Alpine Artist

I'm back and The T- wall

2011-12-05T23:12:00.005-07:00

So, it has been over a year since I've written anything on this blog. Kinda thought I was maybe done with it. Surely anyone that once followed it has probably given up on it. Not that it has been a dull year, quite contrary. Bought a house, became a mountain guide, had a baby, ran a rapidly growing business, did some great climbs, biked a ton, still married ;-). Really, the only excuse is I have been too busy living life to write about it.

Well recently I was asked to open my data bank and lend some musings to one of my heros, local ice climbing legend Bruce Hendricks, on a place called the Terminator wall or Trophy Wall, above the town of Banff, high on Mt Rundle. Although I had written route descriptions and journal notes of my experiences on this famous climbing area in the past I must have deleted them all, as none could be found. So, I decided to put a few new words down that explained some of my thoughts on this place and what it meant and still means to me.

It was feb 2004 that I took my first climbing course. I drove out from Saskatoon and spent 3 days on an intro to ice climbing course, culminating in an ascent of Louise Falls with Barry Blanchard.

Immediately hooked but without access to climbing culture, let alone magazines or books, I somehow wrangled my first climbing magazine which serendipitously was full of ice climbing lore from the previous Ice season in the Rockies.

It was the Dec 2004 Climbing mag with joejoe on the cover and to date one of my favourite articles on climbing, the Sea of Vapors account by Bruce Hendricks. The mag was also riddled with the name Barry Blanchard aka Bubba and I began to realize that I was in good hands the previous season. My holy grail of climbing was defined and my heroes were set in stone.

Is was Feb 27, 1999, on my 24th birthday, that I first got to climb Sea to Vapors and fulfil my dream. It the first ascent of that season and it was a ground breaking achievement for both Eamonn and I. We decided to descend Professor Falls after our climb and passed a solo climber off while we rappelled. It was Bruce Hendricks, we felt mighty proud.

It was a year later, exactly, another birthday present, that I wandered up to the Terminator Wall for another route. This time with a bad ass Kiwi named Pat Deavoll and ambitions to climb a mixed start to the Replicant. My friends thought it would be too smooth and water worn to climb but Pat was keen. We went up with a massive rack, including aid climbing gear (which I didn't know how to use and lucky didn't have to), and a self drive bolt kit. I broke the first 60 meters into 2 pitches which were very mixed with very thin ice and 3 roofs with small ice daggers pouring over. It was the climb and lead of my life, perhaps even to this day. Although the climbing was very serious and runout I did end up placing a bolt below the final roof; the same roof that Bruce climbed when he did another route up there called Troubled Dreams. I placed the bolt in a place to ensure it wouldn't change the nature of Troubled Dreams. My bolt was 4 meters below the roof and would still result in a harmful fall, but not a death fall. Needless to say, I was still worried about this ethic and that I would be criticized by one of my heroes. In retrospect I wish everybody had a guilty conscious as I did back then.

In Jan 2001, almost a year after Stuck in the Middle, I headed back to repeat the magic I had experienced the year before with my eyes set on the three roofs, from which ice poured over but didn't touch, below Sea of Vapors. We took the same massive rack as we did before so we would have every chance to climb this without bolts. In this case the decision was easy. A 5 foot horizontal roof with not even a seam through it. We placed a few bolts to allow passage to a very gymnastic and rarely climbed route. We called it Haunted by Waters, a tribute to the first ascent of Sea of Vapors, our heroes, and the opening lines of Bruce's Dec 1994 article which Bruce took from the final words of Norman MacLeans book "A River Runs Through It".

Although I climb on the Terminator Wall every chance I get, my final magical experience was with none other than Guy Lacelle. In December 2003 we hiked up there intent on doing the first free ascent of T2, the mixed start to the Terminator. The only problem was that the Terminator was actually touching down and I had never climbed it. I had walked up to it a week earlier but it was soaking wet and only a body width thick at the base. Still, I thought this may be my chance to actually climb the true Terminator. I asked Guy as we walked and he was much more interested in the mixed line as he had climbed the Terminator countless times, including the second ascent in 1986 and a solo ascent. Luckily for all the decision was made for us. As we approached the from the left, just before crossing below the climb, the whole pillar collapsed and came crashing down. After the initial shock, Guy and I looked at each other and said "well, at least now it's safe". The climb was serious and hard, both on the rock and the ice. The aid bolts from the previous ascent were not in reach and again I had a pure magical experience up on the wall with a very special man.

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That's all. Let's hope it's not another year before I find 15 minutes to share a story. ....or on the other hand maybe maybe we should.

Cheers,

Rob

The Beta on the new Petzl-Charlet Ice Axes

2010-09-13T17:21:00.004-06:00

I have been getting a bunch of questions about the new tools so thought I would post some info. (I am the sales rep and used them all last year)

New Nomic has:
- teeth on bottom of griprest, for piolet canne
- a more positive griprest when in the large position
- slightly larger grip. ie: the middle position on the 'griprest' now fits a bigger hand/glove.
- some grooves on the griprest for more friction with the pinky finger
- hammer/adze compatible
- 2 new/slightly different pick options: The 'ice' pick and the 'dry' pick. Both are 3mm at the tip and 4mm further back and are T rated. The big difference is the Dry pick has 'torquing teeth' on top and a few extended teeth on the bottom to prevent skating off big holds.
- With the new picks you will be able to add a hammer to the old Nomic. You won't be able to retro the new griprest onto the old tool.
- if you want to get the hammers and new picks for your old tools I would put a request in with your local shop soon and then they can get extra delivered with the new tools.

The New Quark:
- super light, a bit shorter, and similar clearance to the old Quark.
- Will replace the old Aztar and Quark.
- Almost everyone I let use this tool said it was the best swinging tool they have ever used.
- Swings similar to the old Aztar or Aztarex but has more clearance and better grip.
- My 'go to' tool for WI 5 and below.

Ergo:
-tons of clearance
- Drytools amazing and ice climbs really good on steep ice.

Couple general things:
- All three tools will have the exact same head and there will be 2 picks that accommodate the whole range.
- Gear Up Sports in Canmore will be getting all the tools that you can rent for a day and try them out before you buy.

Cheers,
Rob

The CORE alpine wardrobe: by Patagonia

2010-09-07T08:50:00.010-06:00

R1 Hoody. When you find yourself soaked with sweat after sprinting up an easy section, don't worry, this piece will dry faster than any other. N face of Mt. Temple in Summer.
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I have been working (as an ACMG guide) and engaging in a multitude of harsh alpine conditions over the past 17 years. A few of those years included upwards of 200 days a year in the alpine. -40C days ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies (stupid, I know). Wet, open bivy's in winter conditions. Snowfield sprints, IE: wet, followed by 2 hour belays. Multiple days in an icy single wall tent.

The most important thing I have learned in terms of a clothing system for alpine climbing is that synthetics are a must. Down sleeping bags or insulated jackets are useless when wet and also more vulnerable when you get a hole in the shell material. Also, merino wool takes too long to dry. Both Wool and Down are acceptable when you know for certain you will be able to stay dry, working at a moderate level, and sleeping in your home. If you are getting committed or striving for an objective it is necessary to go with synthetics.

I have been working with Patagonia for a year now (sleazy sales guy, I digress) and feel I have discovered the best clothing system yet. It is not always easy to know what is the best clothing system when looking online or even trying on clothes in a store.

Here is my recipe for summer and winter alpine climbing:

Top:
- Capilene 1 t-shirt: Silky smooth, fast drying and layers nice.
- R1 hoody: offers lightweight insulation that is super fast to dry, super light, and crazy breathable. It is longer in the torso so it stays tucked into your pants when ice climbing. The best insulation for moisture management.
- Houdini Jacket: A paper thin, nylon jacket with a functional hood. Very windproof and often all you need for a day of alpine climbing in winter or summer. Also kicks ass for mountain biking and nordic skiing.
- M10 jacket. This is the most breathable waterproof jacket Patagonia has ever made....and it stretches! It is super light weight and minimalistic. I find that 95% of the time my rain jacket is stowed away in my pack which means I need it lightweight and packable.

The above items are often what I use in all 4 seasons when heading out into the bigger peaks. +20C to -20C. I recently used these exact items while rock climbing on Yamnuska, the North Face of Temple, and all last winter while ice climbing.
What changes with the seasons is what I bring as an insulated jacket/belay jacket.
Summer= Nano puff pullover or hoody (60g of primaloft 1)
Winter= Micro Puff Hoody or DAS Parka (100g and 170g of primaloft 1)

Bottom:
- Capilene 1 or 2 in the summer. Capilene 3 or 4 in the winter.
- Rock Guide pants in the summer or if minimal snow. Alpine Guide pant in the winter.
- M10 pant. Optional. I usually don't take waterproof pants in the winter but often take them on committing climbs in the summer.

