic collection of rugged granitic spires boasting many classic alpine rock climbs.
The sunny alpine walls and sharp rock ridges surrounding the headwaters of Mulvey creek offer numerous quality alpine rock climbs for all ability levels. Many alpine rock classics include routes on Gimli , Asgard, Midguard, Wolf’s Ears, Dag or Neislhem, each of these impressive peaks part of Norse mythology. Enjoy a specific day route or join a 2 to 4 day guided Valhalla Alpine Rock program with an experienced local guide.
Summit Mountain Guides offer easy, moderate and advanced guided alpine rock climbing programs in this area. Some of the popular peaks and routes guided in the Valhallas include:
- Gimli peak, South ridge (Grade III, 5.10a) A true classic, click here for more info
- Gimli Peak, Northwest Ridge (Grade III, 5.8)
- Gimli Peak, North Ridge (Grade III, 5.6)
- Niselheim Peak, East Ridge (Grade II, 5.7)
- Nisleheim Peak, South Face (Grade II, 5.5 to 5.10)
- Midgard Peak, Southeast Ridge (Grade II, 5.2)
- Asgard peak, West ridge (Grade III, 5.7)
- Asgard Peak, North ridge (Grade III, 5.7)
- Asgard peak, South Face (Grade IV, 5.9)
- Gladsheim Peak, Integral West ridge (Grade III, 5.6)
- Gladsheim Peak, South face (Grade IV 5.8)
- Gladsheim Peak, White Dihedral (IV 5.10d)
- Mount Dag, West Ridge Traverse (Grade II, 5.5)
- The Wolf’s Ears traverse (Grade III, 5.7)
- Drinnan Peak, North Ridge (Grade II, 5.4)
- Devils Dome, Southeast Ridge (Grade III, 5.6)
- False Dome, West face (Grade III, 5.10c)
For a complete, list along with difficulty information, route description and trip length, click on Location below. Please contact us if you are interested in a specific route or a custom trip.
We offer 1 to 4 day Valhalla Alpine rock climbing programs. The length and itinerary of this program are flexible and depends on many factors including your interests, needs, and previous climbing experience.
The length of a chosen route(s), how accessible it is and its difficulty will determine the number of days for the program. We will typically have a pre-trip meeting the evening before your trip start and try to be back in town at a reasonable time on the last day of the program.
Below is a sample itinerary for a 4-day program (3 field days).
Day 1, Pre-trip meeting; 7:00 PM in town (1 hour)
- Welcome, introduction, goals & agenda, waivers.
- Review of planned itinerary and current conditions
- Issue of required gear and session on packing strategy
Day 2, Drive-in, Hike-in and Climb
- 04:30 AM, meeting and drive
- 06:00 AM, at trailhead, hike -in
- 07:30 AM, at camp location, drop overnight gear
- 08:00 AM, access base of climb with small pack!
- Climb, climb, climb!
- 15:30 PM, top out, walk off & hike back to camp
- 16:30 PM, Back in camp for a great dinner and cozy night in the mountains
Day 3, Full Climbing day
- 06:30 AM, breakfast, hike-in to another classic alpine rock route
- 07:30 AM, start climbing
- Climb, climb, climb!
- 15:30 PM, top out, walk off & hike back to camp
- 16:30 PM, Back in camp for another great dinner and cozy night in the mountains
Day 4, Last climb and hike-out
- 06:30 AM, breakfast, hike-in to another classic alpine rock route
- 07:30 AM, start climbing
- Climb, climb, climb!
- 15:30 PM, top out, walk off & hike-out
- 18:00 PM, back at the parking, drive-out
- 20:00 PM, back in Nelson for a late dinner
On this guided alpine rock program, prior rock climbing experience is required. Good physical fitness is also a must as it will give us the ability to move safely and efficiently in the mountains.
The difficulty of the routes we attempt will be based on your personal goals, interests and previous climbing experience. Previous traditional and crack climbing experience, with or without a guide and the ability to climb with a small pack is required.
Valhalla Provincial Park is located in the Kootenay district of South-Eastern British Columbia. The granite rock spires surrounding Mulvey basin lie on the southern border of Valhalla Provincial Park, west of Slocan Lake in the southern Selkirk Mountains. The trailhead is accessible by vehicle via the Bannock creek forest service road. It is a one and a half hour drive northwest of Nelson or a three-hour drive south of Revelstoke.
