The last ice is climbed

The last ice is climbed, we've returned to civilisation (?), to say Calgary.

Reorganizing our stuff, cleaning the car (!), some shopping, sightseeing, eating, drinking,... we're taking it easy this weekend. Tomorrow night we'll be on the plane again. Our latest adventures will follow later.

Icefield Adventures addon: The Rampart Creek Hostel

De plaats waar we sliepen tijdens ons Icefield Parkway avontuur was het HI Rampart Creek Wilderness Hostel, ergens langs de Parkway. Een behoorlijk afgelegen plek, zonder elektriciteit - uitgezonderd recent geïnstalleerde LED verlichting op zonneënergie - geen Internet en geen stromend water.


Kookvuur en verwarming waren op gas, water kon uit de beek - Rampart Creek - gehaald worden, en de WC was grootmoeders stijl in een apart hok een eindje wandelen van de andere gebouwen.

Behoorlijk basic dus, maar in orde. Bovendien was er een sauna, die je eerst zelf lange tijd moest warm stoken met hout, maar die we toch 2 keer benut hebben. Om af te koelen bij de sauna was er sneeuw genoeg voorhanden.

De gardien was een jonge gast met dreadlocks, een heel relaxte, fijne kerel, die het onder meer cool vond om in de meer dan een meter hoge sneeuw een kampvuur te maken.

Icefield Adventures #3 : Panther Falls

The day after Weeping Wall, of course the weather was all clear, but we were somewhat tired.



Because of all the fresh snow, a lot of possible climbing spots were out of order due to avalanche danger. Some of them weren't, among them the Panther Falls, a not so high waterfall over some kind of a cave that can be climb on both the outside and the inside. The outside had a lot of fresh snow, but the inside offered a lot of possibilities.

The Panther Falls cave is also home to one of - if not the - the world's hardest mixed routes: Musashi. No chance we would get much higher than one single meter in it, but we had the luck to see 2 Scottish climbers - Malcolm Kent & Rob Gibbons - working in it, and doing quite well to say.



So we spent more time watching them and taking pictures, than actually climbing that nice little pillar on the right side of the cage...

Back in Canmore

Back from some climbing in a very remote valley. Interesting time. One day of rest in Canmore & then back for some more climbing in the wilderness until saturday. More updates soon.

Ski fahren!

Today we went skiing at Lake Louise. The next days we're off to the wilderness again, so radio silence till tuesday or so.

Yeah yeah, we still have to write the next parts of our Icefield Parkway adventure, but that will be for another time!

Icefield adventures #2: The Weeping Wall

Having enough of long approaches and eager to get to the #1 on our checklist, we went for the (Lower) Weeping Wall on tuesday.



The plan is to alternate leading the multipitch, C1sc0 taking the first lead. The ice is less brittle than what we got the days before, not wet too, and the temperature is within the acceptable range. When you are standing right in front of it, the Weeping Wall looks less high, steep and threathening too. All very encouraging...


But after the second pitch, which I lead, and which has brought us into steeper and more brittle ice, C1sc0 doesn't feel like leading anymore. Following is alright he says, so we decide to continue, me leading. To ease our mind and stamina, and to diminish rope friction, we try to not make too long pitches. It has begun to snow lightly, but continuously - it won't stop anymore for the rest of the day, bringing us more than 15 centimeters of fresh snow..

The third pitch is a rather long one, bringing me on an almost hanging belay, with very little place to stand. The fourth pitch begins with some more steep and sometimes brittle ice, leading me onto a less steep snow field with lots of fresh snow on an unreliable crust of frozen snow, sounding a bit hollow. I find some good ice at the top of it, time for the fourth belay. The top seems to get nearer...

