The Blue (Ice) Canadian Rockies Part 2

On our fourth day in a row we needed something a little bit more moderate. Guinness Gully is a great long WI4 that we had both done before, but neither of us had climbed Guinness Stout WI4+ which stands above the Gully. Chad led pitches 1 and 3, the ones he hadn't done before, and I led the 2nd pitch and the Stout, ones I hadn't climbed before. Chad leading the thin first pitch.



Day 5 was a needed rest day.

On Andy and Jared's last day we headed out with them to climb in the Ghost River Valley. A 4x4 truck is mandatory to get in here so Chad and I laid in the canopy on the bumpy ride in. Andy and Jared went to climb Hydrophobia WI5+ and Chad and myself went for the ultra-classic, The Sorcerer WI5. Can you find the line?



The Sorcerer is simply the best ice climb I've ever been on. Better than Kitty Hawk, better than Polar Circus, better than the Weeping Wall. The two pitches consecutive vertical pitches lead to some amazing exposure. The ice was very "airy" and you could find hooks all the way up. Here's me following the last pitch.



We took one more rest day and reloaded for our final climb: Carlsberg Column WI5. It was actually the first time we had seen anyone the entire trip. We didn't have to wait to climb but we did end up taking a much harder and steeper line because they claimed the easy one. It might have been the fatigue at the end of a long trip, but it felt like the most difficult lead I'd ever done. Lots of ice mushrooms and chandeliers and a long steep finish.



Our line was one the right side of the long central column feature, up through the bulges and mushrooms.



Given that I'll be getting one week off in March for the next couple years. This is going to be a yearly trip. It's the best time of year for climbing and its right when you're at the peak of your fitness and abilities.