The above clothing system works for rock, ice, alpine, expedition climbing as well as ski touring.

If you want to save a few dollars you could go with the Rainshadow pants and jacket instead of the M10. It would be slightly heavier, not quite as breathable, and not 3 layer but still totally acceptable in terms of weight and functionality.

As a representative for Patagonia, as a guide, and as a climber I get a lot of questions about 'what I recommend' from store employees, clients, and my climbing partners. Well, this is what I really think. Of course there are many other options but these are the CORE Patagonia items that every climber would see benefit from having in their quiver.

Links:
Capilene: http://www.patagonia.com/us/search/capilene-baselayer/?k=6x&te=capilene-baselayer
R1 Hoody: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-r1-regulator-hoody?p=40072-0-616
Nano: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-nano-puff-pullover?p=84020-0-803
Micro: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-micro-puff-hooded-jacket?p=83974-0-984
Das: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-das-parka?p=84101-0-614
M10:http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-waterproof-m10-jacket?p=84170-0-804
Rainshadow: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-waterproof-rain-shadow-jacket?p=84474-0-614
Rock Guide:http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-rock-guide-pants?p=56635-0-176
Alpine Guide: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-alpine-guide-pants?p=83700-0-671

Mike Verwey climbing while wearing his DAS Parka. You don't do this with a down jacket.
Temple North face in Winter.

Patagonia's Footprint Cronicles: the offgassing of Polyester

2010-06-22T21:24:00.004-06:00

I must say I was impressed the other day when I sent in a question to Patagonia's Footprint Chronicles. Last summer I started working with Patagonia as the Western Canadian Sales rep. I was quite aware of the companies reputation for environment stewardship but am continually amazed by how much energy and money the company puts toward decreasing their environmental footprint and also educating and inspiring others to do the same. I can admit I am a skeptic when anything sounds too good to be true and am often guilty of being overly critical of those that claim righteousness. The thing that really gives Patagonia credit is that they readily admit their faults. Consumption of anything material is going to decrease the resources of the planet; often far more than we would expect. There is a lot to learn about the 'true cost of goods' we consume through spending time on Patagonia's Footprint Cronicles: http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp?slc=en_US&sct=US

When I wrote in the other day I had a response within the hour. I was posed a question from an employee at a store that sells Patagonia. The question had to do with the off-gassing of polyester. I had no clue. Here is what I got back:
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This is from our Environmental Assessor Of Raw Materials:

Off-gassing is a good issue to bring up. Most things off-gas, but what
is of concern is the amount or rate of off-gassing, and what chemicals
are coming off. For example, the "new-car smell" that people really like
to breathe in when they buy a new car is really the mixture of VOC's
from all the brand new plastic components and adhesives in a new car.
VOC's are the small-chain organic compounds that make their way out of
the product and into the air. This process increases with heat. And it
decreases over time. So a 10-year old car is still off-gassing, but not
very much, and that's why it doesn't smell like a new car anymore
(besides the dirty clothes in the back seat!) Recently there have been
studies about the toxicity of these chemicals, and their concentration
in an enclosed vehicle, and now concerns have been raised about the
health effects of the much-loved new-car smell!

What does this mean for Patagonia clothes? Well, first we choose
environmentally-friendly raw materials. And we choose manufacturers who
are making materials with the best-available technology environmentally.
We are using recycled polyester and other recycled materials, and
designing our clothes to be recyclable into new clothes. We are striving
for true recycling -- not just downcycling. In the case of this recycled
polyester, the off-gassing is no different than that of virgin
polyester. And polyester has extremely low off-gassing potential. And
the chemicals in polyester are extremely low in toxicity. But no
material is perfect! The two possible issues with polyester are antimony
(a catalyst typcially used to polymerize PET polyester) and disperse
dyes (the type used to dye polyester). We take care to focus on these
components and eliminate or substitute chemicals that have a high EHS
(environmental, health, and safety) potential.

So the short answer to your question is that recycled polyester (or
virgin polyester) fabrics do not really off-gas. But when Michael
Braungart talks about off-gassing, he's talking as a doctor of chemistry
and we have to understand that almost EVERYTHING around us is
off-gassing something. So he's trying to highlight the potential danger
of having toxic substances in products, even product we don't "consume,"
because those toxics are potentially coming off the product and being
absorbed into our bodies. And so we need to manufacture all products in
the most environmentally conscious way possible, particularly
eliminating toxic substances from manufacturing and from the final
products. And this is what we are striving for in all our Patagonia
products.

Have a good day!

Kevin
Patagonia Customer Service
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fly fishing

2010-06-14T11:55:00.005-06:00

For about 10 years, from the ages of around 10-20, I spent way too many hours of my time thinking, dreaming, and practicing the art of flyfishing. My first job was tying flies for a local fishing store at age 12. At age 18 I had been through more flyrods than I had girlfriends. This may be from the aroma of deer hair and chicken feathers that was a permanent fixture in my bedroom. I had binders and boxes full of information including maps, phone numbers for local ranchers, fishing logs, magazine articles with what I would now consider 'beta'. Beta is a word commonly used by climbers and refers to information that may assist in successfully completing a climb. See, when I was 19 I first discovered climbing and it has since been the object of my obsession ever since. I have only fished a few days a year in amongst my vertical pursuits but I have always known that flyfishing was a pursuit that is righteous and would enter my world again. Perhaps serendipitously (I am not making any claims)today I did create a folder in 'my docs' titled, flyfishing.

Photo: Andrew Querner

Getting enough to eat and the art of dealing with demons.

2010-02-04T08:45:00.019-07:00

Had a great day of personal growth and reflection, along with a few serious moments with a great friend, Roger Strong.

Roger, a Seattle native, came up for a quick trip to the Canadian Rockies this week. As it turns out we were only able to do one route together, in spite of having more ambitious plans. More often than not when you make 'big plans' you end up getting a little less so in the words of the great American alpinist Scott Backes "always bight off more than you can chew, this way you don't risk going hungry". These words are so true. Roger and I originally had plans to climb a couple more days but "life happens" and I'm glad we went big on the one day we did have together. To defend the Backes theory we set out on Feb 2nd to do both "The Shadow" and "Riptide"(VI WI7 R, 225m) on the North aspect of Mt. Patterson in the Canadian Rockies. We got up early (4:30) and did the approach in the dark to allow enough time to do both routes. As it turned out, doing the second ascent of "The Shadow" took us all day and we ended up skiing the 50 degree slope below the route in the dark of night with headlamps and 50lb packs; an adventure in its own right.

"The Shadow" is 4 pitches long and we felt it went at M7r. It was first done several years ago in March by Jon Walsh and Caroline George.(See Caroline Ware's account of the first ascent of The Shadow as well as her story on a great trip to the Can Rockies. http://www.gravsports.com/Ice%20Pages%20Folder/Route%20Descriptions/ware_walsh_trip.htm). The line itself will never form the same way two years in a row as it consists of very thin ice throughout. Certainly if the ice was even 1" thicker on the final pitch it would have been way easier. Bottom line, if you are heading up to this route or other tradition mixed lines in the Rockies you better be ready to battle.

In current conditions every pitch was serious. We did get the odd ice screw(mostly 10cm screws but the odd 17cm screw as well. Ninety percent of the climb was protected by rock gear (pins, nuts, and cams from .2"- 4"). Half of the rock gear placements were shit and the other half were maybe OK. As good as a mid sized can in a frosty slippery crack can be.

Roger, a new dad with a beautiful 7 month old baby girl named Maya, is a major bad ass. Roger was the captain of a crab boat in the Bering Sea before becoming a sales rep for Black Diamond in the NW USA. From my experience he never hesitates to suffer and battle on the sharp end. It is intimidating to climb with him because I know if I hesitate on heading up a pitch he would happily take over. When climbing with Roger you must not hesitate. On the other hand if the shit hits the fan, on a serious route, Roger would be your man. The lovely thing is that these are the qualities of all the climbers in my tribe and they know who they are.

Personally, I had some of my own moments that day. A couple weeks ago when Roger and I started to discuss ideas for our climbing trip together I was feeling strong in the head. I was ready to battle, felt confident, and pretty much ready to take on anything. Easy come, easy go. The day before the climb, the more confidence Roger portrayed the more self doubt that sunk into my own head. In truth I haven't been climbing much at all this winter. It has certainly been my slowest winter season since I started climbing in 1994. In spite of the lack of fitness I know that alpinism involves a huge mental component and I was hoping that I would be confident going into the objectives and that I could rely on the last 15 years of experience to come through when it needed to. Attitude and perspective are everything. Fitness and experience are of course essential but without confidence you might as well stay at home. Luckily, climbing usually involves a partner and a good partner with bring out the best in you.

