Snowline and Girl Power

I headed out to ice climb on Saturday morning with a new partner, another rarity, the female ice climber. I have climbed with other gals in a group of friends and it's always been fun. This situation is less common for me to have a girl partner where we decide what we're doing, we have all the proper gear, we're both dedicated climbers. Just us and our estrogen. Embarking on a (as my friend Kim likes to say) "a dickless ascent". I'm not dissing my male partners at all, they are great and lots of fun. But when you're in a sport where you are always the minority, sometimes its nice to just hang with the girl-peeps when possible. We climb differently, we talk about different things and share common experiences.

Yuka is an experienced rock climber but doesn't ice climb as much. She has plenty of experience in the outdoors and I thought it was very cool that she had been a part of the Search and Rescue team when she lived on the coast. After my adventure first aid course, I had started to wonder if I would like to get involved with Search and Rescue so it was interesting to talk to her about it.

We plan on climbing Moonlight. Actually I am hoping to bag a Gr 4 that I had been told was in easy shape due to the traffic of other climbers. I had seconded it last year, so I felt I knew what to expect.
Once we got to the climb we found another party on it. No worries, we decide to climb Snowline beside it. I feel dissapointed since Snowline looks abit easier and I wanted to lead Moonlight to gauge my improvement from seconding it last year. I am assuming that I will lead the climb since I know Yuka doesn't have the same amount of ice climbing experience as I do. However I'm already thinking I will offer her the option to lead a pitch if she wants it.

I begin up the climb and as I had heard about Snowline, the ice was thin at the bottom. Thin enough that I did what I said I'd never do, use the shortest screw I have, that I've always called the "desperation" screw. The placement was lousy and I realise the screw is really only for Moral Support, certainly not to save my life. I keep climbing, another lousy placement, the ice is not super steep but it becomes an issue of how high up do I want to be without protection I trust? Finally, I sink in a nice 16cm screw and I see a steady core of ice when I am screwing it in. I clip in and breath a sigh of relief.

Now about this ice, brittle, dinner plating, which means plate sized chunks of ice shearing off. I have to swing at least 3 times to get a solid tool placement, one that I think I can trust my life to. I know I am climbing conservatively but ya, that's how I'm going to climb on lead. But CRAZY, I am getting so damn tired! I am resting on screws, the calves are screaming. As my friend Steve has said to me "it is a different world when there is no rope above you" I decide I am going to take my time and rest when I need to. It's not a contest up here, it's about me making choices and getting experience.

As I'm climbing, I see another group of climbers walk up. Yuka tells me after that one of the guys, being friendly, strikes up a conversation with her as she's belaying and asked if we were with the other guys climbing on Moonlight. He doesn't expect to see 2 women out Ice Climbing on their own.

I set up the belay in probably the shittiest position to effectively belay Yuka up. Another rookie leading mistake, not dangerous just very inefficient for me and I make my job much harder than it needs to be. Yuka is a strong climber, she SWINGS and climbs confidently.

The second pitch is as hard as the first in terms of tool placements but it's easier to get good protection in and I can tell where the climb has been chopped out so finding feet placements is pretty good. But the challenge is swinging on the alternating fragile/bullet proof ice.

At the end of the day I am glad that I didn't find myself leading Moonlight. I know I could have done it but I think my fear/gripped factor would have been quite high. As it is I felt like I had climbed 3 climbs with the amount of swinging I had to do. eeesh!

Yuka leads the last 10m of the climb and does a great job. Only her 3rd lead and on difficult ice. Our rap is efficient and I can quickly see where Yuka's experience outweighs mine in the way she does her rope management. I am thinking that rock climbing with her would also be a whole lot of fun.

At the car she displays her savvy as a good partner by presenting 2 Traditionals and we toast to our first climbing experience with each other.

Mongolia Dreaming

I sent in my deposit to travel to Mongolia this summer. Everytime I think about the trip I get excited and my energy vibrates faster. Much of my excitement has to do with going on a guided trip with Helen Sovdat, one of the few female international climbing guides. I have had a keen interest in finding women mentors in the mountains. Even female peers would be good. In my shamanic teachings we learn about the male/female balance and I have been aware of the lack of the feminine in my climbing world. It has been my experience that not as many women are willing to suffer for the love of Ice Climbing in the manner that I am interested in pursuing.

For me climbing is not just a physical pursuit but a perfect arena for me to practice my spritual practices. Putting my money where my crampons are so to speak. The active male side of climbing is self evident for me, the spark of taking action. But the receptive female side is more subtle. Being responsive to the weather, the ice or rock conditions, knowing when to turn back, calming the mind when under fear and tension. I am interested in the process of climbing/mountaineering from start to finish since that is where my learnings are. Getting to the top of anything has value of course but I want to get there and back home in a manner I am proud of. Victories come in many forms.

Not that this trip started out with this in mind. For me it was finally aquiessing to the request of the mountains and of the land. I think many climbers and travellers can relate. Something burrows under the skin and can't be itched until you find yourself on that climb or in that particular place. The Bugaboos was like that for me, it's siren song was beautiful and finally climbing up to the Kain Hut and looking at the spires. I was amazed at how similar the energy was to the green covered mountains along the Inca Trail in Peru.

I have no idea what the energy of Mongolia will be like, but I am looking forward to finding out and having some female company along the way.

