Dry Tooling at Dennet Bluffs (Burke Crag)

Last winter, I made a couple of ice climbing trips, and I am really looking forward to the upcoming season. So, when Farbod posted a ‘Dry Tooling-Preparation for the Ice Season‘ trip on BCMC, I signed up immediately. The plan was to meet in Coquitlam, drive to trailhead on Quarry Road and then climb at Dennet Bluffs.

Local Guy is Loco

At 9 am, we met at Tim Hortons around Lougheed Highway. It was eight of us, and Farbod asked everyone to follow me as I was the “local guy.” Now, I have been to Dennet Bluffs a couple of times, but I still rely on Google Maps to get there from my home in Langley. That’s how local I am.

Gloria got in the car with me, and I started navigation on Google Maps. Right out of the Tim Horton’s parking lot, I took a wrong turn. I believe Farbod or someone from our group honked, but it was too late. Val was following our car and we went for a scenic drive around Coquitlam. Five minutes later, we regrouped, and now, Josh was in the front. Later in the afternoon, Gloria drove back with Farbod. I don’t blame her.

Hike to Dennet Bluffs

We parked at the curb on Quarry Road and started our hike on Munro Lake Trail. It has been raining for a few days, and the trail had turned into a creek.

Few minutes into the hike, we took a right and followed the signs for Munro Lake.

After a short hike, we were at Dennet Bluffs. Soon, we geared up and set-up four top ropes for the group.

Burke Crag - Dennet Bluffs Topo — Source: The Crag

Triangles (#3 in topo above)

I belayed Scott on Triangles (a 5.6 rock climb) and thought it would be a good warm-up. With crampons strapped and ice tools, I was ready for my first climb. As I got up on the route, it was more challenging than I had imagined.

Dry Tooling at Burke Crag - Dennet Bluffs — Scott on Triangles

The pick of the ice tool would just slide off the hold. As I came off the route, there was a burnt smell. It was the smell of the ice pick scratching against the rock. I had to be more careful if I had any intention of using the same tools for ice climbing this season.

Eventually, I made it to the top of the climb without stabbing myself. Back on the ground, I was now paying more attention to other climbers and had a brief chat with Josh about tool placements and body positioning.

Terrafirma (#4)

Terrafirma is right of Triangles and uses the same anchor. It is on the right of the arete and has some tricky moves at the start. But once you got to the crack, it gets easier.

Val on Terrafirma –

Youliana on Terrafirma –

Terraformer (#5)

This route starts right next to Terrafirma. I believe Josh did this route first but had to move the anchors as there was significant rope drag. Later, Farbod and few others did a slight variation of the route. They climbed over the bulge and ended the route at the chains.

Farbod on Terraformer –

The move over the bulge was probably the crux. It was interesting to see the different climbing styles of Farbod, Val and Stefanie.

The Arborist (#6)

This is a special route for me as it was my daughter Kavya’s first 5.7. Last year, it was towards the end of the day, and it was really tough, but she persevered and finished the climb.

Gloria on Arborist –

Scott on Arborist –

It takes some effort to get off the ledge, but then it gets easy. I was now getting more comfortable with the tool placements and found it easier than I expected.

SAR Left / Right (#7/#8)

SAR Left was a relatively tough one. Halfway up the route, you traverse a bit, and there were not many features for ice tools.

SAR Right, felt relatively easy and had an exciting finish at the top.

SARchasm (#10)

The overhang section towards the end was the interesting section of the climb. Josh, Farbod, Val and Stefi climbed it, and each had a different approach.

Josh on SARchasm –

Stefanie on SARchasm –

Val on SARchasm –

By 2 pm, we started wrapping up and cleaning the anchors. I did Terrafirma (#4) to clean the anchor, and by 3 pm, we were back at the parking lot.

Ethics of Dry Tooling

Later in the day, Farbod posted some pictures from our trip to the BCMC Facebook page. One member raised the question of the ethics of dry tooling on routes that are used for rock climbing. This member had actually introduced me to Dennet Bluffs when we did kids climbing trip last year.

Farbod and other members responded to these concerns by sharing the history of the crag. Coquitlam Search & Rescue (SAR) team discovered the crag and started using it for their practice. Around 2010, BCMC helped clean the route and establish the crag. Since then, it has been used for dry tooling. Still, the onus is on the climbers to practice dry tooling safely and responsibly.

Interestingly, the Coquitlam SAR team had named this crag as Burke Crag and not sure when it became Dennet Bluffs.