Trip Report
Californians in the Canadian Rockies
Sunday February 5, 2012 11:57am
I had such a good time ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies five years ago that I wanted to go again the next year. I and my friend Steve had climbed Louise Falls, Professor Falls, cragged at Haffner Creek, and then did Carlsberg Column with another friend.

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Steve looking up at first pitch of Professor Falls (WI4)
Steve looking up at first pitch of Professor Falls (WI4)
Credit: rhyang
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Peter leading Carlsberg Column (WI5)
Peter leading Carlsberg Column (WI5)
Credit: Steve Larson
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But later that year I had a series of injuries and had to start all over again from the bottom, not really knowing if I'd recover enough to lead ice or even be able to climb it. I still have some strength and balance issues, but after leading routes on the Bard-Harrington and Main Walls in Lee Vining Canyon last March I wanted to return to Canada this year.

On the last Thursday in January we flew into Calgary, drove to Canmore and there spent the night at the Alpine Club of Canada's hostel / clubhouse. Except for the now-defunct Bison Willy's in Cody I'd never done the hostel thing, so it was a bit new to me. Steve had been spending time in the summer up there, so he had the whole thing dialed.

Friday morning we headed out to Kananaskis Country and hiked out to the base of Moonlight & Snowline, both classic WI4's. It was chilly and windy in the morning, and with the California drought neither of us had much opportunity to get cold-acclimatized. A party was starting up Snowline, so I took the first pitch of Moonlight.

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Moonlight on left, Snowline on right (note climber nearing belay)
Moonlight on left, Snowline on right (note climber nearing belay)
Credit: rhyang
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The route had seen a lot of traffic, fortunately for me :) I took advantage of the multiple hooks and steps, and belayed in the cave. Steve came up, and bribed me into leading the second pitch with a packet of Cheezies, that most excellent Canadian snack !

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Looking down first pitch of Moonlight
Looking down first pitch of Moonlight
Credit: rhyang
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Looking up second pitch of Moonlight
Looking up second pitch of Moonlight
Credit: rhyang
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I launched up it, and found the crux to be well-hooked, making it not so hard as it appeared; a nice way to ease back into Canadian WI4's. I pulled onto a nice flat ledge, then realized the difficulties weren't quite over ..

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Last half of second pitch on Moonlight (not visible from base)
Last half of second pitch on Moonlight (not visible from base)
Credit: rhyang
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View down Evan-Thomas Creek drainage from Moonlight
View down Evan-Thomas Creek drainage from Moonlight
Credit: rhyang
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The left side was steeper and more sustained, and I hung on a screw wondering if I could make it before realizing that traversing right would make things easier. Which I did :) I headed up to a tree at the top of the route and brought up Steve. The tree had a rappel setup, and our two 60m's got us to a v-thread which brought us back to terra firma.

It was mid-afternoon, and the hike back to the car took a while. At that time of year in Alberta there is less than ten hours of daylight, so we drove up to Lake Louise and spent the night at the hostel, which has a nice restaurant.

In the morning we drove up the Icefields Parkway to the Weeping Wall.

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The Weeping Wall, on the Icefields Parkway -- oh yeah !
The Weeping Wall, on the Icefields Parkway -- oh yeah !
Credit: rhyang
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Road conditions were a bit snowy, so I drove slowly. On the way, Steve pointed out many of the local mountains and interesting summer routes. We should have gotten an earlier start in retrospect, but oh well. I think we started climbing around 11am ? (doh !)

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Steve on first pitch of Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Steve on first pitch of Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Credit: rhyang
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Steve was having a lot of fun digging for pro on the first pitch. I took the second pitch and headed up to cave, where I found a convenient set of bolts and rap anchors.

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Anchor in the cave on the Weeping Wall
Anchor in the cave on the Weeping Wall
Credit: rhyang
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It was pretty cool to look down hundreds of feet from here and see the Icefields Parkway below .. kind of like a winter version of Stately Pleasure Dome I guess.

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Icefields Parkway from the cave on the Weeping Wall
Icefields Parkway from the cave on the Weeping Wall
Credit: rhyang
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Ice pillars and daggers in the cave on the Weeping Wall
Ice pillars and daggers in the cave on the Weeping Wall
Credit: rhyang
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I brought Steve up and he took the third pitch, traversing out right of the cave, up a steep pitch that felt more like WI4+ to us.

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Steve traversed out right from here -- no action shots, but needless t...
Steve traversed out right from here -- no action shots, but needless to say some incredible exposure.
Credit: rhyang
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Me on the third pitch of Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Me on the third pitch of Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Credit: Steve Larson
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Parts of it were kind of moist -- gear got wet, and then froze up. I took the last pitch.

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Last pitch of the Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Last pitch of the Weeping Wall, center (WI5)
Credit: rhyang
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This pitch had its soggy moments too; at one point I paused to hang on a screw because my glasses were getting fogged. The ropes were getting that "wet, but refrozen" feeling, making belaying from the top interesting. We traversed over to the tree on the right and rapped off. Three rappels got us to the ground just as darkness fell. Whew !

Back in Lake Louise, we decided the next day to play around on mixed stuff at Haffner Creek.

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Steep, short ice in Haffner Creek
Steep, short ice in Haffner Creek
Credit: rhyang
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We naively threw a toprope down on a route that looked, um, maybe doable :) After looking at the book later it turned out to be M7 =:-O and needless to say we did a lot of hanging. We had a lot of company that day, and some locals took a ride on our toprope, making it look easy -

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Half-n-Half (M7) in Haffner Creek
Half-n-Half (M7) in Haffner Creek
Credit: rhyang
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local on Half-n-Half (M7)
local on Half-n-Half (M7)
Credit: rhyang
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Me hanging my way up Half-n-Half (M7)
Me hanging my way up Half-n-Half (M7)
Credit: Steve Larson
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Oh man, that was hard ! Next we threw a rope down a slightly easier route, which had some nice handjams, followed by some wild stemming onto a WI5 pillar.

