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.