Heart line climb is a multi-pitch route located on the north-west side of Heart Mountain near Canmore Alberta. It is a link up of a number of older routes up a fairly defined ridgeline on the mountain, mostly retrofitted with newer bolts and anchors where needed. It is roughly 17 pitches long, starting at Heart Creek near the Bunny Hill, and ending directly at the summit.
The climbing is mostly excellent, with a few forgettable pitches in between. The bolting is good, but a little spaced/run out in spots (It is very easy where it is a bit run out). However, all the crux pitches are well bolted, and are full value for the grade (5.9).
Jolene had been excited to climb this route for a long time, and the stars finally aligned one saturday with perfect weather for us to make it happen. We started early in the morning, as it was projected to be quite hot in the afternoon. This ended up being a very good idea, as the route is in full sun in the late afternoon and gets very hot. Be sure to wear a sun shirt and bring lots of water and sunscreen.
Jolene lead the majority of the pitches on the Heart Line Climb throughout the day, until she started to run out of energy around pitch 11, where I took over for the remaining 5-6 pitches
There are 3 or 4 prominent overlaps high up on the face, which makes for a very interesting climb and separates the route into very distinct sections of face climbing, separated by rubbly ledges.
The first few pitches are relatively low angle, leading up a shallow/wide gulley from the creekbed to gain a prominent ridge at pitch 6, roughly 1/3rd of the way up the mountain. Here you put the rope away briefly to gain about 100m of elevation to the base of the first major wall. Many parties will be comfortable simul-climbing the first 6 pitches to the scramble section. Bring a few extra quick draws and move quickly.
One important note on this route is that pitch 9 only has 2 bolts, both of which are essentially hidden from the anchors. It starts with a long upwards traverse left to the first bolt. The whole pitch is roughly 25 meters. We ended up missing the bolts on this one and Jolene ended up soloing this pitch! A little jarring, but fortunately the climbing is very easy (very low 5th class), despite the high consequences of a fall. When getting to this pitch, look out to the far left for the bolt you will need to traverse to. It’s a little further left than you might expect.
The crux pitches are Pitch 13 & 15, with a short bolt ladder separating these two. The bolt ladder is a little bit strenuous and might be a bit reachy for shorter people. Fortunately, we were able to get through this without any significant difficulty. It might be worth bringing a daisy chain or expandable stick clip if your wingspan is on the short side.
The crux pitches (5.9/5.8) are excellent quality, with good holds and fun climbing up a number of steep walls. The first crux pitch is a little strenuous, and the second is less so, and has some interesting moves. Both are well bolted, and lots of fun! For 5.9 grade, the climbing is good, and not that typical “Rockies slab” climbing you might be more familiar with at this grade (typically).
The upper pitches meander through the upper cliff bands to reach the summit proper. Nothing too difficult, however, the last pitch might be the crux depending on how sore your feet are at that point! Be sure to bring a few extendable draws as these pitches tend to wander a fair bit.
The views are superb as you reach the summit, and offer a stunning view into the Heart Creek Valley, Bow Valley, and towards Yamnuska. The descent is the classic scramble route, which has a few sketchy sections of ball-bearing rocks on slab, but is otherwise fairly uneventful. Watch out for scramblers and hikers, as this trail gets busy on warm sunny days!
Overall, the route is a lot of fun, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a casual outing on a long route to the summit of a peak. The route is easy to access, and has a simple descent. It is well bolted, mostly easy route-finding (with the exception of pitch 9, traverse left!!), and is relatively clean considering the size of it. I have no doubt this will become a classic and see a great deal of traffic in the years to come.