Looking up, a short piece of good looking ice leading to some kind of cave seems to introduce the final bit of steep ice under the top, marked by the small tree we have been focussing from beneath. While climbing this small tree has grown larger and larger, but never seemed to come nearer though...
The "good looking" ice turns out to be the most rotten crap I climbed on so far, and even while I'm not climbing straight up, C1sc0 gets tons of it. He tries to hide under the backpack, his only hope being a cleaned up way to follow.
I thought to make it to the top in this fifth pitch, but the crap makes me halt for a last intermediate belay in the little caveish thing I reach, the best belay so far, as I got shelter for the snow and wind now.


The worrying thing though is the last steep piece of ice. It looks like WI5 - and it probably is - but I know the top tree is near, and I've done it before. Before I start climbing again, I ask C1sc0 to keep silent, as I know even the best meant encouragement will piss me off while leading this.
Having cleared my mind as good as possible, I start off, traversing a meter to the left, and then up vertically. No Pockets to hook, and all I chop comes down. I can have it brittle, I can have it steep, but this combination after five strenuous pitches... it's too much!
I retreat to the belay. I remember what we saw from the last belay, and how the crust of snow and rotten ice has lead me to the cave, and I realize I must traverse to the left to reach little less steep ice. The traverse is awkward, my axes searching a hold on the vertical inhospitable ice pillars, my feet trying to find a grip in the loose crap. But after a few meters, I reach some cauliflower ice inviting me up, so I ascent the last meters to the snow slope at the top. There's nothing but rocks beneath this snow, so one last little challenge before I can walk to the little belay tree, which turns out to be a huge pine tree with half a meter diameter!


While I am securing C1sc0 up, my emotions are getting to strong. Is a man allowed to weep on the Weeping wall?

I am weeping... the snow, the brittle ice, the steep ice, the rotten ice, having to lead all the way,... I don't know. But I am glad I made it. This must be my most extreme climb ever, I don't need more than this!

Icefield adventures #1: Lady Wilson's Cleavage

On day one of our Icefield Parkway wilderness adventure, we went for a nice long scramble called Lady Wilson's Cleavage, at Mount Wilson.




What was supposed to be an entertaining WI3 climb, turned out to be mostly a "snow stamping" (dutch: sneeuwstampen) trip. The small gully that should have offered us several steps of ice, was filled with snow completely, only leaving us 2 or 3 small steps we soloed, or didn't even needed or ice axes for. But the height difference and the deep snow were able to tire us anyway.

The gully ended in a steep snow field surounded by a wide curtain of icefalls, Wilson Major, which we had planned to climb too. But we were not feeling at ease on the avalanche prone snowfield - and we were right about that! - and the ice was very britle. Also the still imminent cold was eating us, so after a little try we decided to descent.


I must say the descent took us far less time than estimated, although descending steep snow slopes is historically not my favorite - this is an understatement - so we had some time left to go throw a first look at the famous Weeping Wall before heading for the Rampart Creek Hostel.

Wilderness Adventures

We're back from our 3 days' wilderness adventure!

All is OK, although we are definitely in need of a good shower now.
A more detailed rapport of our adventure - I guess you could call it that - will follow later on, but I want to call out now:

We climbed Weeping Wall!!

Needed a rest

After the Murchison adventure yesterday, we could use a day of rest, and so we did... almost nothing today.

Tomorrow the weather forecast is getting better again, and we plan to get up early for another Icefields Parkway climb. We will spend the next couple of nights in a hostel closer to our objects of desire, like the Mosquito Creek Hostel and the Rampart Creek Hostel, where there most probably will be no Internet connection available.

In other words: expect some radio silence now...

Reatreat on Murchison falls

I knew something was up the moment he strapped me on his backpack & took me out in the freezing pre-dawn cold. Being not afraid of cold is in my very nature, but this was something entirely unlike what I'd experienced before.

There was talk of unusual cold on the drive up to Murchison's falls, the target those two crazy m.f.'s had set for today. "-27" they read out loud from the car dash, but somehow it hadn't registered with me while I dozed off on the one hour drive between Lake Louise & Mt. Murchison.

