Camping & Climbing Info

Meet us east of Helena at the Hellgate Bay Campground for a weekend of connection, community, camping, and climbing! We will gather each evening to listen to speakers, share stories, and connect. Each morning we’ll enjoy tea and coffee together before piling into a few cars and heading east to Hellgate Gulch and/or Avalanch Gulch (follow the links for beta on the venues via Mountain Project).

Come with a partner or find one throughout the weekend! We hope to create a space for everyone in the festival to feel comfortable meeting new friends at the crag and climbing together.

Hellgate Gulch and/or Avalanch Gulch (follow the links for additional beta on the venues via Mountain Project) offer high quality sport and trad climbing on limestone. Grades range from 5.7 to 5.13.

Highly recommended routes:

5.7 – 5.9 – Lions, Tigers and Spears (5.8-) Avalanche Gulch, The Fire Spire (trad 5.9)

5.10 – Taking Care of Business (5.10a)

5.11 – 3 pitch climb Fatal Attraction at Winterwall (5.11b)

5.12 – Girl with the Dokins tattoo at Winterwall (5.12b)

5.13 – Between Heaven and Hell (5.13a)

Come with a partner or find one throughout the weekend!

We have rented two group campsites at Hellgate Bay Campground to accommodate all festival participants. Your ticket price includes a spot at one of these sites. We discourage camping offsite. However, if you would like to rent your own campsite please let us know.

When you arrive at the Hellgate Campground you’ll drive over a set of cattle guards and make the next right towards Lewis and Clark and York group sites (A and B). When you turn right you’ll see our banner and there will be someone there to check you in.

Since we are such a large group, we do not allow campers, RV’s, or dogs. Each site has a covered, sheltered area with picnic tables and power. Also included at the site are bathrooms, access to water, and a large garbage can. In an effort to minimize our environmental impact, we encourage participants to carpool and share tents.