McLab Slab - Mount Rundle

July 9, 2024

Multi-pitch day. Bill, Jyoti, Emily, and Lori struck out to Cascade falls. The rest of us drove into Banff to tackle two different routes on Rundle in three rope teams. Charles, Remi, Kate, and Brian climbed the fourteen pitch Gold Rush, while Mike and I tackled McLab Slab which is an eight pitch route next door. I started the leading and the two of us swapped leads on this fairly easy, but super fun route. Bolts were a-plenty, and sometimes felt like there was even too many, which made the climbing super safe. We made quick work of the route, and in about two hours we topped out on the Rundlehorn ridge.

Team Mike and Mike... ready to take on McLab Slab

Charles, Kate, Brian, and Remi, heading off towards Gold Rush

Mike leading of on one of the upper pitches

There was still one pitch of Rundlehorn before we got to non-technical terrain and it was my lead. The bolts now were spaced out, but the climbing remained easy. This was the first pitch where route finding became an issue though. Each bolt required a bit of searching, and with more than one way to climb, each section meant making some decisions. Nevertheless I reached the anchor with a bit of head scratching and a few long run-outs. After belaying Mike up, we spent some time making sure that this was the end before de-roping.

Some third class scrambling brought us too the top of where we thought Gold Rush must end but we could not find the top of the route. After waiting a bit though, we spied Remi leading up the final pitch, and by deduction discovered the final anchor hidden just over the cliff edge. The remaining four topped out and we all took an extended break before beginning the walk off.

Banff from above

The walk off started with a long exposed third class ramp upwards, and then a fairly long hike which gained another 150m or so of elevation before we found the well marked path down. The path started nicely, but then was a relentlesly steep and loose scree slope which took a long time to negotiate. Finally we hit the forest at the bottom and a lovely trail took us on a short hike back to the parking area.

Descending one of the nice sections on the walk-off

Total time: 7 hours

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