"Nah, let's go anyway. Let's hope the sun warms things up a bit during the day." Stupid fucks. I'm going to break something in blade-shattering cold like this. It's not like I'm not built to withstand freezing temperatures. But metal, just like ice becomes brittle when it gets colder. I try to explain this to them, but to no avail. They are determined.

This kind of cold gets into you, especially if you're being hauled up a mountain, unable to move while you're strapped to a backpack. At least the carabiners, crampons, rope & assorted crap needed in my master's pointless pursuits stay cozy & warm in the confines of that big vinyl bag. Oh well, at least I get to enjoy the view.

My masters have something big in mind because the approach seems to continue forever, first up a frozen riverbed, then on higher ground through a pine forest and finally onto a debris-strewn field to the base of a hulk of a waterfall.

On the way up the sun peeps through the clouds for half an hour or so. So much for 'warming up' the day. I'm surprised to hear the shriek of small predator birds high above us hunting for what little wildlife is still stirring in the forest around us in these temperatures.

Now is my time for revenge, my masters have stopped walking, dropped the bags. They gaze up at the looming wall of ice & start 'organizing' their climbing stuff. I know the moment they stop walking in these temperatures hands, feet & every exposed piece of skin starts to freeze. That'll teach 'em for letting me dangle exposed in this cold for 2 hours !

It seems I'm right because soon enough my bossie picks me up with an unusually thickly gloved hand & as a bonus I hear him complain about cold feet. Humans vs. Axie Cold Test 1 - 1.

It seems he is determined in his malignant pursuit to break my blades as he scrambles up the debris field & starts whacking me in the cold hard ice of the easy lower pitch. Even though the climb is easy he decides to back down & rope up. I have a few more moments to prepare for the whackfest that is bound to ensue.

I notice things are different today. What would have been an easy pitch at decent temperatures takes an inordinate amount of effort. I can hear his heavy breathing as he pounds me into the ice, cleaning fist-deep patches of ice before getting proper purchase with my axe tips. At least the heavily cleaned bits of ice make great footsteps so the whole ordeal is just tiring, not dangerous or scary. Screwing in the protection also takes longer than usual. What a difference 20 degrees can make !

We both make it up the first easy pitch unshattered & after a long runout on a snowslope I am firmly planted in the ice to play my role as belaying aid. Since my masters are on running belay bossie uses me as an aid to waist belay his partner while he is setting up anchor at the same time. This was not in the book ...

We're both silent now as we start to cool down again after the exertion of the climb. Just waiting, freezing & taking in the amazing view while Francis belays Jo up a wet streaming patch of ice that is pitch 2. Liquid H2O at -20 ?! Wtf !?

At first, we take this wet patch of ice as a good sign. Easy on my frozen axe blades, easy on bossie's climbing. But then the invasion comes. Water dripping everywhere, streaming into Francis' clothes, instantly covering all things metal with a thin layer of ice. Carabiners clog up, the rope freezes solid, a thin sheet of ice is even covering my axe handles.

We make it up this second pitch & Francis immediately prepares to continue climbing, not wanting to waste time & get even colder. More easy wet ice at the bottom of the third pitch, we're getting colder & wetter with every step. And then suddenly, something breaks, bossie simply cannot take it anymore. He can take the cold, the fear & the wetness, but not all three at the same time ! This is just crazy ! Retreat !

I notice how the cold is messing with Francis' mind & body. All his actions slow down. He's fumbling with his gear, his gloves are frozen solid in a tell-tale 'claw', setting up the rappels seems to take forever.

We finally make it down safely & I can read the elation on his face as he poses next to the frozen solid ropes. We've made it.

Next time he threatens to take me out in this cold I'll loosen a screw, pop a bolt, break my shaft, shatter my blades. I'll do anything to convince him to stay in front of the cozy fireplace. Nothing below -15 for me anymore ! Is there a worker's union for ice axes? I'm sure it's illegal for us axes to work in these temperatures !

Koud!

De temperatuurmeter in de Jeep liegt er niet om: het was vandaag braa koud! Het is hier duidelijk ander weer dan in België.


