Today it is raining, the freezing level cranked up to about 2000m, the snow is shit for the moment, the avalanche hazard is high and this warming has put ice climbing on hold.... on the positive this has started a pretty good avalanche cycle which "could" clean things up on some more avalanche prone climbs. Also it forces me to do life things like my laundry... exciting right?! Yeah I know clean sheets and underwear!! I'm also trying to do my taxes which doesn't seem to be working out but it will in the end I'm sure.
I've been posting pictures on insta-tweet-my-face for the past few months instead of writing. So you'll probably see a few of those photo's again but anyway it doesn't matter. On to the sharing of my life......
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| Cockoo's Nest! KHC. |
I left the west coast in early February driving Gus over the numerous mountain passes to Golden BC. Here, I meet up with Fred Giroux, my climbing partner for what I think is a pretty rad trip to the BC Coast Mounatins in May! Our plan has been to climb and get ready for our trip!
Fred and I were awarded the John Lauchlan Memorial Award for 2017 by the Canadian Alpine Club. We're both extremely honoured to have receive this award!
Here is a little video about the award:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onXZAWR0958&feature=youtu.be
I also was enrolled in a 7 day Avalanche Operations Course for personal growth and development. I finished it last week. On that course I got to meet and go touring with some rad old/new friends.
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| Lovely Friends Maddie, Russel & Ryan! |
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| Luke Spence rippin' at Mt. Pierce! |
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| Russel flying... part way down Mushroom People, Asulkan Valley, Rogers Pass. |
I little back ground on Fred and Myself:
1. We both love climbing!
2. Fred is a crusher!
3. I'm still learning how crush!
4. We're both from NB!
So Fred and I meet in Squamish 5 or 6 years ago when I parked by his van. Both with NB plates we chatted briefly and then went our ways. The next year I ran into him again at Strathcona Park Lodge when I was visiting. We chatted more about getting into the mountains but it never really worked out. Until now!
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| Fred climbing the second chimney on Cockoo's Nest. KHC |
We have put in a number of super fun days out climbing multi-pitch mixed routes in Field, Kickhorse Canyon and the Icefields. Hopefully with this warming trend we can get some early spring alpine missions in before I have to head to work.
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| Cirus Cirus a fun 3 pitch WI4. |
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| Fred cruising the M7 pitch on Asylum. KHC. |
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| Fred on pitch 1 of Nasty Habits. Field. |
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| Another strong onsight by Fred on the final M7 pitch of Nasty Habits. |
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| Fred on Blob Blob Blob! |
For those of you that don't know Fred he is ultra talented! His mental game is spot on, he can hold on for what seems like forever and is extremely humble! It is inspiring! So thanks Fred!
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| Fred on the lower pitches of Asylum. KHC |
A little beta on our trip: We're heading up Bute Inlet (one of the longest & deepest fjords in the BC Coast Mountains) by boat the 3rd week of May to spend 18days in the mountains. We have a few objectives up there our main one being the Northeast face of Peak 9331.
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| Our BC Coast Mountain adventure is to climb this cool looking alpine face! |
We are in the planning phase sorting out logistical things such as boats, potential gear/food drop, alpine climbing rack and how we can go as light as possible on our very bushy approach!
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| Homathko Ice Field with Peak 9331 on the left and 10,001ft Grenville to the right. |
Some amazing news!! Fred and are a receiving support from Spirit West!
Spirit West is a Calgary born outdoor retail and clothing company. They handcraft all their clothing in house and also do custom fitting on technical clothing. They do loads of gear repair so if having high quality repairs and using your garments until they legitimately die is important to you this is where you should repair it!
http://spiritwest.myshopify.com/
For the next month there is going to be more planning, climbing and skiing for sure and I'm stoked! Though I'm off to work in late April it is still exciting as I'll be in Red Rock NV rock climbing for NOLS. So a little warm dry break before the Wet Coast Adventure is going to be nice! I'll make sure I bring my running shoes!
Be sure to check out my friends Russel Henry, Dave Mosley and Luke Spence adventure as they sea kayak and ski there way from Prince Rupert BC to Skagway AK starting April 1st!
https://www.paddlesandplanks.com/
Thanks to all the people that I've got to ski and climb with! You all rock!
