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Interpretive Canyon Ice Climbing

March 28, 2009

Ice climbing with Mark.

A last minute decision to head to the mountains on yet another potentially dismal weather day and ice climbing turned out to be a good choice. We picked the short ice climbs along the Interpretive Canyon Trail, near the Kananaskis Lakes. The brutally short approach and easy rating of the climbs very much appealed to us, having not climbed ice in over a year.

A couple of other climbers were on the main climb by the stairs, so Mark led an easier climb to the right. Following his lead, I was again reminded of why I will never be a good ice climber: I simply cannot stomach the seemingly precarious nature of the sport. Perhaps the huge chunks of ice breaking off the climb didn’t instill any confidence in me. Regardless, I’m happy to concede that ice climbing, like AT skiing, will probably remain a once-in–a-while, pleasant diversion from other mountains activities.

After the warm-up climb, we set a top-rope up for the main chunk of ice near the stairs. The quality of the ice again was less than stellar, but the route was hooked out and therefore not too difficult. Mark climbed it twice and I climbed it once, at which time the other climbers returned from the lower section of the Canyon where they had cleared the snow off several others routes. This area of the Canyon was very scenic. The climbs were a little longer but at a lower angle. After finishing his climb, Mark down-climbed into an interesting, more enclosed section of the canyon. Unfortunately it was too dangerous to try to climb over to the first ice climbs, due to the thin ice atop a deep pool of icy water.

Our last order of business was to return to the main climb and attempt the vertical pillar to the right. That attempt was very short lived. The climb was way beyond what our limited ice climbing abilities would allow and we settled for another ascent of the main climb.

A fun day in an easily accessible and scenic area.

The easy and pleasant approach