Ice Climbing Sherbourne Lake, Ontario

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Sherbourne Lake is a great location to ice climb. Directions are as follows:

Take Hwy #35 north of Carnarvon to Halls Lake and turn right onto Big Hawk Road. Follow the road to the end and park. Walk across Big Hawk Lake for about 1.5 km in a NW direction and go through the portage into Sherbourne Lake. About 0.5 km up the lake is a prominent crag with blue ice. Descents for both routes is an easy walk off left of the crag.

The first route is Highlander which is a grade 5 and is 40 meters tall. This is a stunning route that only forms in good years. The climb is a wide vertical piece of blue ice which, due to flowing over an overhang, misses touching down by about 7 m. The first ascencionists climbed very thin ice to the right to gain a narrow traverse ledge. Traverse gingerly (a tunnel was hacked behind a rotten pillar) and very awkwardly (pitons useful) to gain the main ice fall. Traverse the ice and climb straight up. A bold and committing route.

The second route is called Sins of the Father which is a grade 5.2, 3, and is 40 meters tall. This route goes up the obvious ramp left of Highlander. Climb thin ice and make a rock move to gain the ramp. Climb easily up the ramp and traverse around rotten ice pillars to the base of a solid pillar and climb straight up.