Party Party!

Finally after some demanding and cajoling from friends, I had a house party. Tom gave a slideshow presentation on climbing Ama Dablam. He encouraged me to give my own slideshow which I was leary of doing. I wasn't sure if what I've done would be of interest to others, especially my non-climbing friends. And on the other hand I wondered if it would leave my more accomplished climbing partners bored. But I started to give it some thought and decided not to approach it from the standpoint of "I climbed this and this and then that..." I opted to give a presentation on who I've met climbing, threw in some great shots of my partners climbing and added some comic relief as well with a few of my photoshop jokes of friends. In one way it gave me an opportunity to show my non-climbing friends why I have turned into an obssessive climber for the past 3 years. And, I should have known that fellow climbers love seeing slideshows of other people climbing too.

Parties are interesting affairs as we get a tad older. They're no longer the drinking fests of times of old. Now it's more about people chatting around the food table. Well they *can* still be drinking fests, often they are about friends catching up or meeting someone for the first time. Since I do have friends and family that don't always have common interests I made everyone play a game. Everyone got a nametag on their back with a name or group and they had to ask other people questions about who was on their nametage. A person could only answer yes or no. If someone guessed correctly then they got to move the nametag to the front. I'm always pleased with how ice-breaker type games like these are so effective. It gives someone a reason to start talking with someone else they dont know.

The Harry Potter Jelly Bellys made an appearance as Mick gleefully made most party goers play Jelly Belly Roulette by grabbing a bean from the handful he was carrying. Some had relieved looks when they bit into a cherry or other *good* tasting jelly bean. Then there were the unfortunate few that got a taste of Vomit, Ear Wax or Earthworm. But it was good fun and generated lots of laughs.

With the party over, I am now musing over what is going to keep me busy for the next 2 months. I don't have any climbing objectives right now and I feel abit lost about it. If I was going to get philosophical Shamanically, I'm experiencing the void that is present before we change and move to new things. While I tend to find this space a tad uncomfortable, shamanically we are taught that it is a powerful time when dreams are seeded. A reflective time to listen to the whispering of spirit within.

Quiet, introspection is not always my strong suit so this will be a good challenge for me. Sometimes I ignore the inner challenges to go for the quick win of the physical realm. But for now I will let things be and see what happens. And hope someone else has a party soon.

Warming Things Up

With Ice on your mind one can forget or be concerned about the warming temperatures. A couple days ago I got out on my Mountain Bike for the first time this season. Deanne and Jason and I got out to Nose Hill park. The first hill was a lung burning re-introduction to Mt Biking.

My last workout with Nathan was an anoerobic workout. He stated that my aerobic capacity was great, but that anoerobically I wasn't good at making the muscles move under a lack of oxygen. Uh..... Ya I could have told Nathan that! However his workout on the inclined treadmill was a good vomit-inducing start!

Nose hill is so close I decided that I would get out there twice a week to tackle the hills and work on my anaroebic capapicity.

Today I decided to get back out on the bike for the second time and get on some hills. I am wondering what I should bring and what would happen if I get a flat on my bike since I have no idea how to fix it yada, yada, yada.

As I start out it looks like it could rain, then I realize its sort of hailing... and soon it's snowing. And Murphy's Law decided to swoop down on me and I got the dreaded "chain suck" on my bike. Just in time for it to start blizzarding. 2 guys stopped to help me out and they ended up taking the chain off for me and putting it back on - in a snow storm. They were at least at the end of their ride and at their vehicles. I quickly determined I wanted no part of Nose Hill today and just wanted to get back home.

Well, I like to think that I have a fairly good pain threshold from experiencing the screaming barfies countless times while ice climbing. But I was amazed at the pain factories called fingers as I was cycling home. FUCK ME my hands hurt. I finally dragged my sorry ass into my house, dripping wet, hurtings like the bejesus and wondering what mountain biking had in store for me this season.

Shortly after I got into warm clothes and was finally unthawing, the skies cleared and the sun was shining. Ya, thanks alot mother nature.

However whining aside, I am now officially excited about summer. Excited to improve as a mountain biker and to see what the spring/summer brings me.

The Big One - Give Er!

My California climbing partner normally writes emails worthy of novella status. She can type as fast as she thinks, pretty damn fast. But the day before I was attempting to do the Sorcerer - Hydrophobia linkup, all she wrote in her email was "Giver Er". Which is funny because she hates that saying but aquiesses that it is now a Canadian chant. Or at the very least a climber chant. But still it was appropo. The gym training had been done, the dieting had been done, getting climbing mileage in all season had been done. Time to "Giver Er"

Colin and I left the city at 11:30pm. We stopped at a friends place along the way where a party was going on and our actions were worthy of any climbing dirtbag. We stayed only long enough chow down on many Indian dishes that Shaheen is known for having at his parties. I practically filled my pockets with treats and he gave us a cheeze cake to take with us. How could we say no?

We were off to the Ghost to begin our adventure. At 2:15am we were geared up and leaving the truck in a known camping spot in the North Ghost. Under the cover of stars we started to walk. We had climbed the Sorcerer last year so knew the approach although this time we were going to have to find it in the dark. We got off track for about 15min, but 2.5hours later we were at the base of Sorcerer. It was still pitch black but when I turned my headlamp off I could see the black of the rock and white of ice, in a monochromatic way. But it was so interesting that the climb gave off a "presense" almost like a hum to me. I could tell I was beside something large.

