Le soulier, Tunnel Mountain in Banff
June 24, 2025
🅿️ Parking
Park at Surprise Corner Viewpoint. Come early—or get lucky—because there are only a few parking spots available.
🥾 Approach
Follow the Hoodoo Trail. After going down the small hill, take the first trail on the left. You might see a sign warning about elk—some areas around there are occasionally closed.
Very soon after starting, turn right. Don’t keep going straight on the main trail. There is one cairn to guide the way. If you don’t see it, you’re probably off track.
Once you reach the base of the cliff, turn right and continue until you’re standing just to the right of the roof.
We weren’t completely sure where the route started. We both scrambled up and spotted two bolts beneath a large tree. We began climbing from the ledge just below those bolts, but we weren’t sure if that was the official starting point. It’s also unclear whether you’re supposed to belay before the scrambling section. However, it does seem to be the first pitch, since the anchor for the second pitch is located just above.
You'll probably spot the bolts for The Dirtbag first on the right, but Le Soulier starts just below the tree.
🧗♀️ Route
I love multipitches and try to climb as many as possible—even on days when I work at 4 p.m. That’s why Tunnel Mountain is such a great option: short approach, short multipitch routes, and lots of fun.
Ledge we belayed for the first pitch
The dirtbag's first bolt
First and second Pitch (5.7):
The first pitch was so short that Stefano linked it with the second.
He hadn’t climbed multipitch in a few years, so this was a great route to help him get back into it. He even missed a bolt by accident—there’s one on the left of the gully, but he was probably looking straight ahead and didn’t notice it.
Third pitch (5.7):
This pitch was really fun! The final move to the anchor felt a bit sketchy—you can either traverse right, smearing on a slab without seeing your next good hold, or go straight up with decent handholds but farther from the anchor, then cross back right to it
Fourth Pitch (5.7):
This one wasn’t particularly hard, but Stefano had trouble finding the anchor. There’s a long stretch without any bolts, and when you reach the top, you have to keep left. Eventually, the anchor appears—but it's easy to miss if you go too far right. There’s a 5.8 variation on the left, but Stefano preferred to stick with the 5.7 since it was his first multipitch in a while.
🧗♂️ Descent
We walked down, but ended up getting a little lost because of the elk warning signs. The signage was unclear, and we somehow ended up on the road. Eventually, we managed to reconnect with the main trail.
💭 Personal Take
I really enjoyed climbing on Tunnel Mountain. The routes are great quality with a fun variety of moves—technical but not too hard.
After the multipitch, we went to the crag nearby to do a few single-pitch climbs, which I also liked a lot.
Tunnel Mountain dries surprisingly fast, even after a big rainfall. When we went, it had rained recently, but the rock was completely dry.