Frigid alpine canyons.

It's hard to fine a more sublime setting for canyons than the Rockies in Alberta. Enormous limestone peaks, distant glaciers, picture-perfect pine forests, bright sunshine and the ever-present threat of grizzlies make any canyon here remarkable.

Settings aside, there are a number of fantastic canyons up here. All are flowing with colder-than-ever water. Thick wetsuits and socks, usually with hoods, are important for most routes.

A few routes started becoming public in 2025. Apparently some canyoneers were against publicity, for no well-defined reasons, and a few felt they should be published, for all to enjoy.

We did several first descents with local canyoneers here (castle Rock Canyons and Upper Waiparous Canyon, both excellent routes) in August 2025 and even more fun-runs through existing routes.

Nearly every route in the Ghost Wilderness, the main area, requires lots of rough 4x4 driving, long approaches using mountain bikes on logging roads, thick bushwhacks around deadfall, steep scree slopes and the occasional deer path, and then a glorious descent using fully bolted anchors.

We've been quite impressed. As exploration is ongoing, there have been plenty of mediocre finds with several excellent ones.

Beowulf Canyon is one of the prettiest canyons in all of Canada. It's a truly narrow slots outstanding hallways.

There surely await many more canyons to be discovered in Alberta.​