Professor Falls

Mt. Rundle

280M WI 4

ATES 2 (challenging) to top of third tier/fourth bolted station

ATES 3 (complex) above fourth bolted station

First climbed in 1974, Professor Falls can be easily seen from Highway 1. It is approached from the Banff town site by either a bike ride or a 1.5-hour walk. It consists of several tiers of short steep pillars and curtains, and culminates in a crux WI4 pitch at the very end. It consists of eight steps, which allows many parties to climb the route at the same time relatively safely. On busy days the route sees multiple ascents. All the stations have bolted anchors and the route can be rappelled. A walk-off in the trees on climbers left with a short rappel is possible too. Professor Falls can also be used to approach the Trophy wall and Sacre Bleu.

Professor Falls sits in the Professor avalanche path. This path is capable of producing avalanches that go right down to the river.

Avalanche start zone

• 55% of respondents believe the avalanche started well above the climb
• 12% of respondents believe the avalanche started from the feeder gully before the last pitch
• 15% of respondents believe the avalanche started from above the last pitch
• 18% of respondents did not know where the avalanche started

Several start zones lie above the Professor Falls climb.

Reported avalanches and incidents

• Critically buried between the second-last pitch and the last pitch but was dug out by partner using their helmet.
• We just approached the final pitch when a size 3 avalanche released from the bowl above the large cliff above the climb. More or less by chance, we could hide on the side of the gully while the avalanche flowed past us, piling up metres of snow right next to us.
• After pulling over on the second-last pitch, I noticed very heavy winds. Walking up to the last pitch, I noticed significant sluffing. While setting up, we heard a large crack from the trees above on climbers right. A few seconds later, some very large chunks of snow came flying down. We took cover on the climbers-right rock wall. The avalanche was probably a size 1–1.5.
• A size 0.5, maybe close to a 1, came down on me and two others on the last pitch. There was a loud crack followed by a minor flow of snow on the pitch itself and a few large blocks launching off the cliff climbers-right.
• We finished the route early. There was wind transport on ridgetop all day. When driving back to Canmore, we witnessed a large slide. The powder cloud went over the river.
• It was a warm end-of-season climb. We were a bit caught off guard that there was that much snow still above. The slide never got to us at the start of the last pitch, but the cornice failure gave us cause to abandon the climb and rap out.
• I have seen debris piled up at the base of the last pitch many times. I once found a nice new rope cut and sticking out of the debris at the base of the last pitch, so I dug it out and had a nice 40 m chunk. Someone had a close call.
• Several people noted witnessing large avalanches from the highway and other areas flow over Professors and all the way to the river.

Crédit

Grant Statham

A closer look at Professor Falls showing the approach route, pitches, and walk off route.