Then I had this seriously disturbing dream the night before the climb. I haven't had a restless night before a climb in a long time. I used to have these as a less experienced climber but more recently have always been able to sleep well before a big, serious day. This night I had several 'interesting' dreams with the final one involving myself, Roger, my wife Marion and a friggin' plane crash! That is not a great way to wake up before a serious day.

All in all I did OK that day but as I climbed through the runout terrain I had way too much going through my head. My wife, my job, the thought of crushing bones. I did give Roger the last final lead, which ended up being the crux on the route. The pitch involved two overhanging offwidth sections with large snow mushrooms that had to be chopped out and ultimately the leader had to take these in the head as they collapsed. This, only to reveal loose rock jammed in the back of the crack with equally grim protection. Roger sent!

Sadly, I do feel that I shed some of the cobwebs in my head but will likely continue the season as a self employed sales rep with an ideal of doing my ACMG full ski guide exam in April. I'm afraid that the next time I get out for a 'real' adventure that I will again have to deal with some demon's. Perhaps, obviously, these 'demon's' are what keeps us safe in the mountains and maybe should be called judgment. As I said earlier, perspective is everything.

Climbing is so rewarding and that is why we all do it. It is the experience of the moment and it is always the lessons and richness of life that in brings once you have a chance to absorb the experience.

Excited for the next adventure.

The Winter Alpine Leaders Pack

2010-01-16T14:24:00.006-07:00

A common practice for alpine climbs, with difficult terrain, is that the leader climbs without a pack or with a very light pack and then the seconding climber climbs with a heavier pack or, in some cases, the big pack is hauled.
I have just obtained a new piece of the puzzle in the quest for the perfect gear to meet the needs of the 'leader pack'. The 'needs' are it must be lightweight, simple, pragmatic, and just tough enough.
The new Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Daypack http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/86 is the ultimate pack for a 'leaders pack'....and you can get it for less than $30. This pack is also useful when I am guiding to give to my clients or for climbs where you end up coming back to the base and don't need to bring everything with you.
All of the below necessities will easily fit into the 20 liter pack for a light and tight package. The shoulder straps are bar tacked on and the siliconized Cordura is super tough for the weight. The fact that the material is very 'slippery' also help it from getting snagged on all but the sharpest rock or equipment. The one thing you may want to do is jury rig a sternum strap which I will do with 3mm cord and an accessory biner.

My typical package is as follows:
1. Patagonia Das Parka: with 170g of Primoloft One it offers good protection from the elements even when a bit wet. In demanding alpine terrain things will get wet and down insulation is a bad choice. On warmer days you could replace the Das Parka(http://www.trailspace.com/gear/patagonia/das-parka/), with the Micro Puff Hoody (http://www.trailspace.com/gear/patagonia/micro-puff-jacket/) or Nano Puff (http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/patagonia-mens-nano-puff-pullover?p=84020-0-804).
2. .5-1L of water or sport drink
3. A first aid kit aka a role of good quality tape and perhaps some hard pain killers. Really what are you able to do when hanging from a couple ice screws. You can stop bleeding(tape), splint(tape), and numb the pain(drugs).
4. Energy: in form of bars, gels, cheese, and dried meat.
5. Tikka2 XP Headlamp(http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/headlamps/compact-tikka-2/tikka-xp): I have more than once been caught by darkness mid-pitch on something that looks like I would cruise but.....
6. Extra Gloves/Belay gloves

A good tip is to keep all the small items (food, lamp, tape) in the pockets of the Das Parka so that when you pull the jacket out everything doesn't fall out of the pack.

This is what I use. Other thoughts?

The photo to the left shows the meat of the "leaders pack".
The photo below is the Sea to Summit pack stuffed into it's own sac.

My Favourite Photo

2008-11-19T10:50:00.003-07:00

This photo is of my Grandpa and Grandma Owens, taken in 1938 in the northern mining town of Goldfields, Sk. Grandpa had just come out of the gold mine and was met by his new bride. Life was hard, simple.... minimalist.
I have always known that much of my inspiration in life has come from my heritage but this photo says it best. Hard and happy.
Life is very different now, compared to back then and I can't say I want to become a miner but, it does show a certain ideal that today I have to fight to achieve when back then there wasn't an option.

"The Road Less Traveled" M4+, WI3+ 60 Meter in Ranger Creek

2008-11-14T12:38:00.003-07:00

The route follows the left facing corner in the middle of the photo and ends on a slabby ledge above the ice. 'Lone Ranger' to the right and 'Thin Universe' etc to the left.
Nov. 11/08 with Doug Scatcherd and Sylvain Riopel.

Have to say I felt a bit sly doing a new line in an area that is seeing as much traffic as this one is.
It was a bit of a fluke because I took a rock rack up to R and D (for some odd reason) and after doing that route this was the next best option with multiple parties on 'Chalice and the Spoon' and 'Lone Ranger'.

'No Use In Crying', New route on Upper Weeping Wall

2008-02-14T14:03:00.009-07:00

"No Use in Crying” IV, M7, 205m FA: Rob Owens, Jon Walsh Feb. 13/08

I have climbed on the Weeping Wall and surrounding climbs perhaps 60-70 times. Many of these trips have been very memorable as it is simply such an amazing area. Ten minutes of walking to endless potential in terms of climbing lines. A few years back, during a particularly fat season, I went through and counted 16 different 'lines' that the weeping wall had to offer. Many of those were nothing more than unnamed albeit, aesthetic variations to the famous climbs we all know well. It wasn't until a month or so ago when I was climbing the Right Hand of Lower Weeping Wall, with my girlfriend Marion, that I spotted this line off to the left of the fatter ice lines. I wasn't even sure if it had any ice on it but was intrigued enough by the 'Scottish/Canadian Alpine' nature of the feature; snow covered rock, just enough cracks for natural protection, and thin splatterings of ice throughout. This is the type of climbing I have grown very fond of lately. Climbs that will be relatively hard, without the need of bolts and that offer the chance of perhaps 5 star climbing experiences!

Approach: Climb the Lower Weeping Wall, Icefields Parkway, BNP (on the FA we did Sniveling Gully). From the top of ‘Sniveling Gully’ the line takes the major rock weakness on the upper headwall about 100 m to the left of the top of ‘Sniveling Gully’.

Route: On the FA the route appeared to lack any significant amount of ice but surprisingly 80 percent of the tools placements were in ice, often ice filled cracks. The route is a very high quality, all naturally protected, mixed line. The nature of this climb offers great training for the terrain often covered on the larger mixed faces in the Canadian Rockies. The climbing is never too desperate, with pretty good gear placements, but overall quite sustained. It is unknown how much ice this feature holds in a normal year but is expected to be icy in most years due to the melt freeze cycles that this wall is continuously exposed to.

Rack: 2 x 60m ropes, 6 ice screws (3 x 10cm, 2 x 13cm, 1 x 17cm), 6-8 mid sized nuts, 6 pitons (mostly knifeblades), an ice piton/hook, cams from .2 - #3 Camalot, with doubles from .3- .75, and 12 runners/draws.

Pitch 1: 60m, M6. Follow a shallow, right facing, iced up groove to a big ledge below a short steep wall. Piton and a horn belay.

Pitch 2: 60m, M6. Climb the iced up vertical corner crack for 20m to lower angled terrain. Avoid continuing up ice to the big tree. Instead trend along a snowed up, sketchy slab to deeper snow below a dry, shallow scoop. 2 nut belay is fixed in the bottom corner.

Pitch 3: 25m, M7. Climb the right side of the scoop to a small ledge. Once the appropriate gear is in place, launch over the first of 2 overhanging bulges with surprisingly good tool placements and good opportunities for gear. Belay on lower angled terrain, off ice screws. Rock gear can be found if the ice is too rotten.

Pitch 4: 60m, M6. Start with 20m of dry tooling up to a left leaning, right facing corner. Follow this, with funky mixed climbing and a spectacular ice climbing exit to the top of the wall. Ice screw belay.

Every pitch has amazing quality....if you’re into this kinda thing! Jon and I both agree it is one of the best winter routes we’ve ever done.

Cheers,
Rob O.

New Route on NW Face of Mt. Bell

2007-11-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Had another great day out recently. This alpine crag climbing is really fun and these routes are a dime a dozen here in the Canadian Rockies. After a couple good routes early season I may now be ready for a winter of skiing. I am off to do my ACMG Assistant ski guide traning and exam this winter.

"Zeitgeist (german for "The spirit of a Generation)"

IV+ 530m M7- WI5R

FA: Rob Owens, Steve Holeczi. Nov. 8 /2007

Rack:10 screwsNuts/ Cams to 3" with double .75/1/26 pins mostly KBs, Bird beaks, ice hooks, 12 draws.

High quality quartzite mixed climbing. It took us 2 attempts and there is a lot of snow clearing on the pitches so bring lots of gloves.

