Old Piton Traditional Cache

This small lock and lock container is hidden atop Old Piton, an awesome and very unique conglomerate rock spire located on the eastern slopes of Hailstone Butte. The spire is yet another hidden gem written up by legendary Rockies climber and explorer Greg Cornell on his climbing webpage, Rockies Obscure. I would likely rate Old Piton as an exposed traditional climbing route / climber's scramble with a YDS grade of at least 5.0 or 5.1, depending upon your routefinding. I will endeavour to suggest that most people would very much appreciate the use of a rope as the exposure on the spire is quite extreme.

This conglomerate rock spire is unlike anything that you are likely to see in the Canadian Rockies. It towers up out of the ground and is a striking feature clearly visible while you are driving west towards the hairpin turn on Hwy 532. The rock is from a unique bullet-hard conglomerate rock layer probably less than 5 m wide, making for a tall and narrow spire.

Park at the hairpin turn on Hwy 532 and hike for about 500 m with 150 m of gain on steep but easy off-trail terrain to reach the spire. From here, I will leave the routefinding up to you. There is no easy route to the top, and regardless of how you tackle it, you will be forced to climb very challenging and exposed terrain. Many people would appreciate the use of a rope, and I would suggest that using a rope and traditional climbing gear (nuts, cams, pitons, etc) is likely the safest way to ascend this spire. The rock is excellent with plenty of cracks and features that would easily take generally large gear. However, regardless of how you get up, your biggest challenging will be getting down. There are no established rappel anchors and the downclimbing will be difficult and exposed.

DANGER: If you opt to climb this spire with a rope and climbing gear, I highly advise that you do NOT use the old rusty bolts near the geocache site. These bolts are extremely old and rusted, likely self-drives that are not more than 1" long. They looked like they would probably snap off with the whack of a hammer - not recommended for use as a climbing anchor or for rappelling off. Bring lots of anchor material if you are going to rappel, or ideally, a hammer drill and stainless steel bolts to place a brand new rappel station that will stand the test of time.

Note that the terrain to reach this geocache is very exposed and will require very difficult scrambling and/or rock climbing with climbing gear to reach. This is a significant challenge, not suitable or recommended for individuals not comfortable with climbing and downclimbing steep, exposed and potentially loose terrain. Make sure you can climb down everything that you climb up, as you could easily get trapped atop the spire otherwise. Do not ascend in wet conditions as this type of rock becomes very slippery. Note that there is no cell coverage in this area and drivers on the nearby road are unlikely to notice you if you are in trouble. There are many places on this rock feature in which a fall, slip or trip could result in serious injury or death. Climb safely and have fun exploring this unique spire!