Dane Posted March 7, 2009 Posted March 7, 2009 Trip: Ice field's Parkway - Polar Circus, Weeping Wall Center Date: 3/7/2009 Trip Report: The 'Hound and I took a quick trip north this week. Braving the $3.75 a gallon gas in BC (but $1.79 in Cd'A) and the Canadian station in Radium that hits your CC up for $100 no matter what you buy. Same station with a Subway inside at the Radium junction on the way into the park that shut down three of our credit cards on a fraud alert. Pricks! Arrived at Rampart @ 1am. Had a amazing breakfast of fresh smoked salmon, bagel and coffee. Started simul climbing at 11AM on the first ice and topped out just before dark at 6:30 and quickly started hitting the rap stations as the lights went on. Perfect conditions, light snow, cold and white out all day. Every pitch was fully filled in and a bit steeper imo than any of my other ascents in the last 3 decades. And for once, no hook fest happening. The SHIT has changed ice climbing. Freaking Hound! I finally had to give in and ask, "do you EVER even look at, let alone climb, anything, but the steepest line on every pitch?" The dude had smoked my ass bad by the end of the day! No pictures, 'cuz I had all I could manage just trying to keep up. Wanker, ya 'Hound! Rest and recovery day for the old fat guy on Weeping Wall? Ya, sure, if you take the finiest corner of vertical ice you can find right up the middle of the flow! Kid was stretching my gumby soul by this point. But cold (-20 in the shade) and sunny. Like cragging in Yosemite during the spring only different I then hid my long bars and admit I can't climb in the cold without dbl boots. That ploy keeps me from having to follow the 'HOUND on some henious c2c alpine epic! I finally lull the 'Hound to sleep with a promise of hard sends at Hafner to give me some well deserved R&R and shorten the drive home. The "Hound" laughing in my face again..3 pitches up WW. He finally borrows a 'real' tool and finds some rock to play on. and the same climb last year at this time....with a bit more rock. This one finally kept his attention for at least 5 min. Gear Notes: Polar Circus (and WW) are most easily done with some combination of 70m ropes these days. Trust me having done it with 150s, 165s and now 60m ropes, go for the 70ms and make the decent much easier. Mandatory rope gun if you can snag one. "Pounderhound" other wise known as Brian aka "Mr. Messner" was my personal preference for this trip ;-) Approach Notes: Are you kidding me? That is why we drive 12hrs, just so I don't have to walk. It is all part of my well planned, long term, conditioning program. Quote
powderhound Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Would like to thank Dane for being a great partner up in Canada and telling me stories the whole way up. Thought it was pretty cool to get to lead whatever I wanted. Here are a couple other photos from the trip. Polar Circus from the Road The host at the hostel thought we were nuts for starting so late...but I figured hey, its only WI 4. Weeping Wall...wow it really lived up to my expectations great moderate day from the car kinda nice to have a route like this only 5 minutes from the car and be something you can start at noon. I was pretty stoked to onsight this route...I was shaking pretty good by the time I was stretching for the ice. Go Get Some.....Reasons to go back and keep plugging the car full of gas. Thanks again to Dane for the stoke and motivation, I hope I am pulling that hard and in that good of shape when I am his age. Quote
Dane Posted March 8, 2009 Author Posted March 8, 2009 "Getting to lead?" More like a whip and lash if you didn't. Key was to make you think it was YOUR decision Age? Hey! When the tourista chicks we were trying to hit on passed me off to her mother I was a bit pissed. But nothing wrong with a hot MILF. Grand mothers on the other hand can be scary!! For those that know Boseman and Cody...PC has now offically been down graded to a Bozeman "III WI3" by the new generation. Canadian WI5? Boseman WI4. Hafner? "Nothing much past M5". Me? I'm just happy owning a pair of Nomics. Strong effort and proud send on Half and Half and your other leads Brian. Refused to take even after dropping a tool and a perfect snag on the toss back up! The money piece going in... Quote
Taluscat Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 yo dane,the credit card thing f's me every time im up in canook country too because now we have too alert the banks of international travel plans(excuse me mommy can i go to the potty!) such horsesh#t-anyhow AWESOME repo gr8 pics.thank for making me relize im not the only agro lad about this. ALSO WHY NOT MOM AND DAUGHTER!!! Quote
Dane Posted March 9, 2009 Author Posted March 9, 2009 The credit card one is new on me. Using CCs in Canada might need a phone call to your bank before leaving but wasn't the problem here. The vendor made a charge varification of an arbitrary amount for gas or goods (say $77.76 for 13.00 worth of gas or $100.11 for a $7.00 coke and sandwich) might make it really hard if you are running on a tight budget over a weekend. As the extra money won't be released until the actual charge is ran through. It is obvious that the Petro-Canada station in Radium isn't playing by the normal rules. These guys are on the corner just before heading upto the park entrance with a Subway inside. Don't trust the Subway charge either. I sat in their parking lot and called my bank to find out what was happening with both my business and personal cards after using them on their gas pumps. Similar thing happened on one of Brian's cards as well. Banks obviously saw something we didn't and turned the card off, thank goodness. Which is how I found out the charges they were making on my card instead of the actual amount of the purchase. Gas can be typically a $25 or $50 charge here in the states until the actual amount clears but $100+ is not normal. Quote