Approach via Taylor Lake which is 9 kms west of Castle Junction. 2.5hrs to base.

P1-WI4 60m (2 nut fixed belay).

P2-4 -150m snow up the gully with short mixed steps.

P5-WI4+ 55m Beautiful narrow Scottish snice corner to belay behind pillar.

P6-M6+ 30m Short but steep drytooling around fragile pillar. Belay in alcove.

P7-M7-WI5 30m Excellent and sustained pitch on right wall. Crux is traversing back left to fixed 2 nut belay.

P8-M6+WI5R 55m Awesome pitch through mixed roofs to steep veneer protected by cams.

P9-10 80m of snow and M4 scratchy terrain.
P11-M5 30m Super positive, steep, well protected dry tooling to ridge

P12-M4 40m Climb up into obvious alley-way around corner to ridge.

We rapped the route. Most of the anchors would now be covered in snow.

New Alpine route on unclimbed(?) Peak up Chickadee Valley

2007-11-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

“Owens/Walsh” on the North Face of "Mt. MOG" 2680 Meters,

IV+, M6+, A1, 600 Meters(of elevation gain),

October 26th/2007.

Chickadee Valley is just on the BC side of the continental divide more or less opposite the Stanley Headwall valley. I first noticed this peak/face while ski touring last spring. The line looked great in the spring but there would have been a lot more snow to deal with and the climb would likely have taken a lot longer.

An awesome day, ice splatterings on every pitch but only 2 ice screws used on the entire route. A couple hard pitches with lots of easier mixed(m4)inbetween which allowed us to get to the top and down in 16 hours. Snow conditions were perfect...neve in places!

I think this style of alpine climbing ie: lesser known, lower elevation peaks with still decent sized faces, is really catching on up here. For many of the still active but seasoned veterans of the M-generation this is a great alternative to bolting yet another mixed route. It hones the skills for bigger alpine walls as it involves climbing in committing situations (in winter like conditions, remote areas, run outs etc, short days)

We aided on short section to keep the pace. It would have gone free at a short but very physical M8ish(overhanging, arcing roof corner crack with decent gear but no feet to start)

After doing considerable research to see if the peak had been climbed we figure it hadn't and called the peak Mt. MOG. 'MOG' stands for Man of Girth of which Eamonn and I both are. Can also stand for 'Part man, part dog".

Decent involved down climbing and one rappel to the south side of the peak and then we decended the drainage to the east (involving exposed down climbing and one short rappel). I think we should have gone down a couloir on the west side of the peak.
Rack= 6 pins (blades to baby angle), the upper two sizes of BD peckers(amazing in thin, ice filled, or expanding cracks and flakes, my new favorite gear for Rockies alpine climbing), 8 nuts(full size range), cams from .5" to 3" ( a #4 Camalot would be useful a couple times but we did without). Worth Doing. The Second crux M6+ pitch. Awesome!

An Excerize in Pragmatic Living on the Bugs to Rogers

2007-05-07T17:40:00.000-06:00

I recently completed my first significant ski traverse with some great friends. Daryl Ross, Mike Stuart, Sean Isaac and I flew into the CMH Bugaboo Lodge on April 21 and traversed the Purcell and southern Selkirk mountain ranges to finish in Rogers Pass on April 26.

Photo: Mike Stuart skiing on the Vowell Glacier with the Howser Spires in the background.

We set out to do the trip in 5 to 6 days. The traverse has been done in around 3 or4 days before by a strong team of skiers and mountaineers from Golden. The average time to complete the traverse was somewhere between 10 and 15 days. Having done big trips before I was quite familiar with the idea of going hard, day after day, with short nights and a pragmatic approach to managing terrain. You go when ever you can, human and mountain conditions pending. I loved the idea of getting through the challenging terrain as fast as possible with a team of great friends with relatively diverse backgrounds.

Daryl was the self professed 'wild card'. I have known Daryl for a long time. He is an ex-National team teli ski racer, has an 'off the couch' physique like Lance Armstrong, and his best asset, and ex-tree planter of 6 or more years. The catch; Daryl had never winter camped before! Skiing across the Vowell glacier mid way through the first day was a pretty humerous/humbling time to find out that one of your team members was using the Bugs to Rogers pass traverse to learn how to winter camp. Good thing the group had a good sense of humour.

Sean, Mike and I are really all pretty much in the same boat. We are all climbers at heart but with the idea of becoming ski guides one day we are all pretending to be skiers for a couple seasons. Admittedly we may in fact all be becoming skiers at heart but please don’t tell out sponsors (or in Mike’s case, his wife Kris). As the saying goes the most dangerous situation you can put yourself in is out in the mountains with a bunch of “guides” as everyone thinks the other guy/guide is the one doing the thinking and then of course there is the small ‘guide ego factor’. In the big picture, if Daryl only knew what he may have been getting himself into his humour may not have been so accepting.

Day 1, 15 hours of skiing, 1240 m down, 2300m up, 5 hours sleep.
Day 2, 14.5 hours of skiing, 2630 m down, 1924 m up, 5 hours sleep.
Day 3, 10.5 hours of skiing, 2030m down, 2100m up, 6 hours sleep.
Day 4, 16 hours skiing, 1670m down, 2440m down, 4.5 hours sleep.
Day 5, 14 hours skiing, Sean flys out mid day, 2500m down, 1400m up, 5 hours sleep.
Day 6, 18 hours skiing, 2580m down, 2270 m up. To the car at 12 midnight.

We had 4 days of great weather with clear skies, good overnight freezing, and generally fast travel. Day 4 and 6 were done in mostly ‘white out’ weather and these days took their toll. The travel was slow these days as it was often over glaciers which required extra care in order to avoid skiing into crevasses.

Sean was unfortunately unable to complete the traverse and was evacuated with the help of a helicopter on the 5th day at the McMurdo Hut. No doubt the long days endured combined with short nights and challenging terrain take a toll on mind and body. Thankfully Sean lasted the 5 days required to allow this trip to be used as one of his “long ski tours” in his application for the ACMG ski guide program.

I can honestly say that this was one of the best trips of my life. I have never covered so much terrain in one trip and have a new appreciation for the big ski tours that are commonly being done. What is even more amazing is to think of doing these tours back in the i970’s with old gear, no beta from previous teams, and no communication available without Sat phones or radio contact with the many ski lodges that operate throughout the terrain. No helicopter evacuations back then!

I will definitely do more of this. Thanks boys!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, thanks to Marc Piche and Gery Untersinger of the CMH Bugaboos and Bobbie Burns lodges. Marc assisted in arranging flights for us into the Bugaboo lodge and Gery aided us in placing a cache at the head of Malachite creek.

Canadian Alpinist is Live!

2007-05-07T17:31:00.000-06:00

Over the past year I have slowly been working to get www.canadianalpinist.com also known as www.robowensguiding.com , live and running.
With the amazing help from Michael Grahame in Calgary (web design support), Marion Worm (artistic support), and Kevin Dyck from Bow Valley Computers the project is finally complete. As with any site it will be improved upon and added to frequently. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Michael, Marion, and Kevin for all your patience and support.
Also, thankyou to all the photographers that have graciously allowed me to present their art work in the 'images section' of the web site.

Regards,

Rob

Climbing Film coming to Canmore- HG Productions

2007-05-06T15:25:00.000-06:00

My friends Chris Alstrin and Alex Lavigne have put together a multi faceted climbing film called 'Higher Ground' that will have its Canadian Preimier in Canmore on June 7th and the Canmore High School. Check out www.hg-productions.com for more info.

The movie includes many Canadian climbers and many live right here in Canmore. The chapter I am most looking forward to seeing is on 'Andrew Querner' and details his life as an artistically focus climber and photographer.

Scott Semple and I are in a chapter that was supposed to be on an alpine climbing. Well, we failed every time the camera was brought out but somehow the boys still made a chapter work that includes photos of alpine climbing with voice over. Should be interesting and hopefully doesn't focus on our failures too much :).

A fun night out for sure!
Rob

The Town Chute

2007-04-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

Above: Looking at the town chute from my office. Just left of the street light.

Above: Sean Easton at the top of the chute in January.

Skiing in the Canadian Rockies can be great..(?)... in the spring when the snow finally looses it's 'bottomless sugar' nature ..... at higher elevations on the West side of the continental divide.... in Kananaskis Country after a good but rare 'upslope storm'.... and then once every 5 years or so we have a pretty descent year all season. This season was one of those years. It snowed enough in the early season (Oct and Nov) that the snow pack was thick enough and did not rot out as much from the cold, dry December days as it usually does.

Myself, on the other hand, mostly missed the good conditions of the season. Busy with ice guiding, office slogging, and the odd day out climbing myself I didn't get to take full advantage of the ski season. Notably though it was my best year for skiing but that isn't saying much.

