The Ice of Agawa Canyon (Eastern Shore of Lake Superior)

2 Climbers seconding the Climb" TRESTLE" 100 meters  in height as passenger train passes below.

Things have changed plenty since 1986 when ice climbing was just beginning in the Canyon. Orient Bay to the North was known as the climbing destination and climbers from the Midwest were flocking there on weekends due to the number of easily accessible routes.  Agawa Canyon, unlike Orient Bay, is a winter camping destination for ice climbers.  Most of them head into the Canyon during the annual Agawa Canyon Ice Festival held each March.  2012 celebrates the 14^th anniversary of this occasion.

The Mile 112 basecamp during the march Icefest. The climbs Pins and Needles 200 M and Victory Daze 140 meters are in the background.

The Canyon hosts over 135 ice climbs and each year between mid-December and mid-April, ice formations hang off the 200 meter walls which cloak the east and west sides of the canyon.  A 2^nd Edition of the Agawa Canyon Ice Climbing Map was published in 2007.

                                      

 A southbound Train with the Climb "Trestle" 100 meters in height in background.

The canyon is a 6 mile long north-south corridor between Miles 110 and 116 on the Algoma Central Railway which connects Sault Ste. Marie Ontario with Hearst Ontario at the end of the line at Mile 296. The line is used for hauling freight, but also has a passenger train service.  One can catch the train northward from Sault Ste. Marie on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays while southward is caught on Fridays, Sundays & Tuesdays. The train ride is, on average a 4 hour journey to and from the Mile 112 campsite.

For more exciting Ontario outdoor adventures, visit www.ontariotravel.net/outdoor