Here is a list of our favorite Valhalla peaks
- Gimli peak, 2760m / 9055’
- Nisleheim peak, 2580m / 8465’
- Midgard peak, 2790m / 9150’
- Asgard peak, 2790m / 9150’
- Gladsheim peak, 2820m / 9250’
- West Wolf’s Ear, 2670m / 8760’
- East Wolf’s Ear, 2640m / 8660’
- Mount Dag, 2700m / 8860’
- Drinnon peak, 2610m / 8565’
- Devil’s Dome, 2790m / 9150’
- Lucifer peak, 2760m / 9055’
Below are our favorite Valhalla alpine rock routes grouped by difficulty
The difficulty and grade of a route is subjective. Whether a route is easy, moderate or hard depends on many factors. To create our favorites list we have considered these factors: length of the route, technical difficulty, how to sustain a route is and how long of a day it takes to complete it. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Easy Alpine Rock Routes
- East Ridge of Niselheim (Grade II, 5.7)
- South Face of Niselheim (Grade II, 5.6)
- North ridge of Gimli (Grade III, 5.6)
- Southwest ridge of Asgard (Grade III, 5.7)
- East ridge of East Wolf’s Ear (Grade II, 5.2)
- Regular West ridge of West Wolf’s Ear (Grade II, 5.5)
- West ridge traverse of Dag (Grade III, 5.5)
Moderate Alpine Rock Routes
- South ridge of Gimli (Grade III, 5.10a) A true classic, click here for more info
- Northwest ridge of Gimli (Grade III, 5.8)
- South face of Asgard (Grade IV, 5.9)
- North ridge of Asgard (Grade III, 5.7)
- Full West ridge of Gladsheim (Grade III, 5.6)
- Full West ridge of West Wolf’s Ear via the Muzzle(Grade III, 5.8)
- South East ridge of Devil’s Dome (Grade III, 5.6)
- South face of Devil’s Dome (Grade III, 5.9)
Advanced Alpine Rock Routes
- Southwest face of Gimli (III, 5.10c)
- “Lichen it” on Gimli Peak (III, 5,10c)
- South face of Gladsheim “White Dihedral” (IV, 5.10d)
- North ridge bypass on Gladsheim (IV, 5.10b)
- The Gift on the South face of West Wolf’s Ear (III, 5.11d or 5.11a A1)
- North face of Dag “Riding Skinfaxi” (VI, 5.11c) a serious big wall climb
Many other easy, moderate and advanced options exist, join our Valhalla Alpine Rock program and find out more…
Due to the higher elevations, proximity to dominant winds and weather conditions, mountain weather is difficult to predict. It is most often worse than the weather in the surrounding valleys and can change quickly as it is really hard to predict for more than 24hrs ahead.
In summer you expect temperatures to be from 10 C to 28C in the day while overnight temperature can drop dramatically in the high alpine, even below zero. Temperatures are much colder at higher elevations, even in the summer. It is not uncommon to have overnight freezing temperatures in the alpine, outside a mountain hut or near a backcountry camp.
It is always an interesting challenge to know exactly what you are going to get, therefore is important to be flexible with timing and not too attached to a particular goal or objective. Be prepared by bringing all required items, this ensures you will be dressed for all variations as temperatures, wind, precipitation.
What’s included:
- Pre-trip planning and support
- Fully certified IFMGA and/or ACMG guide services
- Over 25 years of experience in the area
- Alternative plan based on current conditions
- Rope use & all technical equipment
- Park permits and Liability Insurance
- Emergency response plan
- Group safety equipment
Services NOT included:
- 5% GST tax
- Hut & camp fees if applicable
- Dinners & breakfast meals on trip, available for $60/nights
- Personal technical gear including ice axes, crampons, harnesses, helmets, prussiks, carabiner, climbing shoes etc. Rentals available
- Personal clothing, overnight equipment, mountaineering boots *see equipment list for more details
- Personal lunch & snacks
- Travel to meeting location and accommodation prior to field portion trip
- Gratuities
- Trip interruption, cancellation insurance, rescue or medical insurance
- Additional costs incurred if changes made to itinerary
How experienced do I need to be?
On this guided alpine rock program, prior rock climbing experience is required. Good physical fitness is also a must as it will give us the ability to move safely and efficiently in the mountains.
The difficulty of the routes we attempt will be based on your personal goals, interests and previous climbing experience. Previous traditional and crack climbing experience, with or without a guide and the ability to climb with a small pack is required.
Is it safe?
On all our courses, SMG provides you with fully certified IFMGA/ACMG Mountain, alpine and rock guides. This guarantees you the highest safety standards in the industry. Mountaineering remains hazardous and while it is impossible to eliminate all the hazards, our guides will maximize your experience and greatly minimize the risks involved.
Can I rent some of the equipment needed during the programs?
We have rental gear available. This includes; harnesses, helmets, belay device, carabineers, ice axes, crampons and much more. Contact us for specific sizes and availability.
Where can I buy climbing & outdoor equipment?
Here are a few outdoor stores in Nelson that supply good service and quality outdoor equipment and gear rental, please ensure you rent gear well in advance.
Rivers Oceans and Mountains www.roamshop.com
Valhalla Pure Outfitters www.shop.vpo.ca