The rate of 'climbers going skiing' this season would have been considered disgraceful in previous years! It used to be that a 'Canmore ice climber' would never live it down if they were caught going out skiing for 'fun' instead of suffering on another ice or winter alpine climb. We are supposed to ski for approaches to ice climbs only! Hell, none of us even owned ski boots in the past seasons. In the words of local legendary ice climbers: 1) "I do not ski recreationally" Eamonn Walsh 2) "Skiing. It just isn't climbing!" Barry Blanchard.

This is sure sign that the world is going to shit. Even the 'Canadian Rockies ice climber' is so sick of suffering that they have taken up skiing. I have found a solution. When I go skiing I pick the day and objective that will have the worst conditions. The snow should be shallow, hard (old avalanche debris is ideal), and the steeper the better.

With this in mind I can recommend the 'Town Chute'. This is the couloir towering above the quaint little mountain town we all know as Canmore. I look at the beautiful 'line' everyday from my office window..isn't that so nice! It is the perfect way to start a day spent in the office.

I made my way up the backside of Ha ling to ski the line back to town twice this year and both times it sucked! The first was in January when there wasn't nearly enough snow to make for fun. The second was last week just after a huge avalanche cycle had wiped out all the good snow. I timed things perfectly and can proudly say I was not skiing for fun.

Skiing can be as sadistic as climbing.

If you can actually admit that you ski for fun then I have heard that you can have good skiing in the town chute if you choose the right conditions :).

ACC Ghost River Rock Climbing Camp

2007-04-11T11:52:00.000-06:00

http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/activities/summer/rock.html

This Summer Sean Isaac, Dave Dornian, and I are running a rock climbing camp for the Alpine Club of Canada based in the Ghost River area and Bow Valley of Alberta. This will be an unforgettable trip taking place in to of the most beautiful and rewarding climbing areas in Canada.

Whether you are looking for classic long limestone multi-pitch climbs, specific lessons in leading rock climbs or rock rescue...., or are looking to increase your skill as a sport climber we have the ability to suit your needs with this camp.

See the link for more details and/or please inquire with me on the nature of the trip. We still have space and already have a great crew of people involved.

Hope to see you out this summer.

Rob

A Season of Opportunity

2007-03-31T21:23:00.000-06:00

Early spring has got to be the best times of year. The energy of the lengthening days, the sun, and more than anything the variety. Last week in Canmore I personally went ski touring, ice climbing, and rock climbing. I know others that had good times fly fishing, trail running, road biking, and mountain biking as well. The spring for me is the time to look at the longer routes. The snow is starting to consolidate and provide support, the avalanche cycles are more predictable, and the days are long enough to actually get some stuff done without bivying.
So, should I get some time off of work I will be looking to get out for long days ski touring and in the alpine.
The following is a list of moderate mixed alpine routes that are certainly worthy of a spring ascent when the right conditions present themselves:
Asteroid Alley, Mt. Andromeda
Shooting Gallery, Mt. Andromeda
Side Street, Little Snowdome
Andromeda Strain, Andromeda
The Slawinski/Takeda, Athabasca
Humble Horse, Diadem

This a small list of regular performers. The perfect conditions that you need to look for are a nice cold night after a previously warm spell. If the routes is exposed to sun or if it warms too much during the day than cornice failure and avalanches are a big concern. Plan to get up and off the routes early and fast.

Can't wait for the next day out!

New Mixed Routes in Ghost

2007-01-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

A while back (early January) I had a great day out with my close friend Roger Strong from Seattle. Roger had a couple of broken ribs and sucked up the pain to join a brother out in the hills. Haven't used the drill in 4 years or so. Forgot how much fun creating a sport route can be.

Details below:

FYI,
Roger and I did a new route and fixed up an older bolt line in the Ghost....
Both are quite high quality and bolted well. See photos.

We did two lines to the left of Candlestick Maker and right of the
Hooker. The one on the left (direct) had 5 existing bolts, the last having a bail biner. Not sure if this variation was completed but if it was, this year the ice was higher. We added 3 more to reach the ice,
cleaned the shit out of it and redpointed in at M7. Starts with an easy
but thin vertical ice smear for 3 meters, then a crux leaving the bench
after that to pass the 2nd bolt. Grade 4 ice to finish to a V-thread.
Until someone speaks up we could call this one:
"The Unknown" M7,25m

The other pitch is a stellar 8+ that starts in the
obvious seem 8m to the right. Pull through two powerful bulges to gain
delicate face moves and blobs of ice to join the other route at it's 5th
bolts (8 bolts total to the ice).
"The Berger" M8+, 25m

These routes are worth dooing and can be linked up with some great ice routes.

Cheers,
Rob

Journal from my time on the Infinite Spur in 2001

2007-01-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

I was just today going through a file on my computer of 'things I've written'. I came across a word document that I had transcribed from my journal notes of when I was on a route called The Infinite Spur on Mt. Foraker in Alaska in 2001. The notes here are quite personal but kinda interesting to read (for me anyway). We were on the route during a storm cycle and to this day it was the most committed I have ever felt. It was truely a life changing experience. Just this past spring Karen Mcneil and Sue Nott went missing on this route in a storm, never to be seen again. This loss makes reading my old journal notes seem that much more heart felt. Note that the original notes I took were with a dull pencil, on to small soggy pieces of paper...I'm pretty sure I still have those notes hidden away somewhere. Also, note that the journal entries stopped before we finished the route.

Photo: Copyright Eamonn Walsh. Rob O on the knife edge traverse high on The Infinite Spur.

ON THE INFINITE SPUR, (original unedited)