Onder het mom van "het warmt wel op" zijn we toch vroeg opgestaan en de Icefield Parkway opgereden om Murchison Falls te beklimmen. Vergeet het ijs-sportklimmen! Dit is full-conditions! Na een uur autorijden en een aanloop van 2 uur bergop door de sneeuw stampen - en dan hadden we nog geluk dat er een duidelijk aangestampt spoor was! - konden we met half (?) bevroren vingers onze gordel en crampons aandoen en met koude tenen beginnen klimmen op het superbrosse ijs.



Cis klimt de eerste lengte voor, ik de tweede, maar als Cis op kop ongeveer halfweg de derde touwlengte zit, gaat het echt niet meer. De kou vergt te veel, en zelfs mijn goede en kwade aanmoedigingen "Allee, komaan!" "Maak dat ge boven zijt GVD!" helpen niks meer. Als Cis begint te braken is de beslissing snel genomen en wordt besloten tot de terugtrekking.
Uiteindelijk laat ik Cis zakken en klim zelf het stuk om de ijsvijzen al afklimmend te recupereren. Ik merk al gauw dat afklimmen op ijs toch ook niet alles is: je moet laag slaan en hoog je bijl uit het ijs krijgen. Maar het lukt en na de ijsvijsrelais om te bouwen tot abalakov raken we in 2 rappels veilig aan de voet van de waterval.

De tocht terug tot aan de auto verloopt zonder noemenswaardige problemen, maar intussen is het wel al de ganse tijd aan het sneeuwen en de weg ligt er nog iets winterser bij dan vanmorgen. Voor het eerst zijn we echt blij dat we een 4x4 gehuurd hebben! Bovendien is onder een bepaalde temperatuur sneeuw niet glad meer, zijn de banen hier een stuk breder dan bij ons, liggen er ook in de bergen bijna geen bochten in, dus kunnen we aan een redelijk tempo - 80km/h - terug rijden naar Lake Louise. De verwarming van de auto draait volle bak, en stilaan geraken we weer op temperatuur.

Het wordt nu wel duidelijk dat de randomfunctie van de cd-speler in de auto zijn eigen voorkeuren heeft op het mp3-cd'tje dat we gemaakt hebben voor als er geen radio-ontvangst is (wat wel eens gebeurt in dit weidse land). Alanis Morissette is duidelijk favoriet, en iedere keer de cd hapert na een oneffenheid in de weg, springt ie naar The Circle Game van Joni Mitchell.

Conclusie: als het te koud is of te hard sneeuwt, zullen we meer extra rustdagen inlassen.

Picture Time !

We've added a gallery with some pictures to this blog. The link can also be found in the right-hand column. We'll add more photos as time goes by. Below is a 'Best of' with a slight preference for 'action' pics :

Louise Falls

min temp -10 deg. C, max temp -4 deg. C, 80m climbed. Total 1215m climbed.

After our little epic journey on the Professor Falls we were both feeling pretty tired so we decided to drive up to Lake Louise. We did a little climbing on Louise Falls in the afternoon. I led the bottom part (70m or so) in one pitch which proved to be more 'interesting' than expected. For a starter our 60m rope was obviously not long enough so the last part had to be simulclimbed. The ice on the bottom part was a little brittle but I charged through it carefuly protecting it on ice screws knowing that the top part'd be easy & would need less ice screws. Not stopping to set up belay I continued climbing the second pitch up soggy wet ice with 2 ice screws & Jo simulclimbing below me when rope stretch was reached. In these moments the trust you have built up in your partner on previous climbs really pays off. A slip of either of us would've been dicey but the terrain was easy enough to simply keep moving.



We set up belay & two wet rappels brought us back down to the flatland life on Lake Louise: horse-drawn sleds with tourists from the Chateau Hotel gawking at those two crazy guys coming down *their* tourist attraction.

