With all the amazing Spring-like weather we've been having in Feb, many OK boulderers have been heading down to the south Okanagan a fair bit to get on some real rock. One of the areas Staci, Cedar, and I have spent a bit of time in this month is Boulder on the Bench. Prior to this month, we had never made the trip to this area, but we're sure glad we have now.
Boulder on the Bench sits on a small plateau/ bench overlooking Skaha Lake just north of the Heritage Hills subdivision which is about 5 minutes or so south of the Skaha Bluffs turn off. After turning into the Heritage Hills subdivision, you work up the hill to the north east until you reach a good size roadside cliff. After parking here, you walk down a small road toward the lake, past a couple houses, then northward along a rocky road and further a path through the forest. Within 10 minutes of an easy approach, you reach a flat clearing with the obvious Boulder on the Bench on the right.
This area holds a nice handful of problems ranging from V0/1 to V9ish. It looks like a couple more projects could be added as well. There's a mix of commitment levels from some safe lowballs to some sketchy looking highballs. Generally speaking, the landings are flat (especially on Boulder on the Bench). There are 4 or 5 main boulders holding most of the problems here with some being out in the clearing and others in a bit of a forest. The rock is solid and the climbing is great, especially after pulling on plastic all winter.
The setting on the Bench is beautiful with views of Skaha Lake and the mountains, and with such exposure, this is one of the earliest areas to open up for bouldering early in the season. We've already had 3 sessions at Boulder on the Bench this year (2 completely free of snow). If you're itching to get outside, this is a good spot right now.
Again, a shout out to Doug Orr and other boulderers from the south OK who did a great job developing this area. For more info on getting to Boulder on the Bench, fire me an email at okbouldering@gmail.com
A couple pics...
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Boulder on the Bench sits on a small plateau/ bench overlooking Skaha Lake just north of the Heritage Hills subdivision which is about 5 minutes or so south of the Skaha Bluffs turn off. After turning into the Heritage Hills subdivision, you work up the hill to the north east until you reach a good size roadside cliff. After parking here, you walk down a small road toward the lake, past a couple houses, then northward along a rocky road and further a path through the forest. Within 10 minutes of an easy approach, you reach a flat clearing with the obvious Boulder on the Bench on the right.
This area holds a nice handful of problems ranging from V0/1 to V9ish. It looks like a couple more projects could be added as well. There's a mix of commitment levels from some safe lowballs to some sketchy looking highballs. Generally speaking, the landings are flat (especially on Boulder on the Bench). There are 4 or 5 main boulders holding most of the problems here with some being out in the clearing and others in a bit of a forest. The rock is solid and the climbing is great, especially after pulling on plastic all winter.
The setting on the Bench is beautiful with views of Skaha Lake and the mountains, and with such exposure, this is one of the earliest areas to open up for bouldering early in the season. We've already had 3 sessions at Boulder on the Bench this year (2 completely free of snow). If you're itching to get outside, this is a good spot right now.
Again, a shout out to Doug Orr and other boulderers from the south OK who did a great job developing this area. For more info on getting to Boulder on the Bench, fire me an email at okbouldering@gmail.com
A couple pics...
A few of the boulders in the area. Boulder on the Bench is on the bottom left.
Staci working up the nice center line on Boulder on the Bench.