Climbing Wild Mixed Terrain

Pont Rouge, 30 miles south of Quebec City in eastern Canada, yields lots of excellent pure ice climbs as well as many wild mixed routes. The area lies in a narrow canyon carved by Jacques Cartier River that is lined with tottering shale walls that most rock climbers wouldn’t take a second look at in summer. During winter, however, the walls become festooned with ice falls, huge icicles, and hanging curtains, turning it into an ice climber’s paradise. Since 1990 when the ice was discovered, ice climbers have ventured to this hidden canyon and climbed many routes, turning it into one of North America’s premier ice climbing arenas. The area takes its name from a nearby farming town called "Pont Rouge" or Red Bridge. Here a climber ventures up steep mixed terrain on “Duo Insatiables” ( M8).