Ice Climbing in the Canadian Rockies, Nov 27 - Dec 01, 2003

Another ice climbing season begins, and Summer and I decided that it would be fun to once again head up to the Canadian Rockies over the Thanksgiving day holiday as a precursor to an ice climbing trip we have planned to Europe over Christmas. With ice climbing, its important to go get those first few leads over with and the practice top roping sessions done so you can be confident when attempting a new project or visting a new area. Winter trips to the Rockies have become a real tradition, and this year was no exception.

We had climbed in the Canadian Rockies the previous Thanksgiving and found it much to our liking. There was no snow on the ground that year, and the temperatures were very mild. True, not all the routes were in, but even so we got to explore some new areas for us (The Ghost) and do some routes that we ordinarily would never get on due to increased avalanche hazard later in the season (Linda Ice Nine, Sinatra)

After our positive experiences travelling the "southern route" twice this past summer, we were determined not to use the Trans Canada to Banff anymore. Instead, we were to drive I-90 from Seattle to Coure d'Alene, then head North through Sand Point and Cranbrook to Radium. On the way we would climb at Gibraltar Wall, and then complete the trip up to Lake Louise and climb whatever we fealt like.

Gibraltar Wall, showing the regular climbing route on the left side
Day 1: Gibraltar Wall
I had climbed the Gibraltar Wall before with Gene Pires. It had been a fun route then, and with it on the way when travelling the southern route to Banff, it seemed like a great destination for the first day of climbing, making the initial drive shorter. Summer and I drove Wed afternoon and night as far as Cranbrook, and slept overnight in the car. In the morning we ate a greasy nasty breakfast at a greasy nasty place that permitted smoking, and headed up to Canal Flats and the Gibraltar Wall. On the way into Gibraltar Wall, we got a nasty flat tire. Summer took the first WI3 pitch, starting a trend that would last the rest of the trip. I took the second pitch, a short but steep step of WI4 ice to the base of the third pitch, which I again led at WI3+ to a large tree on the left hand side of the wall. Here, lower angled ice leads to the top. This would have been Summer's pitch, but I remembered that it was just WI2 and we decided we had done the fun part of the route and rappelled. The flat tire would be a problem, as the nearest place to fix it was Cranbrook or Banff. We didnt want to head South again, so we went North to Louise with no spare.

Weeping Wall through the snowfall
Day 2: Weeping Wall
Since it was a Friday, we wanted to get on a route that we thought would otherwise be crowded on the weekend. Summer had not climbed Weeping Wall or Snivelling Gully, so we decided to head up the Parkway from Louise and see what Weeping Wall looked like. If I was feeling up to it, I would lead Weeping Left, otherwise we would climb Snivelling. When we awoke, it had been snowing hard for about and hour, but the highways were still clear so we headed up anyway. We got an early start, so as to be at the base of Weeping Wall at dawn, and we were the second car there. The other vehicle, a van, had a group of 4 climbers in it that had bivied in the parking lot! A few minutes after we arrived, while we put on our boots, Wayne Wallace and Colin Haley arrived in Wayne's Subaru. Small world! I had climbed Weeping Wall twice before, once with Gene and once with Maurice, but it felt like yesterday. We all approached and Colin decided to tackle Weeping Right, which seemed in 4 or 4+ shape, while Summer announced she would lead the first pitch of Weeping Left. It was still snowing hard. Summer started up, but took a very long time with her lead, finally establishing a belay at 50m. She had been stopped by a bit of bare rock. I followed up and lead up and left over thin ice and rock to a fixed bolt belay at the left side of Weeping Wall, part of the Snivelling rap route. If it was this thin here, I was pondering on what the third pitch would be like. At this point the wall was buried in snow, the ropes and gear were frozen. So we rapped, deciding that leading up the last two pitches of Weeping Wall in the storm and with frozen gear wasnt going to be fun. The drive back to Louise was epic, as no plows had been through the Icefields Parkway yet and drifts several feet deep were building rapidly. But we made it back to the hostel (just in time). It continued to snow all night.