May,17, 2001(written on May 18th)
Ran into Barry shortly before we left for the Infinite Spur. Several laughs later we took off, on skis, for our adventure.
Day 1 involved extensive skiing on mainly level ground with the odd steep uphill and steep downhill where we would put the contents of our sleds on our backs. NOT FUN! The terrain was fairly benevolent to begin and proceeded to become more open as we approached the base of the 1000’ couloir that, …….. blocked our way to the route., We ditched our ski’s at the base of the right hand couloir only to find out that we needed to climb the gully to the left. The gully was not very steep but had crappy isothermic snow and several large snow mushrooms that towered over. We waited for cooler temps and then headed to the top, where we camped for the night. All day I was pretty nervous about the route and had second thoughts about doing it. It is so damn remote. 10 hour day.
Day 2. We woke at 7 am and were off by 9am. Down the ridge,…., across a glacier, up another snow ridge, and then down to the glacier at the base of the route. 2.5 hours. While brewing up at the base it started to snow it started to snow. The mountains began to roar. I cut into the meaty part of my plan with the blade of my knife. DUMBASS! 1pm we rested in the tents and waited for the mountains to settle and for my wound to close. I am worried about infection. We’ll see by tomorrow. The weather could go either way. I got ahold of Lisa at base camp today (cell phone) and got a forecast. Cloudy with light snow for the next 2 days. 2.5 hours
Day 3. May 19th- Up at 11pm (on the 18th), climbing by 12:30. The first challenge of the day was the bergshrund, We had to cross it below the serac fed gully right of our route. We then traversed into our gully and started up the estimated 1200- 1500 foot snow slope. This took 2 hours. It was quite dark and clear ….. We then did 7 pitches of mixed climbing. All the pitches were quite difficult (5.8) and at times a wee bit runout. There was a lot of snow covering the cracks i.e.: lots of digging. We ended climbing at 1:30pm on a snow ridge below the ice rib. We spent about an hour chopping a tent ledge. We assume we are at 10,500. We called B.C. for a forecast and it is calling for clouds, snow and wind. Tomorrow should be o.k. 13 hours.
Day 4. May 20th- Had a good rest last night, accept for the bumps. Took a while to get ready and we finally started climbing, in nice weather at 6:30am. Eamonn led up snow and ice for 5 pitches, all of which were simu-climbed. The last part of this MEGA pitch was run out and quite difficult. I wasn’t too happy with Eamonn for taking this choice for us and I think he understood. I then led one pitch of mixed with a lot of snow covered rock. Eamonn then took off again on a mega simu- climb over easy snow that established us on the Ice Ridge. The weather was shitty again with wet snow and very low visibility. We decided to chop a ledge for our tent and wait for better weather. The chopping was easy and didn’t hit ice. Mainly just icy snow. In total 6 hours of climbing that gained us 1,100 ft. Not the most productive day but will allow for acclimatization and preparation for a big day when the weather gets better. The “Ice Ridge” will gain us 3,000feet in elevation and we will probably do it in a day. It will most likely involve simu-climbing with no protection except your partner jumping over the other side.
Day 5. May 21st- Up at 9pm to good weather so we start up (at 11pm). By the time we got to the end of the rib it was 9am. We brewed up for a couple of hours and then started up more mixed terrain. Oh ya, the climbing on the “ice rib” went well. No pro but safe snow. After the ice ridge we took a gully straight up the rock buttress. I think it was 5 pitches of fairly difficult mixed terrain that popped us below the “horizontal ridge”. Several hours of chopping provided us with the worst ledge I have ever seen. We used it and managed to get some sleep only b/c we were so tired. Note: I think we stopped climbing around 4 PM) 15 hours of climbing .
Day 6. May 22nd- Up at 7:15am with o.k. weather. The forecast is for bad weather but every morning seems to be o.k. with conditions deteriorating later in the day. This day involved a lot of shoveling and stress. It took 13 hours to climb the snow ridge. Only once in those 13 hours did take off my pack. The ridge consisted of storm snow over an old base. We shared leads of shoveling off the top of the ridge, to enable a better path. The only protection was the other climber jumping off the other side. Not a great scenario considering the ‘other side’ was mostly steep rock. At one point, with practically no terrain between Eamonn and I, I nearly fell off as a slab broke away from the ridge! A final mixed pitch took us to an amazing ledge atop a ridge, below a serac. I had less then a liter of water all day and needed rest badly. I believe this is at 15,000ft and the end of the technical climbing. I do have a badly frost nipped finger form the past 2 days of snow wallowing.
Day 7. May 23rd- Up at 8am. I slept well. Still feeling a bit dehydrated though and I’m worried about my finger. Should summit BUT!! We packed all out stuff and pulled the plug at the last minute. Eamonn is feeling sick and needs time to either acclimatize or rest. Tent day. The weather isn’t so great anyway (snow and wind). I phoned b.c. and forecast is scary but it has been the whole time. We have 5 days of food left. Hopefully tomorrow!!!!
Still Day 7. 5:42pm- We just prepared to go but the snow picked up again. GRIM! I’m scared. The forecast is bad, we have avalanche prone slopes the rest of the way to the summit, I have a finger very nearly frostbitten. I have no mitts, only gloves. Eamonn is not feeling too strong but better. If we wait 4 days until the storms ‘may’ stop the slopes may be even more prone to sliding. My will to live is strong! So many things to look forward to: family, being with loved ones, finding a soul mate, good food, good music, friends, old age, kids. If I get off this alive I will be a changed man. No more risky climbing. I want to settle. I want to contribute to the lives of those around me.
Day 8, May 24th- The forecast is for increasing winds and decreasing temps until Sunday. Today is Thursday. The weather isn’t so good this morning with snow and low visibility. At 12:30pm we decide to go for it. The snow has slowed a bit. At 1:30 we take off and within minutes I knock off a slab. There is good gear, utilizing serac ice on the left so we continue on. The ‘going’ is mostly good for the rest of the day. With 3 big leads we are out of the dangerous gullies and on mellow summit slopes. The wind is roaring so we dig in for the night.
Day 9. May 25th- A rough night with plenty of shoveling to keep the tent from collapsing. First every 3 hours and then every hour requires a 20 min. shoveling session. The forecast is for increasing winds today and by tomorrow 60 mph winds. Then they should improve with wind tapering to 20mph. We need to either move camps or try to summit and get part way down. We both have damaged fingers so we decide to wait out the storm and move the tent so we, hopefully, don’t have to dig so much. I am confident we will succeed now and that I will survive. We both agree this is the hardest thing we have ever done. I will learn a lot from this experience! I want BACON!

'The Creek'

2006-11-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

'The Creek" is how 'those in the know' refer to Indian Creek in southern Utah. 'The

Creek' was once dubbed 'the best crag in the world' by Climbing Magazine.

I recently spent a mere week ( a bloody painful one though) in IC with Daryl (I hate rock climbing) Ross and EJ ( chemo ain't bringin' a brudda down) Plimley.

The photos explain it best.......

Rockies Ice Specialists

2006-10-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

The name says it all. Sean Easton and I are the main guides involved with RIS. Our goal is to provide the highest level of winter climbing guiding, mentoring, and instruction. We are open to all queries but specialize in providing 'dream ice climbing vacations' and assisting those who want to take their climbing to the next level.
Ice Climbing is what we love and we want to share this passion with you. Please see www.rockies-ice.com for more information on our services and also for consistent ice conditions updates.

Hope to see you this winter!

Rob Owens

Guided trips for the Alpine Club of Canada

2006-10-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Along with Sean Isaac(assistant guide) and Dave Dornian (camp manager) I am staffing 2 really cool trips in 2007 for the Alpine Club of Canada. The ACC puts on very unique trips every year. They are generally very well priced and offer amazing opportunities to visit areas a little off the beaten path.

We are doing an Ice Climbing Camp in February that will be based partially out of the Beauty Creek hostel on the Ice Fields Parkway and then out of the ACC Canmore Clubhouse. The Beauty Creek Hostel is normally closed in the winter but they have graciously let us use it for our camp.

The Rock Climbing Camp takes place over the July long weekend and is set in the Ghost River Valley and the Bow Valley. The Ghost is a must see place for all outdoors enthusiasts. Seeing is believing...the Ghost area is simply breathtaking!

Check out these and other trips at:
http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/activities/winter/index.html
http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/activities/summer/index.html

Photo: Tracy S. and Cathy H., from Edmonton, climbing on the classic Bonanza in 'The Ghost' this past summer.

Kichatna Video

2006-10-03T16:36:00.000-06:00

In spring 2005 I went to the Cathedral Spires in the Alaska Range (west of Denali), with Sean Isaac and Roger Strong. We (actually Roger and Sean, I was too lazy)took a bit of footage with Sean's camera and our friend Chris Alstrin edited the footage for us and made the following video.

Check out http://www.hg-productions.com/video/kichatna.mov

Chris is a talented up and coming film maker. Both last year and this year his movies have made the Banff Mountain Film Fest. He is presently working on a climbing film that will include chapters from Zion, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the Ghost River Alberta, Alpinism in the Canadian Rockies, and many other cool ideas. The Zion chapter will be in this year's film fest and he hopes to tour the completed project in spring 2007. Stay tuned to www.hg-productions.com

NW Face of Mt. Andromeda

2006-09-25T12:59:00.000-06:00

Note: Re: photo of the face- we climbed the face right of the obvious flow.

Climbed a new route on the NW Face of Mt. Andromeda yesterday with Jon Walsh AKA Jonny Red. We went with amibitons of climbing a pround, oft looked at, hard water ice line. The "line" was melting fast and not touching down. The rock to get to it was also very blank.
In order to make a day of it we decided to climb an easier line off to the right side of the face via wandering weaknesses and asthetic features. We ended up roping up for 3 pitches plus a bit of sinuclimbing through easier mixed terrain. The first 2 pitches were water ice. Both were very thin (5 cm's on average) and quite fragile. You could feel the ice shell move at your feet when you swung your tools almost all the time. Jonny had a good lead on a WI4 X pitch that was a good 30m of delicate climbing with no pro. I had a great M4/5 ish pitch with good gear and steep climbing. The whole face is quite low angled. The lower part of the face has cliff bands to work through that make for good climbing and the upper aprt of the face is mostly a ramble. A good face to climb this time of year though. A first day of climbing with Jonny Red and a great warm up for the bigger things to come.

I Passed!

2006-09-23T09:10:00.000-06:00

I feel free! No more climbing for the purpose of training. I can become a true climber again. Hell I could become a boulderer and never do an alpine route for myself again...not likely.

With the new time on my hands I think I will go try the route in the photo tomorrow. It is Sept. 23 and the ice is already well on its way. Honestly though, winter here in the Rockies is long enough that putting off cold climbing as long as possible is not a bad idea. An early season alpine route or two and I will seek out the warm rock of Yamnuska, the Ghost, Bataan, an Skaha.

Photo: You wish!

The Canadian Guides Exam

2006-09-19T14:03:00.000-06:00

" I'm just so glad I'm done with those things. On the ski exam this spring I woke up in a cold sweat, panicking until I remembered I was an examiner and not a candidate." Larry Dolecki, new ACMG examiner.

The process is dreaded!

Take the typical aspiring candidate. Most (not all) candidates have a history of passion in the mountains. In order to get accepted into the ACMG guide training program one must first, love the mountains and climbing and skiing within them. Then, once the idea of becoming a guide plants itself, they spend several seasons, all their money and time, "training".

Training involves visiting and revisiting terrain that you may someday guide, IE: easier terrain, or worse, terrain that you may have on an exam, which is basically terrain that you will never guide because it is so unpleasant and contrived no one would ever go there otherwise.

