Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Gaga over Skaha

MEC and its members spearheaded effort to preserve bluffs
1534travel
Photo by Louise Christie

Crystal Klym’s efforts to rid Penticton’s Skaha Bluffs of invasive plant species has earned her the nickname “Noxious Weed.” That moniker might not suit everyone’s taste, especially a young woman’s, but during a tour of the bluffs last July, the South Okanagan Valley resident told Pique she proudly wore the handle.

As Klym led the way along the trails which run below a series of renowned climbing pitches, including the sheer-faced Doctor’s Wall, she repeatedly pulled up knee-high Dalmatian toadflax. Her interest wasn’t in the yellow flowers budding on the slender stalks. Instead, she examined the stems for signs of a weevil being tested as a bio-control agent on invasive species such as knapweed, mullion, and thistle. Weevils eat the stems, she explained, which stresses the plant into producing fewer seeds. “Even though toadflax is a root propagator, the bugs might help make the plant feel overwhelmed and,” she sighed, “give up.”

For Bill Turner, giving up is not an option. On the phone from his office in Victoria, the executive director of The Land Conservancy (TLC) of British Columbia laughed heartily when asked if he ever thought the multi-year campaign to purchase the Skaha Bluffs and surrounding land might not bear fruit. “I never lost faith,” he said. “You don’t lose if you never give up. That’s the secret to success in this business.” Indeed, on Jan. 19, TLC, along with its principal partners, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and The Nature Conservancy of Canada, announced that they had joined with Mountain Equipment Co-op MEC), over 700 of whose members made personal donations to support the purchase, plus a diverse group of other supporters, to acquire a 304-hectare property including the popular Skaha Bluffs recreational climbing area for $5.25 million.

Anders Ourum, former executive director of the Climber’s Access Society of British Columbia, believes this is the largest sum ever spent in North America to acquire a climbing site. In conversation with> Pique , Ourum said there were both parallels and dissimilarities between the scenario that played out in Penticton and the CASBC’s efforts to preserve the Little Smoke Bluffs in Squamish a decade ago. “They’re both in urban settings. We were able to preserve the Smoke Bluffs for climbers and hikers as a municipal park but that didn’t stop development from going ahead immediately adjacent.”

Ourum pointed out that while there was still work to do to finalize the details of the newly-proposed Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park, the threat of urban sprawl had been blunted there. “We could be thanking people for a whole week,” he said, particularly MEC, which Ourum credited as being the most instrumental partner. “They went to TLC with $400,000 impetus-and-seed money. That’s where it all started several years ago when the Co-op said the access situation was critical.”

In a city like Penticton, which routinely hosts large sporting events and festivals, climbing may not seem like much of a tourist engine. Appearances can be deceiving, especially as most of the action on the gneiss rock takes place beyond sight of the surrounding beaches and vineyards. Howie Richardson, author of Skaha Rock Climbing (Elaho Publishing) knows better. When contacted by phone, he asserted that over the course of a year the bluffs draw as many people as the annual Ironman, which in one weekend attracts over 2,500 athletes plus supporters and spectators.

“The bluffs are a major destination for climbers throughout western North America, especially in spring when this area dries out before anywhere else,” said Richardson, who is widely credited with popularizing rock climbing in the Okanagan.

Although a few climbers had explored there in the ’70s, Howie was the first one to begin in earnest in 1987. Today, he estimates the number of routes is approaching 900. “This is a gem of a little place, with rock sculptures, wildlife habitat, and views over Skaha and Okanagan lakes and the city. When the new park opens, it will be used a lot more than it is now.”

And how. During a phone conversation with Pique Keith Baric, regional planner with the Ministry of Environment, pointed out that the area used by climbers, about 8 hectares, represents only a small portion of the newly-acquired property. Mountain bikers, hunters, wildlife enthusiasts, and community ecologists such as Klym are just as eager to explore the new park.

“A purchase of this magnitude is a new one for me,” he said, noting that as far back as 1991 a 109-hectare site surrounding the bluffs was identified as a possible park under the local Land Resource Management Plan. “The ministry has been involved for years but couldn’t muster up funds until TLC got things going.”

In all likelihood, two herds of California bighorn sheep, which Baric characterized as an umbrella species, are among the biggest beneficiaries of the land purchase. Keith pointed out that had the property been converted to housing and a golf course this would have divided the north and south sheep populations which intermingle in a steep, narrow draw around Gillies Creek.

“It’s critical to mitigate the impact of development on wildlife movement through this highly fragmented region between Okanagan Mountain Park and the Vaseaux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area.”

Clearly, humans can be just as invasive a species as noxious weeds. On that count, Skaha is a bluff that was called just in the nick of time.

ACCESS: For detailed climbing route information, visit skaha.org. Until a new access route is completed in 2009, follow Crescent Hill Road east of South Main Street, then Valleyview Road south to the well-marked trailhead at Braesyde Farms, a short, pleasant drive along a narrow, winding road. Note : Depending on the size of vehicle, an escalating parking fee of $10 and up is charged at the farm.

Jack Christie is the author of The Whistler Book (Greystone Books). Visit him at jackchristie.com.