Summer leading the first pitch of Gibraltar Wall
Alex soloing at Johnston Canyon

Scottish Gully at Canmore Junkyards.
Day 3: Canmore Junkyards and Fixing the Flat
The day dawned with more snow in Lake Louise than we usually even see around New Years. It was very warm. Coupled with a large storm that had dumped alot of snow the week before, this last storm had dropped about half a meter of snow on Lake Louise and points North. With the avalanche conditions through the roof and most of the highways closed, Summer decided to take the day off and work on finishing her thesis, while I was assigned the task of repairing the flat we got while going to Gib Wall. I took off for Banff and the driving wasnt too bad. In Banff I found a place that would give me a new tire, but they were busy and told me to come back around 3 or 4. With several hours to burn now, I headed out to Canmore to solo laps at the Junkyards. There I met a guide who had been on Weeping Wall the day before, climbing Weeping Center with two clients. They had got off the wall later than us, and by that time the road to Louise was closed, so they had to return to Calgary and Canmore over the David Thompson highway, through Rocky Mountain House! At 3:30 I picked up my spare tire and headed back to Louise, briefly entertaining the idea of going and soloing Louise Falls before dark, but it was already too late in the day.

Johnston Canyon Ice
Day 4: Johnston Canyon
With avalanche conditions bad and lower angled climbs buried in new snow, the conditions were typical of a Christmas Chinook and the alternatives were to get on something steep but not avalanche prone like Weeping Center or to not climb. Another alternative was Johnston Canyon, which I've been to before but Summer had not been to. I had asked the guide I met at the Junkyards if he had been in there yet this year, and he had said no but a friend had spent a day there so it must be OK. Armed with this knowledge, Summer and I and our friends Ade and Susan, who were also staying at Louise hostel, headed over to Johnston Canyon in the early morning. The trail was well-broken (hiking up the canyon is touristy thing to do) and we were at the base of the upper falls in about 30 minutes. Susan's knee was bothering her greatly though, so Ade and Susan turned around. As was typical of this trip, Summer took the first lead and led up to the tree with a chain on it. Then we TRed and ran laps on the steep left-hand side of the curtain. At 1pm we headed back to the Louise hostel, where Summer had to send one last e-mail, then we drove South again to Radium, where we spent a luxurious hour and a half soaking in Radium Hot Springs. At 5$, this is a luxury every ice climber should affoard themselves. The hot springs are much nicer than the Banff springs, and in the winter it is not crowded even on the weekends.

The Rig somewhere in Idaho
Day 5: Travel Home
We slept in the car outside Fort Steele, reserving the chance to go climbing in Bull River Canyon should the weather be nice the next day, but it wasnt so we decided just to head on home. Outside Sand Point (as I write this on my laptop) it has begun snowing again, lending a very wintery air to this first day of December.