Movin'up north

Today we left Canmore and the ACC Clubhouse, and drove north to Lake Louise, a small village with a huge hotel and Canada's most famous ski ressort near - guess what! - a lake. The Alpine Center hostel where we're staying now for at least the next couple of days, does have free wireless, so I'm typing this post directly from the hostel's lounge.

We climbed (part of) Louise Falls today, as you could consider it a rest day after The Professor Falls yesterday. Or to be more precise: after The Professor Falls approach - and return - yesterday. The shortest way to the other side of the lake is over it, so there was something reminding us of Oeschinensee today. On the return we passed the Lake Louise Chateau, where we saw some nice examples of what other people do with ice:

Our first long ...

Today we climbed "The Professor Falls", one of the most popular routes of the Rockies, situated near Banff. It is one of the classic references, so classic in fact that it has made the Wikipedia entry for ice climbing ...

WI4 - near-vertical steps of up to 10 metres, generally sustained climbing requiring placing protection screws from strenuous stances (Professor's Falls, Banff; Weeping Wall Left, Icefields Parkway, Banff; Silk Tassle, Yoho; Moonlight & Snowline, Kananskis)

"Near" is relative: after you park your car near town, an approach of almost 2 hours is waiting for you. But it's a nice longer waterfall, not too difficult: III, WI4. According to the topo, and verified by us, it is always wet though, leaving you with a frozen rope that feels and handles like a steel cable. But maybe the cold wind helped to that...

De Professor Valt

Vandaag hebben we onze eerste lange route gedaan: The Professor Falls nabij Banff. Nu ja, "nabij". Je parkeert je auto op een parking vlak buiten Banff, onder het beroemde Spring Hotel, en begint aan de aanlooptocht van een uur of twee.


The Professor Falls is volgens de topo genoemd naar een van de openers die er een val gemaakt heeft. Het is dus maar 1 waterval - wel een lange - en "falls" is dus een werkwoord. Zelf zijn we niet gevallen. Nu ja, toch niet bij het klimmen. Toen we weer helemaal beneden waren en onze crampons uitgedaan hadden, ben ik even uitgeschoven.

Er stond bijzonder veel wind vandaag, wat het niet super aangenaam maakte. Hoewel... in Schotland heb ik bij slechter weer geklommen. Op een of andere manier slaagt het water er bij de Canadese winterkou hier toch nog in om op verschillende plaatsen vloeibaar te zijn, wat zorgt voor een rare combinatie van hard en bros ijs, en superzacht waterig ijs op dezelfde waterval. Bij het eerste vliegen de brokken vaak in het rond als je erin wilt hakken, bij het tweede daarentegen glijdt je bijl erin en zit hij van de eerste slag gegarandeerd goed. Maar de vochtige omgeving zorgt er voor dat alles nogal nat wordt, niet in het minst het touw. En in combinatie met de ijskoude wind zorgt dat voor een bevroren touw dat qua soepelheid meer weg heeft van een staalkabel.

Onlangs de lange aanloop en de vochtigheid is The Professor Falls een van de populairste routes van de Rockies. Misschien omdat ze niet zo moeilijk is: III, WI4.

Daarmee zijn we in de rapte ook eens door Banff gereden. Het ziet er daar toch wel heel erg supertoeristisch uit, zo'n beetje Chamonix of misschien zelfs Sankt-Moritz. Helemaal anders dan Canmore, dat toch veel bescheidener gebleven is, en wat authentieker misschien.

Gisteren hebben we in Haffner Creek geklommen, dat is een eind voorbij Banff, en eigenlijk al in de provincie British Columbia. Er staan daar overal bordjes met waarschuwingen voor beren, en ik heb er ook ene gezien...

Axie goes junkyarding !

Ha ! I love my boss, he took so great care of me today, avoiding striking rock & stuff, even on mixed terrain. I hope he won't feel the urge to sharpen me because I just hate the way it makes my whole body vibrate in sync with his chisel strikes. Jo sharpened his axes today, from now on I officially hate him for giving my bossy bad ideas. I've added a picture of what he has done to his poor axes ... I was a bit rough coming out of the ice today, but that's his fault ! The stupid m.f. keeps overdriving me. At least it wasn't as bad as yesterday, that was just pathetic !

