Multi-pitch Climbing Achilles Spire, Mount Andromache, Icefields Parkway, Alberta, Canada
Disclaimer: This climb involves rock climbing, which is inherently dangerous. This blog post does not include formal instruction of any kind. Please make sure you have the appropriate skills and knowledge before attempting this outing.
Achilles Spire on Mount Andromache is hands down the prettiest multi pitch climb I have ever done. It’s a 13 pitch alpine sport route rated at 5.8- right off of the Icefields Parkway in Canada and provides beautiful views the entire day.
Mike and I knew this would be a popular route so we decided to get an early start on the day we climbed Achilles Spire. We parked our car and started hiking around 6am. The trail initially follows a creek. We shortly found ourselves crossing this creek and gaining elevation quickly. We walked past a few waterfalls and crossed the creek again. After this, we followed social trails to the bottom of the climb. We did find snow in one steep spot that we had to kick steps in to in order to cross. 1.5 miles and 2400 feet of elevation gain later, we found ourselves at the base of the climb.
Once at the base of the climb, we started gearing up. As we were doing this, two other groups also arrived. It was a Monday morning so we were quite surprised to see so many groups up there at the early hour.
Mike led the first pitch and our plan was to swap pitches for the rest of the route. I led the second but accidentally stopped at rappel anchors I didn’t need to stop at and created an extra pitch for us. Rock quality for the bottom half of the climb was very variable and included some loose sections. We found ourselves yelling “ROCK” quite a bit. Pitch 7 is a third class walk up and around to the bottom of pitch 8. We found the rock quality materially improved on this pitch and for the remainder of the route. I climbed pitch 13, the last pitch, which had the worst rope drag that I’ve ever experienced on a climbing route.
Ratings of the pitches:
Pitch 1: 5.6
Pitch 2: 5.4
Pitch 3: 5.6
Pitch 4: 5.6
Pitch 5: 5.8
Pitch 6: 5.2
Pitch 7: 3rd class
Pitch 8: 5.7
Pitch 9: 5.6
Pitch 10: 5.8
Pitch 11: 5.6
Pitch 12: 5.5
Pitch 13: 5.5
Once we found ourselves at the top, we celebrated and sat down to eat lunch. We were joined by some new German friends we made on the route who were climbing behind us. After spending some time to enjoy the views, we started the descent which included 14 rappels. For the most part, they went pretty smoothly as they followed the route back down. A few pitches had intermediate rappel stations that we used.
Once we found ourselves at the bottom of the climb, we put our gear back into our packs and began the steep descent. It took us just under 10 hours car to car. This was one of my favorite days spent in the alpine, and I highly recommend it to anyone with the skills to do the route.
Total Stats: 3.3 miles, 3150 ft of elevation gain, 13 pitches, 14 rappels