Gibraltar Wall, showing the regular climbing route on the left side	Day 1: Gibraltar Wall I had climbed the Gibraltar Wall before with Gene Pires. It had been a fun route then, and with it on the way when travelling the southern route to Banff, it seemed like a great destination for the first day of climbing, making the initial drive shorter. Summer and I drove Wed afternoon and night as far as Cranbrook, and slept overnight in the car. In the morning we ate a greasy nasty breakfast at a greasy nasty place that permitted smoking, and headed up to Canal Flats and the Gibraltar Wall. On the way into Gibraltar Wall, we got a nasty flat tire. Summer took the first WI3 pitch, starting a trend that would last the rest of the trip. I took the second pitch, a short but steep step of WI4 ice to the base of the third pitch, which I again led at WI3+ to a large tree on the left hand side of the wall. Here, lower angled ice leads to the top. This would have been Summer's pitch, but I remembered that it was just WI2 and we decided we had done the fun part of the route and rappelled. The flat tire would be a problem, as the nearest place to fix it was Cranbrook or Banff. We didnt want to head South again, so we went North to Louise with no spare.
Weeping Wall through the snowfall	Day 2: Weeping Wall Since it was a Friday, we wanted to get on a route that we thought would otherwise be crowded on the weekend. Summer had not climbed Weeping Wall or Snivelling Gully, so we decided to head up the Parkway from Louise and see what Weeping Wall looked like. If I was feeling up to it, I would lead Weeping Left, otherwise we would climb Snivelling. When we awoke, it had been snowing hard for about and hour, but the highways were still clear so we headed up anyway. We got an early start, so as to be at the base of Weeping Wall at dawn, and we were the second car there. The other vehicle, a van, had a group of 4 climbers in it that had bivied in the parking lot! A few minutes after we arrived, while we put on our boots, Wayne Wallace and Colin Haley arrived in Wayne's Subaru. Small world! I had climbed Weeping Wall twice before, once with Gene and once with Maurice, but it felt like yesterday. We all approached and Colin decided to tackle Weeping Right, which seemed in 4 or 4+ shape, while Summer announced she would lead the first pitch of Weeping Left. It was still snowing hard. Summer started up, but took a very long time with her lead, finally establishing a belay at 50m. She had been stopped by a bit of bare rock. I followed up and lead up and left over thin ice and rock to a fixed bolt belay at the left side of Weeping Wall, part of the Snivelling rap route. If it was this thin here, I was pondering on what the third pitch would be like. At this point the wall was buried in snow, the ropes and gear were frozen. So we rapped, deciding that leading up the last two pitches of Weeping Wall in the storm and with frozen gear wasnt going to be fun. The drive back to Louise was epic, as no plows had been through the Icefields Parkway yet and drifts several feet deep were building rapidly. But we made it back to the hostel (just in time). It continued to snow all night.
Summer leading the first pitch of Gibraltar Wall	Alex soloing at Johnston Canyon
Scottish Gully at Canmore Junkyards.	Day 3: Canmore Junkyards and Fixing the Flat The day dawned with more snow in Lake Louise than we usually even see around New Years. It was very warm. Coupled with a large storm that had dumped alot of snow the week before, this last storm had dropped about half a meter of snow on Lake Louise and points North. With the avalanche conditions through the roof and most of the highways closed, Summer decided to take the day off and work on finishing her thesis, while I was assigned the task of repairing the flat we got while going to Gib Wall. I took off for Banff and the driving wasnt too bad. In Banff I found a place that would give me a new tire, but they were busy and told me to come back around 3 or 4. With several hours to burn now, I headed out to Canmore to solo laps at the Junkyards. There I met a guide who had been on Weeping Wall the day before, climbing Weeping Center with two clients. They had got off the wall later than us, and by that time the road to Louise was closed, so they had to return to Calgary and Canmore over the David Thompson highway, through Rocky Mountain House! At 3:30 I picked up my spare tire and headed back to Louise, briefly entertaining the idea of going and soloing Louise Falls before dark, but it was already too late in the day.
Johnston Canyon Ice	Day 4: Johnston Canyon With avalanche conditions bad and lower angled climbs buried in new snow, the conditions were typical of a Christmas Chinook and the alternatives were to get on something steep but not avalanche prone like Weeping Center or to not climb. Another alternative was Johnston Canyon, which I've been to before but Summer had not been to. I had asked the guide I met at the Junkyards if he had been in there yet this year, and he had said no but a friend had spent a day there so it must be OK. Armed with this knowledge, Summer and I and our friends Ade and Susan, who were also staying at Louise hostel, headed over to Johnston Canyon in the early morning. The trail was well-broken (hiking up the canyon is touristy thing to do) and we were at the base of the upper falls in about 30 minutes. Susan's knee was bothering her greatly though, so Ade and Susan turned around. As was typical of this trip, Summer took the first lead and led up to the tree with a chain on it. Then we TRed and ran laps on the steep left-hand side of the curtain. At 1pm we headed back to the Louise hostel, where Summer had to send one last e-mail, then we drove South again to Radium, where we spent a luxurious hour and a half soaking in Radium Hot Springs. At 5$, this is a luxury every ice climber should affoard themselves. The hot springs are much nicer than the Banff springs, and in the winter it is not crowded even on the weekends.
The Rig somewhere in Idaho	Day 5: Travel Home We slept in the car outside Fort Steele, reserving the chance to go climbing in Bull River Canyon should the weather be nice the next day, but it wasnt so we decided just to head on home. Outside Sand Point (as I write this on my laptop) it has begun snowing again, lending a very wintery air to this first day of December.