The crux of the day was hooking this thin pillar coming out of a steep section on thin rock. I just closed my eyes and prayed, but bossy handled me just fine. He seemd a bit ruffled afterwards though. Seeya !

A day in the junkyards

min temp -20 deg. C, max temp -6 deg. C, 380m climbed.



Today we went up to the Junkyards, which is a practise area 10mins from Canmore overlooking the Spray Hydro power station. You're climbing the outflow of the power plant which gives the whole area some interesting dynamics: violent waterflows, water vapor rising from the falls as you climb them & I swear I could hear the thing hiss a little on the first pitch.

We climbed three pitches of WI3 at a reasonable pace. A little scrambling took me to the main waterfall which was flowing violently. A beautiful sight but not very safe to climb. The rapid waterflow makes for some beautiful smoothly curved but thin ice. Not a good idea to climb this. If you stay far to the left or to the right of the main fall, there seemed to be some more nice & safe (?) pitches.

We both had our first serious cases of Canadian 'screaming barfies' in the morning. Harmless but extremely painful. It's the feeling you get when your blood flows back to your hands after you stop climbing. The feeling was baptised thus because it is so painful that the only thing you want to do is scream & puke. The pain lasts for a few minutes & the only thing you can do is just wait, so it's a good idea to just clip in to something solid & take a good stance before setting up anchor because your fingers are pretty useless for a few minutes. Jo half jokingly suggested biting on a piece of pine twig to fend off the pain.



Early in the morning the ice was pretty hard, due to the cold temperatures (-20) so we quickly learned to love the blue soft streaks where the water is still flowing a little. Later in the day these little dribbles turned into steady streams.

In the afternoon we climbed a short gully of thin ice that proved to be interesting. Jo dulled his axes on the rock giving off some small nice sparks. Either I was lucky or I climbed in better style (I like to think the latter) for I never struck rock. However I was on a comfortable toprope & not climbing above sketchy short half-driven ice-screws.

We finished climbing early & went to the Bagel Shop to feed on coffee and wireless internet. I guess the posts will be coming more regularly, so stay tuned !

Fat & thin ice

So today we climbed at the Junkyards, near the power plants. Does not sound like a very exciting scenery, does it? Well if you think away the power lines and stuff, it's ok.


After the 3 pitches of easy fat ice, I choose a line with thin ice to lead. It didn't look that bad, with just enough thicker spots to drive in some (short) ice screws. My ice axes didn't agree. Still used to the very thick and - due to the cold - britle ice, I whacked my ice axe a bit too hard on a spot where the rock was much closer than I thought, what resulted in some little sparks and the need for a file session.

I learned my lesson quickly and switched to a gentle thin ice climbing style, almost drytooling on ice... and on rock. At the end of the pitch the ice stopped, leaving me nothing else but some rock to hook on my tools, and yeah my last gear was some meters below me. Thrilling!
I don't even remember whether that last ice screw was screwed in completely and on a solid spot of ice, as indeed not all of them were. Sometimes gear placement is more of a morale thing.

Even in Canada - or especially in Canada - I meet people I know! Sean Isaac is the one who brought us the idea of ice climbing in Canada, and he was guiding a couple of beginners at the Junkyard today. He lives in Canmore if I'm right. He wrote "See you in Canada!" in my copy of his book about mixed climbing, mission completed I suppose!?

We went to drink coffee in the Bagel Shop after climbing, not for the coffee, but for the free wireless Internet. I think this will become our daily stopover now, but maybe I will switch to hot chocolate tomorrow. And the place closes at 6pm, so we will only be able to post our stuff if we are back from climbing in time. But just as before, we write our stuff offline and post it later.

First toss of the coin

We arrived as scheduled last night at around 6pm in the Alpine Club of Canada Clubhouse in Canmore. Today we spent the day climbing easy stuff in Grotto Canyon after the kind & graceful advice given over a great hazelnut coffee by the young lady serving at the Summit Cafe.

