Multi-pitch Climbing River Run, Tunnel Mountain, Banff, 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.
River Run is a nine pitch sport climb on Tunnel Mountain in Banff with a rating of 5.11a on Mountain Project as of July 2026. Tunnel Mountain is just outside of town and very easy to access. The approach took us 20 minutes and was quite easy (0.5 miles, 175 ft of elevation gain). Of course, when we arrived at the base of the climb, another group was just starting climb, and they were the only other group we would see on the route all day.
Mike led the first pitch, which is also the crux pitch. While we were on the route, we heard what sounded like loud rockfall nearby. Turns out a piece of Mount Rundle had fallen down. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it did lead to multiple helicopters flying around us all day while we were climbing, which was quite distracting, but also a good reminder that anything can happen at any time!
We found rock quality on the route to be mixed, but generally consistent with what you’ll find climbing in the Canadian Rockies. While pitch 1 was the crux pitch, we did find the crux on pitch 6 to be harder than its rating of a 5.10b. The bolt spacing at the crux was very tight, much tighter than you’d normally see on a 5.10b, which to use meant it deserves a more difficult rating. Here’s how the ratings of the pitches broke down:
Pitch 1: 5.10d
Pitch 2: 5.10a/b
Pitch 3: 5.7
Pitch 4: 5.8+
Pitch 5: 5.10a
Pitch 6: 5.10b - crux on this pitch felt harder than this in my opinion
Pitch 7: 5.10a/b
Pitch 8: 5.9
Pitch 9: 5.8
Once at the top, you can easily walk off and walk down the hiking trail on Tunnel Mountain and take it to the trailhead. We did this and then walked back to our car along the road. The route is loose enough that I would not recommend rappelling it if anyone else is climbing below you. Plus the walk off would take less time than making 9 rappels. For us, it took 35 minutes from the top of the route to get back to our car, and the walk was just under 2 miles with 750 ft of descent.
We both really enjoyed this climb. The climbing was fun and the views were spectacular. I also appreciated that the approach was simple, the route finding was straightforward, and the descent was very easy, which made for a very enjoyable day. And, thankfully there were no rockfall issues on the mountain we were on! If you’re climbing at this grade, I’d recommend checking out River Run.
Total Stats: 2.7 miles, 800 ft of elevation gain, 9 pitches, 0 rappels
