Large Rockfall Strikes Popular Banff Climbing Area, Narrowly Misses Climbers

A rockfall swept through one of Banff National Park's most popular beginner climbing areas Tuesday morning, burying part of the base of the cliff under boulders and forcing the closure of the area. Parks Canada says everyone has been accounted for and no injuries have been reported, despite climbers being on the wall when the mountainside collapsed.

The rockfall occurred at approximately 11 a.m. in the Rundle Rock area, also known to many climbers as the Rundlehorn area, on the lower west end of Mount Rundle.

The area has been a fixture of the Bow Valley climbing scene for more than 50 years and is one of the first places many people learn to climb outdoors. Its relatively easy multi-pitch routes, ranging from roughly 5.4 to 5.10c, make it a regular destination for guiding companies, beginners, and families.

One of those classic routes appears to have been directly affected.

"Monster rock fall at Rundle Rock," Brandon Pullan, editor-in-chief of Gripped magazine, wrote on the Bow Valley Climbing Community Facebook group.

"Ridge of Death start looks gone. It doesn't appear to have reached Rundle Rock's main climbs. Rundlehorn, Maclab and Gold Rush look fine."

Early reports from climbers at the scene suggest the outcome could easily have been much worse.

Jordan Toth, who witnessed the rockfall while hiking toward the nearby Maclab Slab route with her husband, said a large section of the mountain suddenly broke away.

"We had just started hiking up to climb Maclab Slab when a large section of the mountain cleaved off and came crashing into the Rundle Rock crag area," she wrote in the Calgary Climbing Community Facebook group.

"We were lucky to be outside the debris path but immediately thought the worst and started calling out to see if anyone was hurt."

Toth said she found a backpack and a child's shoes buried in the debris before learning their owners had been sitting higher on the mountain eating lunch when the rockfall occurred.

"They are safe," she wrote.

She also said there was a climbing party on Rundlehorn, a popular 5.4 multi-pitch route, when the rockfall happened.

"It seems they had climbed past that section before it fell as the official Parks notice says everyone has been accounted for and no injuries."

"It's hard to not think about how differently it could have ended," she added. "If it happened on the weekend when there were more people climbing at the crag there definitely would have been fatalities."

Area Closed Pending Investigation

Parks Canada confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the rockfall left a substantial debris field.

"A large amount of rock came down, leaving a rockslide path with a significant number of boulders in the Rundle Rock climbing area," the agency said in a public update.

The cause of the rockfall remains unknown.

The climbing area immediately affected will remain closed while Parks Canada conducts a geotechnical assessment to determine whether additional rockfall remains possible.

The closure extends beyond the climbing area itself. Parks Canada has temporarily closed the area from the Spray River bridge through the Golf Course Road loop, including pedestrian access, while crews investigate.

The closure also forced the Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course to cancel all remaining tee times Tuesday.

"Unfortunately due to a rockslide, Parks Canada has closed Golf Course Road," the golf course said in a statement. "As a result, the golf course will remain closed for the rest of the day and all remaining tee times have been cancelled."

Another Major Rockfall on Mount Rundle

It comes just over a month after another major rockslide struck the opposite end of Mount Rundle near Canmore. On June 1, rock came down above the Spray Lakes Road, forcing Alberta Parks to close a section of Highway 742 between the Grassi Lakes parking area and Goat Creek Day Use Area.

That road remains closed because of ongoing instability along the slope.

Although the two rockslides occurred on the same mountain, they happened on opposite ends of Mount Rundle and are managed by different agencies. There is currently no indication the events are connected.

For climbers, Tuesday's collapse is a sobering reminder that even well-travelled routes carry objective hazards that cannot be eliminated.