After one day, our combined climbing 'mileage' now stands at 185 meters: two nice, steep & short WI4/5 routes of 15m & one WI3 of 55m. Doubled of course, because this is a group efffort. For fun & your convenience, I've added a little climbing 'mileage' meter in the right-hand column of this page. How high do you think we'll be able to make it go in the 20 days of climbing we have left?

Today's ice climbing area, Grotto Canyon, was about 10km on the 1A towards Canmore & seemed to be a popular destination during the weekend, not only with climbers but also with hikers who like to scramble up the slippery riverbed. It even has a name: ice walking !

The climbing at Grotto Falls isn't of exceptional quality but it's exactly what two rusty & jetlagged freshly arrived Belgians needed. Actually, most interesting was the walk up there. After my Norway fiasco of an encounter with frozen riverbeds (ice breaks ...) it was cool to walk all the way up through that beautiful narrow winding canyon.

Things get really interesting nearing the end of this short 30 mins approach as the icefalls instantly jump into view after rounding a narrow corner in the canyon. This sight is truly a thing of beauty: a long dark corridor leading to this sunlit waterfall just dying to receive the gentle blows of your tools. Bliss.

A coin-toss decided who'd lead the first climb on Canadian soil. I won & I lead it straight through the middle following the easiest line. I didn't climb in great style, but with all the excitement of finally being on Canadian ice I just didn't care.

We set up a toprope on the left side of it: a bit of mixed, a bit of free hanging ice, a first little challenge. We finished the day by climbing Grotto falls in a single pitch, ignoring the ridiculous guidebook suggestion to make this a multi-pitch climb. The bottom was nice & easy sorbet ice but the top just proved to be a climbed-out hookfest.

Introducing Axie

We are both pretty tired & jetlagged so this may account for the strange tale I'm going to tell now.

Last night something funny happened. I spent most of the night in a dream-like cycle between consciousness and sleep. Early in the morning I swear I started hearing funny voices so I got up & ambled around the empty and silent clubhouse.

I went out on the porch in the freezing cold trying to get a glimpse of the Rockies at dawn. Nothing much to see so I went down to the drying-room where all the climbing gear was hanging.

No one ever talks about the gear we use and abuse. Sure, there's a lot of talk in the trade press about our shiny expensive toys. Every year there are new trends, new 'must haves' but in the end all of that is as much about fashion as about technology & safety.

No one ever talks about the soul of our gear. They take the abuse, the wear & tear without comment. So let's imagine for a moment we have a third traveller with us. Let's call him Axie & let's give him a voice.

I've added him to the author list so don't be surprised if you start seeing posts by Axie the (slightly deranged) ice axe.

Frozen Chicken Air

Soms wordt wel eens gezegd dat het reizen op zich meer betekent dan het ter bestemming geraken. Dat geldt dan toch niet voor reizen per vliegtuig. Reizen per vliegtuig is eigenlijk niet meer dan wachten. Wachten op de luchthaven, en wachten tot het vliegtuig weer landt.
Ik heb met al die tijdsverschillen niet echt bijgehouden hoe lang we waar gewacht hebben, maar ik weet dat zaterdag thuis de wekker afliep om 4 uur 's morgens, en toen we eindelijk in het Clubhouse van de Alpine Club of Canada in Canmore waren, was het op mijn uurwerk alweer 4am, hoewel het hier natuurlijk avond was.

24 uur tijd doden dus, behalve misschien het laatste dik uur, want dat was met de huurauto van Calgary naar hier rijden. We hadden een "intermediate 4x4 SUV" gereserveerd, de kleinste 4x4 die we konden huren, omdat een 4x4 toch wel nodig is om sommige gebieden te bereiken. Wat ze hier onder klein verstaan - een Jeep Grand Cherokee! - is natuurlijk relatief, maar dat begrijp je pas als je hier op straat eens rondkijkt. En eigenlijk is er in zo'n Grand Cherokee ook niet zo super veel plaats. Maar hij bolt wel goed, en hij drinkt vooral goed: 13,6 liter/100km, benzine uiteraard. De automatische versnellingsbak is wel even wennen, en de cruisecontrol is handig om een beetje constante snelheid te houden. Maar autorijden als je een dag zo goed als niet geslapen hebt, is niet echt een aanrader!