The Lore is immense! Stories and rumors of the past horror stories and 'shit shows' from past guides exams haunt even the most solid and prepared candidates. Stories of croggity old examiners with personal vendetta's against wannabe guides ("Had enough yet?"), uber examiners that float over terrain the candidates can barely redpoint ("Do you want a quarter to call your mama"), stories of examiners purposely falling off, unscrewing their locking biners, forgetting their helmets at the car and blaming you....The list goes on! Then their is the nit picking examiner that isn't happy if your carabiner is slightly eschew or your pants have a hole in them and are therefore 'unprofessional'.

So, exam day number one. The talent arrives. Cautiously confident, prepared, and competent. Yesterday every one of them was ready and confident they would perform and pass the exam. Now, just into the first day you have a group of clumsy, second guessing bumbly's that can't seem to do anything quite right or fast enough. The stress can debilitate even the best climber in the group to the point of failure. This same climber is the same one that has been on big mountain faces, amongst steep terrain, in bad weather and has made numerous sound decisions that have kept him alive in the past. Here, on the guides exam, nothing seems to work as well as he wanted.

Throughout the exam it is standard practice to discuss how it is going for each other amongst other candidates. No one knows how they are doing. One day you feel like your a shoe in, the other you may be caught saying, I just had a $2100 day. Everyone is the same in this regard. As history dictates it is often the 'best' climbers that fail the exams and often the 'best' guides out there were the ones that failed one or more exam. Anyone can fail and most do at least once during the 5 exams that one must take to become a Full Mountain Guide.

The interview. At the end of the 7-10 day exam the candidate has an interview. The examiners offer next to no evidence on how you did but basically want you to tell them how you think you did. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your future plans? If you show too much confidence than you may be considered cocky and not in touch with your true ability; too little confidence and, well, who wants a guide with low confidence.

Then you wait about 2 weeks to find out whether you pass or fail. I am in this process right now. I expect to find the answer in the coming day or two and I honestly have no idea! I'm a climber and have been for 12 years now. It is my life and I have a lot of intuition and experience. Yet, I can't even guess on how I did. I fucked up for sure. I almost think I'd fail me for some of the STUPID little mistakes I made. Mistakes like not being able to find the start of a route in the dark! But then again, as my (experienced) friend Steve Holeczi said to cheer me up "its not like you were throwing babies off the east face".

I will let the results out in my next post. My only advice to those coming in to the ACMG guide training process is that yes, it is just part of the process and you will be better because of it, and go see a shrink before hand to prepare your ego for the mind fuck!

Photo: Rich Marshall perhaps thinking to himself "that makes marking easy..."

The Number 34?

2006-05-13T13:41:00.000-06:00

I started rock climbing in the summer of 1994. At the time I lived in Saskatoon. After reading the book "Men for the Mountains" by ex-NP warden Sid Marty, in my final year of high school, I had to get out to the Rocky Mountains and try climbing.
My first trip to the MEC in Calgary resulted in the purchase of "A Climbers Guide to Yamnuska". The book was $1.25 at the time, which is likely why I bought it. On my first rock climbing trip to ' the mountains', seeing as I started in the local climbing gym in Saskatoon, was nothing less than life changing. Although we were only sport climbers at the time; the feel of moving over stone, the many psychological aspects that started to present themselves, the sore muscles, the cheap living, the camp fires, the cool nights, the camaraderie. We spent these nights, reflecting in the glory of tiring days filled with discovery, in the meadows below Mount Yamnuska.
In the mornings we would see climbers walk by with big racks of gear and helmets off to 'mountaineer' on the big cliff above.

In September 1996 I caught a bus from Hope, BC, at the end of a summer of tree planting, to meet my friend Chris Stolz in Calgary for some rock climbing. I knew Chris from the 2 years of treeplanting we had done together. Chris was now a teacher in Calgary. When we first met he mentioned he had done some climbing with his mother, "but it was all easy stuff". He expressed interest in trying 'sport climbing' that I had so passionately talked about.

September 1996 was my time to learn to 'trad climb'. I had bought some gear second hand from a friend in Saskatoon that got out of climbing before he even had a chance to try the gear. A set of stoppers and 4 cams. I proceeded to spend a couple days at local Bow Valley Crag "Barrier Bluffs" and teach myself to climb on my own gear. Not without "moments" I managed to stay alive on those first few very dangerous days.

Chris wanted to get on something bigger. I was going to be his guide as he had much more faith in my abilities than I did.
"Lets go up on Yam" Chris suggested.
"I'm not so sure I can handle that yet"
" Come on, I did Grillmairs Chimney's with my mom and Leo Grillmair when I was a little kid, in running shoes, and it was easy."

We decided on "The Calgary Route". Chris had already done "Grillmairs Chimney's", the first route put up on the cliff. "The Calgary Route" was the second route done on the cliff and only went at 5.5. We ventured up, leaving the parking lot at 1pm, marched straight up the famous scree run descent, and the epic that ensued is one of my most memorable. We both lived and got back to the car at 1am. To this day I don't understand why I still climb, especially with Chris :)

The original Yam guidebook has 34 routes listed. The routes range from 5.5 to 5.8/A3 (now 11b), 3 pitches to 12. The descriptions say that some of the routes will take 2 to 3 days(most are done in an 8 hour day now).

The guidebook states "..Loose rock and scree is found on almost all ledges and great care should be taken." and "Climbing on Yamnuska can serve as a good introduction to the different techniques used on limestone." I couldn't agree more!

Yamnuska has served and with continue to serve as an amazing 'training ground' for local alpinists, both budding and seasoned veterans. Yam has it all; difficult route finding, intricate gear placements, loose rock, big runouts, and huge exposure.

On April 28/06 I climbed "Mum's Tears" with Lilla Molnar and officially ticked every route in my first guidebook. This will surely be the only guidebook that I will ever do this for. There are now over 130 routes on Yam and a new guidebook is due out this spring. The cliff is now full of bolted routes and semi-bolted routes which has increased the popularity immensely.

There is now a huge push for the 'old routes' to be retro-fitted with bolts for anchors and fixed pro. This may be inevitable but is sad. Where will the next generation of climbers learn to place pitons, create solid anchors, handle runout climbing?

Thanks to Mt. Yamnuska for the past 12 years of memories and for playing a huge roll in who I am and how I live my life.

My Top 5 Yamnuska Routes/Experiences:
1.Calgary Route- my first big lesson.
2. CMC Route- my first 5.11 route on Yam.
3. Balrog- it has a reputation!
4. Freak Out- every pitch has a name!
5. Yellow Edge- finally, solid rock!

My Favorite Pitches:
1. Pitch 1 Freak Out- "take a set of wires 10-13 cams from #00 tcu to #4 including a couple extra in mid sizes, a small selection of pitons, 15 slings....all of which will be used"
2. Upper chimney of Calgary Route
3. Pitch 8 on Balrog (10b pitch)

"Magical Terrain" by Ruben Jimenez

2006-01-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

If there is a reason I guide ...... this is it! Thanks Ruben (R.O note)

“Magical Terrain”
written by an Spaniard novice climber

“This notes are dedicated to my wife Cristina, she is the very reason I believe in love. Thanks with all my heart for understanding my desperate needs of living my dreams. You make me want to be a better person . I will always love you.” Ruben

Maybe a tendency that I have to look over things in an analitical way, trying to rationalize and comprehend every aspect, as if an engineering problem were, has been separating me from undestanding what climbing is about, specially ice and mixed climbing.

To my best knowledge, climbing seems to be about having fun within an stellar sport, in which you are inmerse in a universe of new emotions, something that we “normal people” are not used to feeling it. Climbing is about going up against the gravitational forces that not only attract our body to the earth but our mind as well. In this new world that I have just started to discover, the rules that control other aspects of our lives do not make sense, such as time, success, failure, frustration...At the moment you place an ice tool, time stops, you only have to focus on the evolution of your momentum, you are alone, only your close setting means, only what you have in your heart weighs, you have to listen to yourself if you want to learn, so you have to let your fears fly and connect with what you are doing. But for me acting in this way is something really new. I have approached like many people to climb in a wrong way and the consequences of really bad performance have been the engine that has made me think about my huge troubles while I am climbing.

We are so introduced in these kind of rigid thoughts that we have to make a titanic effort to adjust our mind to lose its inhibitions, and as far as I see, that is the cornerstone for most of the newcomers like me. I have to put up with all this lack of being capable of keep moving without fear of falling all the time, every move I make I am doubting about my own ability, and every breath I take I am questioning the result of my actions. To put in a nutshell, I am incapable of controlling my new emotions and I am incapable of “liberalizing” my mind. But perhaps that is why I like to climb, it is like riding a wild bull, I try to keep under control something that turns out to be uncontrollable for me, climbing is far far away of my mental schemes yet. I know that experience and passion for the sport will change my attitudes and emotional responses, only by being honest with oneself significant improvements in our personals goals can be done.