Colin started to climb in the dark. I felt relieved to finally be on this objective. I wasn't nervous anymore, I was focused. On Pitch 2, I saw the sunrise behind me. It was spectacular. Seeing the silouette of the mountains and the red of the sky with the brightness of the sun. The crack between the worlds it is called. A "power time", full of magic. Not long after that I looked up at the ice and my breathing stopped. Above the Ice, the sky was a blue I have never seen before, so vivid. I remember my exact thought. "That must be what a blue sky looks like in heaven". Those 2 memories are worth the entire day.

The climbing on the Sorcerer was strenuous. My calves began to burn and some doubts began to creep into my mind... doubts like, "If my calves are sore now..." I banished those thoughts away. Now is not the time to entertain negative chatter. I would take each pitch as it comes. At the top of Sorcerer I announced to Colin that I need to SIT, I need to EAT, I need to DRINK. Colin can continue without stopping, but I needed a break. Oh and I needed to pee and that is always a laborious task when you have 4 layers of pants on AND a harness.

20minutes later we were back walking. We now had to ascend a long meandering snow slope to follow the curvature of the mountains. It felt like it went on forever, just when I thought it was done, more slope would appear. Eventually we found ourselves on a Ridge looking over the Ghost Valley. Devils Head being the most prominent feature. The wind was howling and I reached that amazing "second wind" place within myself. Hell I'd pay money to feel that more often. I felt in alignment and while I had been labouring for over an hour, now my steps felt easier and I was in the "zone" But that euphoric feeling never lasts long enough.

Unfortunately with gaining about 500m of elevation gain we had to drop that to get to the start of the Hydrophobia climb. Colin is sure footed on rock and scree. I don't think it occurs to him that I find this a harrowing experience. But the truth is, if you fall and slip and tumble on this scree you would most likely fall to your death. So with fear comes tentativeness and of course that makes one more likely to slip, a nasty catch 22. I am much slower on this portion of the climb. We anticipated this hiking to be an hour and it took us 2. But again I turn off the negative chatter in my head, and I remind myself that I am doing the best I am capable of.

At the top of Hydro I need another break to regroup after feeling so scared traversing & descending the scree slope. Colin has been waiting for me for about 40 minutes. But he knows I am not in a "good place" mentally and he gives me space. He offers to belay me across the low angled ice to our first rap which I readily agree. I know that in a different situation he would have expected me to solo this and wouldn't have given me the option.

With food in my stomach, some of my go-go RedBull/Water and abit of a rest I am good to go again. This day has kept me totally in the moment. Anything that happened past an hour starts to feel like a dream and no longer has relevance. Stopping at Shaheen's party feels like a week ago. So far we have been moving in the mountains for over 10hours and we are just over halfway.

We begin our raps down Hydrophobia. The raps prove to be technical. Rapping to almost our full rope lengths in some cases, raps that included some air time, and it took longer than we anticipated. At the base of Hydrophobia, we briefly stop for more food and Colin is off. The climb looks different than when I climbed it 2 years ago but still imposing and dramatic. As I belay Colin I think about the upcoming climbing ahead of me. I am tired but I start to concentrate on breaking the climb into each individual pitch. It feels more managable that way. I am sore but the ibuprophen I have taken is helping.

I begin to climb and find the character of this climb different than the Sorcerer. More people have climbed it so there are foot placements and spots to rest. I relax because I know my calves can handle this type of climbing. My upper body is fine. 7 months of working out with Nathan has put me in the best shape I've been in and the strongest.

Each pitch on Hydro feels like the same as before in terms of technical requirement and difficulty. Its all unrelentingly steep. I pace myself and don't allow my standard "no-holds barred" style of climbing. I need enough strength for every pitch.

The final pitch I really try to take the experience in because on some level I just want it to be over but on another level I know I will never be in this particular situation again. As I'm climbing I give thanks to the ice for allowing me to climb her. I top out as it is approaching dark. The other "crack between the worlds" time - dusk.

We begin our 4 raps down and I begin to notice my fatigue. Not in my body physically but in my ability to manipulate my biners, take out screws, place things on my harness. Activities that I can do routinely take longer and I struggle with everything. Frustration builds because I know I am taking a long time to rap and I can feel Colin's impatience as well. Again I have to tell myself to relax and not to blow my mental concentration when I am so close to completing.

At 9:05pm we are back at the base of Hydrophobia. We have been out now for 18.5 hours. But there are no high fives, we still have to navigate our way back to the vehicle. We start our descent down the drainage and are wondering the best route to take when we see a trail. We follow the footsteps and find they are staying high up along the mountain slope and following the contours. Which means plenty of up and down. Which pisses me off in such an unrealistic way because I expect it to be downhill dammit. And I DESERVE downhill dammit and wha, wha, wha. How many times do I have to tell my Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee to shut up? Quite a few times I have to admit! When we find our familiar ATV road again I finally relax because I know we won't get lost.

After hours and hours of almost silence beyond climbing commands Colin and I begin to chat. We are tired, somewhat spacey, somewhat giddy, oh and ya, tired, but I'm excited too. We have done it. The Silver Bullet is waiting for us and I'm so happy to see her!

21 hours has gone by since we left the car. NOW we high five and give each other a big bear hug.

Driving back home was another adventure but suffice to say that we had a few climbing angels who got us back to Calgary in one piece.

I am very pleased with how I did on this objective. It was important to me to have a sense of style, with a proper attitude and approach. This inner objective isn't about ice climbing really, its about how I want to live my life. But what better way to test that, than in my favorite place - the mountains.