Ik kan niet echt zeggen dat ik een goed vlucht gehad heb, want ik zat met een hoofdpijn die niet echt weg wou gaan, en die pas na veel -water- drinken en een goede nacht slapen over gegaan is. Ik heb nochtans wel een tijd zitten babbelen met een Canadees die tijdens het wachten in Londen al duidelijk in de alcohol geschoten was, en ook op het vliegtuig redelijk wat whisky-cola binnengekapt heeft. Die gast werkt als seismoloog voor oliemaatschappijen, en ging overal ter wereld, op de meest afgelegen en gevaarlijkste plekken eerst, op zoek naar nieuwe olievelden. Hij was nu op weg naar huis van Koerdistan, waar hij constant met een tienkoppige lijfwacht moest werken.

Volgens Philip heb je in alle jeugdherbergen in Canada gratis draadloos Internet. Dat is dan uitgezonderd deze in Canmore! De Australiër James die bij ons op de kamer ligt, bevestigt dit trouwens. Maar bij de Starbucks en sommige andere gelegenheden zou je gratis online moeten kunnen. Als je dit leest wil dit dus zeggen dat we online geraakt zijn.

Maar ik schrijf dit dus offline, in de lounge van het Clubhouse, die zoals Marc Van de Walle zei inderdaad zeer sjiek is, alleen zijn de bomen buiten wat te hoog opgeschoten om nog een onbelemmerd zicht op de bergen te hebben.

En wijle weg...

Voor wie hier nieuw komt: Welkom!

Op dit webdagboek schrijven Francis (C1sc0) en Jo (Nonkel V) over hun ijsklimtrip naar Canada. Zoals je hieronder kan lezen, zijn we al enkele maanden warm aan het lopen in het Engels. Maar nu het eindelijk zo ver is - morgen zitten we op het vliegtuig van Frozen Chicken Air, ook wel Air Canada genoemd - zal ik voor een deel verslag doen in het Nederlands. We zullen ook proberen om regelmatig een foto te posten, maar alles zal natuurlijk afhangen van de internetaccomodatie ter plekke.

Voor wie helemaal nieuw is: je kan altijd antwoorden, vragen stellen of commentaar leveren door onderaan een bericht op comments te klikken. Als je niet wil dat iedereen je bericht kan lezen, mag je natuurlijk ook mail sturen.

Morgenvroeg zijn we dus weg, en om 15 uur plaatselijke tijd zouden we in Calgary voet aan de grond moeten zetten, maar dan is het in Europa alweer terug nacht. Het is ginder 8 uur vroeger dan hier. Ik geloof dat dit het grootste tijdsverschil is dat ik al gehad heb, dat belooft voor de jetlag achteraf!

De bagage pakken is ook nogal de moeite geweest! Niet alleen is er de gewichtsbeperking, die voor een internationale vlucht al bij al nogal meevalt, maar er is ook het volume. En dat blijkt uiteindelijk nog het lastigste probleem te zijn. Mijn twee duffelbags zitten stampvol!

Cyah in Canada!

Canada, here we come!

Finally, the moment has come: tomorrow morning we're on the Frozen Chicken Aeroplane flying to Canada!

Of course we will try to blog our adventures and maybe - if we think some and want to share them - thoughts here. A dilemma from the beginning was what language to write in on this blog. I believe most of our readers do understand Dutch. But some sure don't, and you never know who actually reads your blog anyway. We aim at a worldwide audience!

But for those friends and my family at home, I will at least write partially in Dutch from now on. See where it gets us...