Taking into account that modern ice-mixed climbing is played by climbers with a lot of gear, it seems to me that the transference of confidence and skill to the climbs might take me most of the next century . As far as I am concerned, one of the most important problems of being a novice climber it is the way you have to make in order to create well-balanced climbing skills, taking into account that you do not usually have much time to do this, and here is the difference between doing it for yourself or letting yourself being taught by expert climbers that can give you another perspective about the game. Climbing is so complex that it is not obvious to learn how to learn. I remember seeing Rob Owens, Sean Isaac or Will Gadd climbing difficult ice pillars routes in Ouray, Colorado last year without blink an eye and that was some food for thought. In contrast, it would take me far more effort to me make the same pillar only just one time. I was wasting energy all the time, -if you are not aware about this you will not go anywhere-, imprecise tool placements and footholds, overreacting, fear and not focusing on the way the ice behaves, only to mention a few mistakes. In case of mixed climbing things are getting worse because of the refinement of the moves....so why trying to do something that seems to be so difficult for me? I can only answer this by saying that it is my internal fire that makes me want to learn, that makes me want to dream, makes me want to experience this impresive vertical world within my abilities, limitations and fears. I know people who started to climb and abandoned it because of this complexity but my point is doing things bringing them to me to my own level. If I cannot make a M8 route or whatever that is not going to prevent me from enjoying the freedom of climbing at the mountains. I am changing my mind considering anytime I can climb can be a great opportunity to learn new things especially about myself and what really means to me. At the end of the day, feeling new emotions is the important thing.
It is easy to do the things that you are good at, but it is much more challenge to do things in which you are not as good as you would like to be, maybe I will never be a talented climber but who cares, the sense of feeling a privileged guy in anytime I spend at the mountains it is what fires me up to keep going and going.

I have had the opportunity to learn from some of the best ice and mixed climbers in the world, I would like to keep learning from them, and I have realised that the best way to speed the learning process is to let you feel inspired by the motivation and enthusiasm of the top climbers because the best teachers are the more motivated. I would like to give special thanks to one of these climbers, Rob Owens, who have taught me a lot of things about ice climbing, thanks Rob for understanding my effort for travelling from Spain to the Canadian Rockies, for taking care of me at the mountains and for sharing amazing days in good ice climbs. I have no doubt that you are one of the best out there, especially as a human being.

Ruben Jimenez
Madrid
Spain
rjamoriz@yahoo.es

Become a Master in the Art of Living

2006-01-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply persues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether his is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."
- Francois A. R. Chateaubriand

A Long Overdue Reunion

2005-11-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

Life is hectic. Just when I thought I could not get busier I realized there is a whole new level. As a 30 year old, struggling aspirant mountain guide, striving outdoor gear sales rep, aging sponsored athlete, and newbie functional relationshipee….. well, time has it’s way of going by fast. All this while trying to recover from 10 years of hap-hazard financial responsible because I chose climbing as my number one concern. Then of course there’s the fact that I live in a ‘booming’ mountain town where those that are buying homes are usually retired and fresh from spending the last 30 or 40 years of there lives working and now plan on enjoying ‘extreme’ golf in “what has to be the Center of the Universe!”
When I moved to Canmore, 8 years ago, life was so simple. I was 22 years old and content to be very poor as long as I was climbing. I could say I was investing in my future because really I just wanted to be a climbing guide and that takes several years of dirt baggin’ it/climbing full time in order to get the skills necessary. During these early years I developed relationships with a handful of like minded individuals that will last forever and in these now hectic days of life will be nearly impossible to replicate. Of the half dozen or so faces that come to mind when I think of these life long ‘blood, sweat and tears’ brothers, all of them I hardly get a chance to see any more, but all of them are held to the highest level of love and respect. I know I will get out with all of them again; in the mountains or atleast to the local pub; and I really look forward to when these reunions happen.
My most significant climbing partnership of my 10 year career has no doubt been with Eamonn Walsh. The funny or sad thing is that over the past 4 years I have maybe climbed with him as many times. I had my most intense life experience with him on Mt. Foraker in the spring of 2001 and since then we have gone our separate ways, for no particular reason that I put my finger on other than we have both been focused on slightly different paths. Maybe it’s because I became a half cripple in the fall of 2001 when I broke my ankle and have felt sub-standard ever since.
I have always had pleasant intentions of rekindling some of these old climbing partnerships; partnerships from the dirtbag, obsessive compulsive, ‘House of Youth’ days. I must mention ‘getting out’ every time I see one of these guys. As we all know, talk it cheap, but I always know it will eventually happen and when it does it is always sweet.
Finally, finally, finally yesterday I got out with Eamonn again and yes, as predicted it was a special day. We have both been eyeing “The Drip at the Center of the Universe” on Mt. Birdwood since we started climbing together 7 or so years ago. We have both hiked in to it a time or two, or three(in Eamonn’s case). It is a stunning line, especially when viewed from the road. Any dedicated climber will easily pick it out on a photo of the face or while driving by.
The line has had only a few ascents and maybe has thwarted a second true ascent all the way to the ridgeline, 500 meters from the base. Rumors are it had never been climbed all the way to the summit either which would, of course, be a worthy goal.

It has been a hot few days here in the Rockies for the end of November. Ice climbs have been falling down daily. It could be too hot, we thought, but then again the weather man is calling for some clouds and the face has already had several hot days, without new snow, to clean itself off. My biggest concern was simply getting out with my old climbing buddy so I was willing to walk even if it was not, what we considered as, ‘in’.
We had easy walking on a thick wind and sun crust. A very easy two and a half hours and we were at the base of what appeared to be an intact route. We weren’t even sweaty, a near miracle for a couple of M.O.G.’s (men of girth). The clouds were thin but present and we were gung ho. The route went well. By hitting the ridge, after several funky rotten steep ice sections and a bunch of steep snow, we claimed what may be the true second ascent and then reach the summit only minutes later.

Smooth as I always remembered it to be.

Thanks Busta!

The Complex World of Sport M-climbing

2005-11-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

Went out 'M-Climbing' last Sunday for the first time of the 05/06 winter climbing season. Hiked to the far end of the Stanley Headwall with a big crew with ideas of getting insanely pumped, as this type of climbing allows, and for all- round 'debauchery' , which is status quo when a bunch of blokes head off into the woods with large quantities of medieval paraphanalia.
Although I am proud to have flashed a fairly difficult route, 'Miller Swiller M10-' (seen here) I can say that I validated certain points in the 'style' issue regarding this type of climbing. See 'spurs are for horses' www.gravsports.com

I started up this 'hard' route fully expecting to get my ass kicked. I had just finished getting seriously pumped on a much easier route called 'Thriller' which I had done easily many times before in previous years. Obviously I was out of practice or shape or some combination of the two.
Several moves into the send of "Miller Swiller" , with quickly failing arm power (due to the horizontal nature of the route) I realized a bright orange dagger sticking out the back of my boot. A quick inversion and I was resting with my head dangling well below the lip of the roof. Now I was fighting a neck pump more than a bicep pump. Feeling proud, as it was the first time doing this type of climbing since the Ouray Ice Fest last January.....I also felt a bit sneaky. It felt kinda easy.. I then proceeded to get my ass kicked on a much lower angled m9-ish route next to the harder one I had just succeeded upon. I couldn't use my spurs on the slightly overhanging wall in comparison to the horizontal roof of the 'harder' climb.

Consensus....Have fun and challenge yourself as you wish but....
Spurs definitely make the big roofs WAY easier and I can see how this would become boring after doing a bunch of it. For me the most interesting climbs will be on the 20-45 degree overhanging routes with big moves....Where spurs are not an asset.

Photo:Geoff Creighton

Welcome to Alpine Artist

2005-11-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome. This is my first foray into this sorta cyber thing so bare with me. I hope for this to work as a medium for me to express my thoughts, release some words and images, and stay in touch with friends (likely you), and family.

Alpine Artist???? Well, I like to consider all aspects in my life as an art, a form of self expression.

When I first moved to the mountains, 8 years ago, I came with an equal passion for climbing mountains and taking photos. I have since lost some love for taking photos, which I find sad, but it has allowed for a freer style of climbing. No camera was light or compact enough to stay outta my way while climbing. If I brought the camera and wanted ‘good’ shots it would take away from the climbing and vise versa. I have been slowly downsizing over the years. I still get out with the camera quite often but now take maybe 10 roles of film a year as opposed to several hundred. It is my love for photography that lead to my realization that climbing mountains should be treated as an art form. I, as all humans do, have a need for creativity. Climbing has become my main medium. All the decisions I make in the mountains are an expression of who I am, what I’ve learned, and where I am at in my quest toward greater understanding.
I have since realized that, anything I have passion toward, can be analyzed and improved upon with the eye of an artist….. a way to understand and develop.

Rob Owens
Nov. 2005