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Me tr'ing The Flake Route (M5)
Me tr'ing The Flake Route (M5)
Credit: Steve Larson
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Ben, a local transplanted from Asheville, NC leads a mixed line at Haf...
Ben, a local transplanted from Asheville, NC leads a mixed line at Haffner Creek. Good folks.
Credit: rhyang
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The locals were friendly and gave us some helpful tips, and we took a couple of laps on the pillar.

We were both pumped silly, and kinda sore. Back at the hostel in Lake Louise I was so tired I slept for hours afterwards.

We decided to take a rest / cool-down day on Monday since we were flying out the next day, and went to the Canmore Junkyards. A guide and his clients were already there, so we did a little exploring.

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Steve warming up on a WI2-3 at Canmore Junkyards
Steve warming up on a WI2-3 at Canmore Junkyards
Credit: rhyang
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View from higher up at Canmore Junkyards
View from higher up at Canmore Junkyards
Credit: rhyang
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This area reminds me of Lee Vining Canyon a bit, since it has a hydro power station and a pipeline nearby from a higher lake. One difference is that the pipeline is nowhere near the ice. There was a lot of low-angled ice in the area to play on.

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Some WI2-3 practice stuff about 70-100m above main Canmore Junkyards a...
Some WI2-3 practice stuff about 70-100m above main Canmore Junkyards area
Credit: rhyang
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The ice seemed to get a lot of traffic, and temps were warming up, so the ice was stepped-out and plastic.

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Main area at Canmore Junkyards -- a nice cool-down.
Main area at Canmore Junkyards -- a nice cool-down.
Credit: rhyang
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I decided to lead a WI3+ staircase as my last Canada route. We headed back to the ACC clubhouse and packed our gear for our flights home, and thought about how soon we could return.

  Trip Report Views: 2,717
rhyang
About the Author
rhyang is a wannabe Canadian

Comments
Stewart Johnson

Gym climber
top lake
  Feb 5, 2012 - 12:05pm PT
nice!
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  Feb 5, 2012 - 12:11pm PT
The Canadian Rockies are the place for waterfall ice!

Bet ya can't visit just once.

Thanks for the share!
David Wilson

climber
CA
  Feb 5, 2012 - 01:29pm PT
way to go up there ! always wanted to do that weeping wall.....maybe still
moacman

Trad climber
Montuckyian Via Canada Eh!
  Feb 5, 2012 - 01:55pm PT
Thanks for shareing.....My old stompin grounds when I lived in Calgary..So much fun up there...Good job.....

Stevo
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Feb 5, 2012 - 02:20pm PT
I absolutely love the Canadian Rockies,
Great pics thanks!
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Feb 5, 2012 - 03:29pm PT
good TR to a place still on the list for that time of year!
Nohea

Trad climber
Living Outside the Statist Quo
  Feb 5, 2012 - 09:17pm PT
Awesome! Way to get outdoors and create an enjoynable envy from those of us in the tropics.

Aloha,
Will
mike m

Trad climber
black hills
  Feb 5, 2012 - 10:20pm PT
Great report. Looks like you got a lot in on the trip.
Dirka

Trad climber
Hustle City
  Feb 5, 2012 - 10:28pm PT
Bump!
Darwin

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  Feb 5, 2012 - 10:57pm PT


Not my cup of tea (ice), but I loved the report and photos. Thanks for the post.
bergbryce

climber
East Bay, CA
  Feb 5, 2012 - 11:04pm PT
Wow, awesome! Looks like you packed a bunch into a few days. Well done.
Mighty Hiker

climber
Outside the Asylum
  Feb 5, 2012 - 11:04pm PT
TFPUAC, and the Rubblies!

Though the title may get RJ frothing at the mouth.
T2

climber
Cardiff by the sea
  Feb 5, 2012 - 11:27pm PT
Nice thanks for posting up. Man I want some of that!!!!!
rhyang

climber
SJC
Author's Reply  Feb 6, 2012 - 09:16pm PT
Thanks all !

Alpine routes ? Check the avy forecast first .. I notice Parks Canada even has an iphone-compatible site for their bulletins now.. kind of cool to browse on my iPod touch at the hostel over wifi.
zoom loco

Mountain climber
san diego ca
  Feb 12, 2012 - 06:18pm PT
Very good report. Thanks especially for the pix.
BMcC

Trad climber
Livermore
  Feb 16, 2012 - 02:12am PT
Looks like a fun trip, Rob!

Nice: "kind of like a winter version of Stately Pleasure Dome."


BTW: How did the Polar Circus look?
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
  Feb 16, 2012 - 02:40am PT
cool stuff Rob!
Zander

climber
  Feb 16, 2012 - 06:35pm PT
Cool TR!
Z
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
  Feb 16, 2012 - 10:06pm PT

Awesome!
rhyang

climber
SJC
Author's Reply  Feb 17, 2012 - 01:34am PT
Thanks !

Bill, we'd read Polar Circus was in decent shape, but there had been enough new snow recently that we weren't really looking at it seriously. Oh, and did I mention our super-early start and blazing fast climbing pace ? ;)
Studly

Trad climber
WA
  Feb 17, 2012 - 02:14am PT
Great photos!
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