A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

Montreal and the surrounding areas.
Mazinaw Rock is a popular feature of the
Park, consisting of a massive rock face rising
as high as 100 metres over a distance of two
kilometres. The rock is metamorphosed
granite, intruded by black dykes, forming
many left-leaning ramps, slabs and cracks
on the cliff face.
Bon Echo has an interesting and varied
history. Early residents left evidence of their
activities in primitive red ochre pictographs
painted on the cliff at water’s edge. In
1889, Mazinaw Rock and its adjacent
lands were purchased and developed as a
tourist attraction and eventually became
the property of the late Merrill Denison.
During negotiations to turn over the land
to the Province of Ontario, Denison wrote
to Alan Bruce-Robertson, fi rst chair of
the newly formed Alpine Club of Canada
(ACC) Toronto Section, giving his blessing
to continued climbing at Bon Echo, in
these words:
Of course I have no objection to the
Alpine Club of Canada visiting Bon Echo or
climbing the Rock…at your own risk…I am
glad to know you are going to go on enjoying
the property…It’s a satisfaction to know
that the Rock is fulfi lling such a purpose.
– Excerpt from letter dated December 7,
1957 and signed by Merrill Denison.
Today, Bon Echo is the only provincial
park in Ontario to offi cially permit
climbing, subject to certain conditions
agreed to between the Park and the ACC.
For example, new route activity and slinging
of trees is banned; some routes have been
closed or re-directed to protect pictographs;
rappels and descent trails are strictly limited
and any fi xed protection must be placed
or replaced by the ACC with prior Park
approval.
Much of Bon Echo is multi-pitch,
although the winding nature of its climbs
means that pitches tend to be short, often
less than 20 metres each. Routes require a
variety of climbing techniques: smearing
and edging on the slabs and thin faces;
delicate traverses on invisible ledges high
over water; and strenuous overhangs on
sometimes less than perfect holds. Of the
110 routes that remain open, only about 30
continued on page 14
Found at Bon Echo
by Kit Moore