The Ghost Sunday

Sunday finds me in Ghost again except now in the South Ghost. It is very windy and it feels colder. With me are Colin and Tom. That last time we climbed together was in May, The Fold on Mt Kidd. Colin and Tom hooked up in the summer to be the 7th party to complete the Evolution Traverse. Their climb seemed like a lesson in suffering to me. This day is not supposed to be a suffering event but some fun climbing.

We begin our approach up to Wicked Wanda. I am excited to climb this as it is listed as a classic. The approach wasn't too bad according to our Rockies Standards. From Tom's point of view it was long considering he had recently come back from Switzerland where the approaches were only about 15 - 30 min from the car.

Wicked Wanda looked amazing and I felt the urge to lead once I saw the pitch. However my pattern has been to second a climb, amass my own personal beta and go back another time to lead. I didn't see the need to change that!

The cave at the top of the first pitch is perhaps the most beautiful I have seen yet. I understood why this climb was rated so highly among other ice climbers. The climb was somewhat chopped out but there was still opportunity to swing the sticks and renew myself with my ice climbing technique.

The movement on ice is hard to describe to a non climber. The ice has a distinct personality inch to inch. Assuming the ice will be the same on the same pitch is not reality. I am often struck with the different style between seconding and leading. I have typically seconded like I would lead which involves bomber placements and big swings. But I am also exploring the finess side of ice and having more of a mixed climbing mind set. Apples and Oranges. I experience the worst case of the Screaming Barfies I have had in a long time. I thought I might just throw up, but I didn't.

We rapped down our climb and I knew we were only half done as Colin also wanted to climb Wuthering Heights. Now the fun begins. My understanding was that Wuthering Heights was not that FAR. I had been expecting a more casual day. Instead I found myself going up the Planters Valley and feeling annoyed when I realized how far up we were going to go. I had been up this valley rock climbing with Tom this summer. However now I had a heavy pack on and was slipping and sliding over boulders covered in a thin amount of snow. Fatigue set in and my legs began to feel heavy and I was keenly aware of the wieght of my pack. Combined with my annoyance at my climbing partner for not being more clear about the approach. However this turns out to be an opportunity to change my attitude and approach and stay in the moment. When I ditch my shitty attitude I realize that I am not *that* tired and there is still gas left in the tank. But I slow down my pace falling behind Tom and Colin but I know that I need to be more deliberate with my steps and avoid the loss of energy from slipping and thrashing around on the rocks.

We come up to the climb and my heart sinks. It looks intimidating to me. I really don't want to climb and it is already 4pm. We pass by a group of climbers who are already done. My thoughts of an *easy* climbing day are dashed when I do the mental math of the time needed to climb this bad-boy and do the long descent out.

So I sit down on my pack, eat the rest of my bagel as I had been ignoring my hunger pains. I take some long drinks, suck back a gel and wait for my energy to be replenished and my attitude to improve. I know that once the food and water start to enter my system my world will look much brighter and it did.

Once on the climb I realize it is a hook-fest and I relax into the rhythm of the climb. Indeed I have plenty of strength left and I enjoy myself. I begin to explore just how little effort I have to do to keep moving upwards.

The second pitch is less of a hookfest and I have to work more for my vertical. I love this though, the swinging, the foot placements and the power and commitment needed to trust a hold and to trust my feet. I work hard on a pitch, I don't like to rest if i can avoid it, I find it breaks up the rhythm of my climbing.

After a problem pulling our rappel ropes and Colin having to reclimb the pitch in the dark to figure out the problem, we descent back down the valley. I love walking under the glow of the headlamp and there is no exposure or risk in this descent so I relax into the rhythm of walking. I am tired but not nearly as fatigued as I have been at other times. I take satisfaction in knowing that my brutal workouts with my trainer are paying off in my fitness.

I completed my first so-called Link-up and I feel good about that even though I know I was getting pissy in a couple spots. I realize that I dislike when parameters of my climb change and I'm not expecting them to. There is so much to learn, some of it in my physical abilities but in my mental toughness as well.

In the Ghost Saturday

A month off of climbing, what was I thinking? Back into one of my favourite places, the Ghost. Stepping out of car to the chill of air and starting the familiar pre-climb routine. Putting on my insulated pants, 3 layers of socks, foot warmers, my cheapo approach gloves, climbing boots, gaiters. Eventually hoisting the pack on my back, always abit surprised at the weight and starting out.

The route (I can't remember the name grrrr). Walking on the frozen and not so frozen creek, soloing up the ice. I feel my breath quickening as my cardio is taxed and I fall behind Colin. I'm not suited to this type of movement and as per usual I wonder why my cardio isn't better. I seem to be built for steep pitches of ice where my strength can be used and I go hard with a rest at the belay station. But the continuous movement of this climb is taxing for me.

We are hoping to happen upon an unclimbed line that Colin had spied the weekend before. This was not to be as it wasn't in the drainage we were climbing. We ascend a snow slope to reach the other drainage. I start to use the mountaineers "rest step" to be more efficient. I know that my movement in the mountains is still at times uncoordinated and could use improvement.

We find ourselves looking down the drainage that hosts the Beowolf climb and some assorted climbs with the name Devil in them. We do some fun Gr 3 climbing. The day is gorgeous, it is warm and sunny. The descent down this drainage is beautiful with plenty to downclimb. We do climb the line that Colin thought was unclimbed but we realize it is mentioned in the book, so no FA today!

Giving this a go

Figured I would create a blog and see what sort of trouble I could get into.