Canal Crusher is Back!
We are very excited to bring back the Canal Crusher bouldering comp for 2026! We invite all climbers from western NY and beyond to compete for our cash purse and try your luck against upstate’s grittiest climbers.
This year’s comp will feature both a Citizens Category with sponsor prizes for top finishers, and an Open Category with a cash purse.
- 40+ boulders, prizes, cash purse
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Sponsorship Opportunities
- Food Truck & Vendors
Discounts for early registration and CRG members available!
2025 Competition Sponsors
Metolius, Friction Labs, Limitless Physical Therapy Specialists, Head & Heal, Lumos Infrared Sauna, Torba, Ugly Duck, Tune MTB, Pinnacle Hill Chiropractic, The Power Company, LMNTL
2026 Sponsors list coming soon!
COMP INFORMATION
WHEN
Saturday, September 26th
Session 1: Rules meeting at 8:45am. Climbing 9am – 12pm
Session 2: Rules meeting at 12:45pm. Climbing 1 – 4pm
Finals: 6pm – finish
CATEGORIES
Citizens Category:
- Recreational (V0-V2), Intermediate (V2-V5), Advanced (V5-V7)
Open Category:
- ~V8+
PRICING
Register by EOD 8/24:
- Members: Citizens $55 | Open $65
- Non-Members: Citizens $60 | Open $65
Register after 8/24:
- Members: Citizens $60 | Open $70
- Non-Members: Citizens $65 | Open $70
Comp Schedule
Redpoint Round 1
Redpoint Round 2
Community Hangout
Finals
Award Ceremony
MORE INFORMATION
- A Redpoint Round is a competitive round of climbing with a time limit, where participants are challenged with completing the hardest boulders that they can. Everyone in the round climbs at the same time, and participants are able to watch other participants as they climb / share beta / etc.
- For the Citizens Category, the Redpoint Round is the only round of climbing they will do. For the Open Category, those who complete the hardest climbs will qualify for the Finals Round.
- There will be 40+ boulder problems for competitors to score points on. Competitors will enter the session with the goal of completing the highest value problems.
- Competitors will pick one Redpoint Round timeslot to compete in.
- A competitor’s Final Redpoint score shall be the cumulative value of their top 5 completed problems.
- The top 4 Open Category competitors from both Men’s and Women’s categories will qualify for Finals. This is a total of 8 climbers in Finals.
- If a qualifying climber is unable to make the Finals, the next highest qualifier will be asked to attend, and so forth.
The Open Category is for climbers who climb roughly V8 or higher
The Citizens Category is open to climbers of all levels and abilities, approximately V0 – V7, or for climbers who prefer a bit more casual competition.
OPEN CATEGORY ~V8+:
Climb V8+? Sign up for our Open category, where you compete for a chance to make finals.
The top competitors will be invited back in the evening for an evening finals event in front of spectators. The Open winners will receive cash from our cash purse!
CITIZENS CATEGORY:
If you climb between V0 and V7, sign up for our Citizen’s competition!
All abilities, skill levels and experience are welcome to compete!
Recreational, intermediate and advanced categories will be determined based on climbing scores after all session scores have been submitted.
We will e-mail all Open competitors to notify you of the scores and if you qualify for Finals. There will be a short window of time for competitors to submit questions and speak to the Chief Route Setter regarding any discrepancies. Please make sure the e-mail address you submit with your account is current and correct. Complete a new Participation Agreement if you are unsure.
Yes! Anyone is welcome to come watch the finals round! There is no charge for spectators.
No. Spectators are welcome, but non-competitors are not allowed to climb/workout.