The good-looking early season in the Pacific Northwest had us itching for ice. Two weeks of cold weather in late October, coupled with no precipitation, permitted some ice to form at Banks Lake, and on Nov 3rd I went and soloed the Devil's Punchbowl underneath the hanging deathcicles. But then, a very mild weather pattern settled in and dashed all hopes of a good local early season like the one in 2000. So we wanted to try something a little different and head to Banff in early season. Both to satiate the ice climbing bug that started with the climbing a few weeks earlier, and because I had some days off over Thanksgiving, and also because the avlanche conditions are usually much better than after Christmas, my normal time in the Rockies.
Day 1: We left work early on Wednesday afternoon and started driving. The drive was slow to Bellingham, but fast after that. We drove only 7 hours to Golden from Bellingham. We pulled over in the Field Infocenter parking lot for a few hours of sleep, and continued on through to the Banff townsite. Our first objective was Sinatra Falls. A few years ago, when Gene and I went in to climb Moonlight, we had heard someone say it was a nice route. It was long, easy, and most importantly, in shape. The recent conditions in Banff hadnt been much better than the Pacific Northwest - warm. Only some routes were in, most were not.
We got to the trailhead around 10:30 and headed over to the climb. A 45 minute approach leads to the first ice step, a low-angled affair that was starting to run with water and falling apart. It barely supported weight, but was good enough and Summer and I proceeded to simulclimb the entire route. The final steps were not in, but even so we had climbed several hundred meters of nice rambling WI2, in some ways similar to Rogans Gully, and it was a good warmup. We headed out from established rappels and drove into Calgary to meet Maurice and crash at his new pad, on the outskirts of town.
Maurice was the same as he ever was, and we had a great evening and talked late into the night.
Day 2: I had never been into the Ghost, and was determined to go check it out. I had heard the Sorcerer was in, but that was a little over my head this early in the season, so I suggested to Summer we climb This House of Sky, a long rambling 3 that Gene had soloed some years back and recommended. We had a very uneventful drive into the Ghost, it was anticlimactic. After hearing for years how hard it was to get in there, and how epic the stream crossings were, we were bored. We got to the big hill, drove up the the North Ghost parking lot, and approached the GBU and This House. The ice in the streambed that is This House of Sky consists of thin short steps up a little canyon. Summer and I followed this canyon to where it peetered out by a large (currently snow-free) avalanche slope. The ice had peetered out too, and we turned around. Later we learned that the upper pitches were in, despite there being no ice lower on the climb, and we should have continued, but it was fun anyway.
Day 3: Maurice joined us on the third day, and we chose a route that was in, that neither Mo nor I had ever done because its usually very av threatened: Linda Ice Nine. The word was out that this was one of the few routes currently in, and there were several parties on it. Mo, Summer, and I simu-climbed the lower pitches fast as a party of three, only stopping to belay on some steeper steps leading up to the crux columns. Here, I lead the first column at nice easy 4, while Maurice led the second column, very wet, at short but pumpy 4. Topped out in the sun, a great climb with nice mileage leading to excellent finish. (photos Maurice Brenninkmeijer)
Day 4: It was time for Summer to do some leading of her own. On the way out from Linda Ice Nine the previous day, I had taken a better look at Waterfowl Gullies, on the far side of Lake Louise. It kind of fit the bill:
So we for the third morning in a row we got up at 5am and headed out, bidding Maurice and Patti a warm goodbye. Walking across frozen Lake Louise was unnerving: the water and ice surface was so clear, you could see the lake bottom about 30 feet down as you walked.
Summer chose the route on the far right and led a pitch of steepening ice to a tree. The ice was brittle and the climb, while short, was a good little pitch to warm down on and round out the trip.
We started the drive back at 2pm, on time and got home to Seattle around 11.
