ICE
March 31
Well I have arrived, and now that I have gotten a good feel for the place I guess its time to fill everyone in on what the heck I'm doing and what life is like for me now.
I am currently staying in the Alpine Club of Canada Clubhouse, and I have little to complain about here. The scenery is fantastic, all the other guests here are super friendly, and nearly everyone is here to climb or backcountry ski. I strongly believe in surrounding oneself with like-minded people and I could not be happier to have found that place. Besides the occasional rowdy Frenchman or snoring room mate, my stay here has been exactly what I need at the end of a long day.
So what the heck have I been doing? Well, lots. I feel like a never really stop, by the afternoon of the first day, we were already on the ice with crampons on our feet and axes in our hands. It's been a blur to say the least.
I am just coming off of ten days or so of technical ice climbing. The first few were spent in Canmore and area learning basic axe and crampon technique, then we shipped off to Rampart Creek in the Icefields Parkway to get to the meat and potatoes of ice and mixed climbing. From Rampart we were able to access some of the best ice climbing Canada and the world has to offer. The days were warm and sunny for the most part, so although we were soaking wet most days, it made for forgiving plastic-like ice to learn on. The mornings were crazy early and the downtime didn't really exist, but I gotta say, I am in love with waterfall ice. One of the primary reasons I got into this course was not just to be a recreational climber, but to be a recreaional climber with a professional attitude so that I can be as safe as possible and avoid mistakes that so many weekend warriors make because of lack of proper training. I feel overwhelmed with knowledge from this past week, but my field note book is overflowing with valuable information, and I can confidently say that I am ready to take on ice on my own.
From here, I have another day of interpretive guide training, and then I go boldly into the spring snow of the Selkirk range to hopefully get some powder turns (fingers crossed!) Hopefully from there I will have much more knowledge and so much more to share with anyone who cares to talk to me. I know that this will all be such a blur for me, so I will try to document as much as possible! Keep in touch, I'll be happy to chat so long as I can use my cell phone.
Take Luck,
C.G