Cardinal Rock Access: Route C
Approach: Walk down the track, eastwards, to the boundary of Gatineau Park. Head north along the park boundary to the foot of the escarpment, following an old wire fence. The fence ends at the foot of a rocky rib. Ascend the gully to the right of the rib, until you reach vegetated slabby rock. Ascend diagonally right to the base of the second buttress. The corner crack of Deception should be quite obvious. The third buttress can be reached by continuing to traverse diagonally rightwards.
Character: The description of Cardinal Rock is taken largely from some notes prepared by Dax-e and Jane Lister in 1969. The name is derived from the bird, not the Church. The Rock is actually a series of buttresses angling fron left to right up the escarpment to the east of Big Overhang.
There are perhaps five distinct buttresses, excluding The Pulpit. The Pulpit is the fairly obvious rocky knoll on the skyline.
The recorded climbing is all on the central, largest (third) buttress, with the exception of one route recorded on the buttress to its left. This latter buttress (the "second" buttress) contains two prominent corner systems, close to one another. The left one contains a wide crack, which gives Deception.
Second Buttress
Deception 5.7
The obvious wide corner crack. Harder than it looks!
1. 20m. Climb rightwards onto a ledge at the base of the crack. Follow the crack up, with occasional excursions onto the left wall, to a tree belay.
2. 10m. Up easily past two cedars, then up the awkward wide crack to the top.
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