As May arrived I had my eye on Whirlpool Notch, a hidden gem. For the next two months I spent every spare evening running up to the crag and developing routes to add to the original seven, high quality climbs. I was pleased with the atmosphere of the zone. It was fun, the bolting was friendly, and the rock was high quality dolomite. I added seventeen routes to this fun zone and felt like the season was off to a good start. You might notice a lot of the routes at Whirlpool Notch have a bear theme. If you run into me at Whirlpool Notch I will tell you the story of Matt and the bear. Matt and Brad spent a lot of days with me that spring as they were part of our year long Mountain Coaching Program. They helped establish a number of the routes at Whirlpool Point.
In the Fall of 2022 Janet Welch had the itch to get out developing again and I was stoked to make it happen. We spent a few days and added Rammed If I Do, as well as Rammed If I Don’t. During the development of Rammed If I Do, I looked down to see an enormous Bighorn sheep walk right past Janet at the second belay. This completed the development at Lookout Slabs and solidified it as the best entry level Multi-Pitch zone in the Canadian Rockies.
