dberdinka Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 Years ago, after a snowy epic on Pan Dome Falls, I decided ice climbing was for fools and squarely put myself in the backcountry skier camp. Due to some casual promises I ended up in Canmore in mid-February. It was cold and snowy but the ice was excellent and climbing it was actually fun! After that all-to-brief weekend I was psyched to try and finagle one more trip in. All I needed was a worthy goal and a strong partner on whose coattails to ride. Neither was hard to find. "Hey Gene, you want to go back and climb Polar Circus?" His immediate response was an enthusiastic "Yes" How I made the mental leap from doing at most an 80-meter route to a 700-meter route I'm not quite sure but it all made sense at the time. So when Polar Circus comes into view, my stomach sinks. It is unbelievably tall; the upper tiers a menacing sliver of blue ice lodged high in the bowels of a massive cliff band. I'm enthralled, I can't remember the last time I've felt so completely terrified at the prospect of climbing something. In the morning we oversleep, then forget our water bottles back at the hostel. Things are not going well. By the time we finally leave the car we're at least an hour behind schedule. I still forget my water. The biggest avalanche cycle in twenty years had hit the area the week before. An enormous, violently sculpted tongue of debris reaches almost to the road. The route has been scoured clean and avi danger is nil. We gear up and begin soloing the first several hundred meters of easy ice. The first real pitch is excellent and easy for the grade. The next "easy"pitch is thin, runout and tenuous. We're taking the climb one pitch at a time, thinking we'll make it to the base of the upper tiers. Soon we're there. "Shit Gene this first tier doesn't look so bad let me lead it." As if on cue the group above us begins tossing off prodigious quantities of ice that threaten to brain me at least every thirty seconds. A storm is brewing. Occasional flurries have thickened into a steady snowfall. The valley is hidden behind a thick wall of clouds. This chasm holding the upper tiers feels isolated from the world. Spindrift begins to course down in regular intervals. Together we decide that maybe we'll make it to the top of the second tier. Gene takes off, the rope goes tight, and I start climbing. The ice is wonderful, one swing sticks. I'm yelling, moving dynamically from placement to placement. Holy shit this is fun. The final tier is an intimating curtain, longer and steeper than the previous two. The weather continues to deteriorate. It's time for Gene to takeover. He heads up, climbing fluidly and without hesitation. Within minutes he's at the belay. Assuming the pitch is no harder than WI 3, I'm surprised to find that it's steep and pumpy. I've just watched a real transformation occur in Gene's climbing. He's found his inner hardman. As I reach the belay all he says is "We're gonna make the top!" The climbing is deceptively vertical, but he cranks through it and disappears into the maelstrom of blowing snow that has engulfed the head of the climb. The rope steadily pays out and soon I can hear his cheers from the top. Before long I join him as the storm reaches its peak. Battered by high winds and spindrift, we laugh and holler before rappelling back into the void. By the time we're coiling the ropes the sun has come out and the storm has passed. For the next few days we climb more ice but the intensity of those moments has been lost. Now back at home I'm already scheming for the next trip. "Hey Gene, you want to go back and climb.......?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 great story! thanks. a friend of mine was on that route when an avalanche blew right over their heads, only lightly dusting them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimL Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 You ice clamberers are nuts! Nice TR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 yeah its easy to hate ice climbing on the coast and easy to love it in da Rockies!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Thanks for the story. I enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 Good job Derb, but be careful whenever you say" the avi is nil" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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