John Frieh Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 He's a beast... huh Dane Great TR fellas... if I ever get this remodel done perhaps the 3 of us should head east... we can introduce you to some proper 5s Dane :rawk: Quote
trainwreck Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 For those that know Boseman and Cody...PC has now offically been down graded to a Bozeman "III WI3" by the new generation. Canadian WI5? Boseman WI4. Hafner? "Nothing much past M5". You and I both know that there isn't anything close to WI5 until the final tier on Polar Circus, and even that can be avoided by climbing the right side. The topo I had drawn for me listed the pitches as 35m WI3, 35m WI3, 20m WI2, turn the pencil, 50m WI3, 90m WI3, (final tier, right side) 40m WI3+, 25m WI 4-. It is soft for the WI5 rating, never been to Bozeman but good know it is sandbaggy. Quote
John Frieh Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Bozeman is great but make sure you visit Cody if you want a proper understanding of WI grades Quote
Dane Posted March 9, 2009 Author Posted March 9, 2009 Whoaaaaa.... I've never climbed in Cody or Boseman. Just trying to relate what I was told, but in jest as well. PC? Hell, it is still a VI to me. "The topo I had drawn for me listed the pitches as 35m WI3, 35m WI3, 20m WI2, turn the pencil, 50m WI3, 90m WI3, (final tier, right side) 40m WI3+, 25m WI 4-." This might be a bit light though at the moment (or on any of my 1/2 dozen times up the climb) From the bottom... bit of WI 2 (70m) WI3+/4 pitch (roped start of the climb) snow to the pencil turn the pencil on WI2 avi slope out and back WI 3 pitch the ribbon, WI4, long or two short snow bench last tier (2 pitches easy 4 and a bit of 5 on the start of the last..difficulty depends on the condition of the ice.) Most will climb roped for only 4 or 5 pitches total and you'll want to be able to climb real WI5 to actually enjoy the climbing. It is a decent day out for most. 6 to 8 hrs climbing depending on conditions and 3 to 5 to rap back down. A full 30 years later and PC is still a long, classic and dangerious ice climb not to be underestimated. Belay every pitch and you'll have a full on grade V WI5. There is good reason climbers come from all over the world to do this route. Forget the grade and just go do it. I have a decent topo. If anyone wants it send me your email addy. Quote
trainwreck Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 it is a big day out for sure, well worth a high commitment grade, just a lower technical grade IMO. there is lots of moderate ice, but i seriously doubt that there is any WI4 below the final tier. the ribbon pitch is too short to warrant such a grade, as is the first pitch proper (assuming you avoid the 70m WI2 at the bottom). i would go as far as WI3+ for the ribbon pitch, but nothing above that. i consider myself to be a confident WI4 leader, meaning that i should get up most/all WI4 pitches with a little whining, some fear, and a bit of a battle. i didn't place a screw until after we'd turned the pencil on the 50m pitch below the ribbon. all of the middle pitches seemed in the WI3/3+ range, but i didn't really think anything warranted a WI4 rating until then end, and even then, i thought to myself "either i've grossly underestimated my abilities or the climb is soft for the grade." since i am pretty sure of what i can or cannot climb, i'd say its soft, as would many climbers around here who feel that it should have a technical grade of WI4. just for comparison, we climbed the WW Right Hand a week after PC and i felt that we got it in good WI5 conditions (overhangy, weird bulges, steep ice, full 60m pitch) and it was miles harder than anything we'd seen on PC; even the third pitch (which i did closer to the centre) to the trees on WW was harder than anything on PC, solid WI4 i'd say. we were the first group on PC in almost a month when we'd done it, after a good cold snap and very good avy conditions. no hooks or signs of other travellers, in fact, i had to do a ton of cleaning, but it was an awesome day out. i'll have to see it in the early season and a few more times to know what the ice can look like on there, but i'd say that it is WI4. Quote
powderhound Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 The first pitch this year formed up quite different from most years. Many at the hostel were mentioning that normaly it is an easy WI3, but when we were on it it had a 30-35 foot 85-88 degree ice section on it. There were two topo's in the kitchen at ramparts and they both had the final pitch on the last tier listed as WI5. But I thought that it was soild WI4, but maybe it just was just all the leading making me feel a little tired, either way it is a classic in every sense on the word. p.s. Alpine starts suck....start at 11:00am instead. Quote
A2THEK Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 nice work boys! those are awesome classics, did ya see my partners blood on the weeping wall? he got clocked a good one on the head& leaked all over the place.Love the icefields pkwy!! Quote
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