13-JAN-2007
Whitefish Lake! (Blake)
As Blake followed the fun and strenuous vertical section he placed
his foot low on the hollow section mentioned earlier. He tried to
place his right tool high on the hollow section but it must have been
below the fracture line as a section from the pick of his tool to the
front point of his crampon cracked and started rumbling down route.
He screamed “IIIIICE” with a note of fear in his voice as the huge chunk raked
the route and hit the trees. This shows down the valley to whitefish lake.
13-JAN-2007
Summit shot
The Valley below La Souche
13-JAN-2007
Blake topout @ La Souche
We rapped the 200 feet to the end of P1 threading the rings there expecting
to go down. However, there is a ramp that apparently led to some ice
higher up. We walked up slope and saw another rampy 60 degree section
with some bulges. We pulled up our ropes and Blake got ready to lead.
13-JAN-2007
La Petit dalle
Route #4
We looked up, though, and I looked at Blake and said “why don’t
we just solo it.” It was only WI2 although thin. We threw the
ropes on our backs to rap and climbed beside each other to the top.
As we descended I jumped on the 15 foot pillar that formed beside the
last route. Brittle ice lead to wet plastic and a moss top out. It was
fun but hardly worth the effort. We downclimbed ramps and some ice to
get to the bottom of La Souche and walked down the cliff where most
people were toproping the steeper fatter climbs to the last route of the day.
Notice the very floppy rope on his back....lol
13-JAN-2007
Mixed...ish??? (Blake)
Route #5
I can’t really tell by the guidebook which route this is. It’s
either La Bifide or D’la galerie, both WI3, 20 and 30 meters respectively.
Something tells me from the length that it’s the 30m D’la
galerie, but the WI3 seems to apply when there is ice on the
route. It was still Blake’s lead as he didn’t rope up for the
last climb, so we discussed where to go to reach a thin runnel
of ice 30 feet up after very thin ice, moss, and rock. Blake
tried 3 different ways all on mixed ground but backed down.
Blake gave the lead to me and I almost regret taking it. In the next
30 minutes I realized why he was struggling.
13-JAN-2007
Mid pitch (Blake)
I knew once I got to the cedar where the thicker ice started things
would be ok but it took about 30 minutes to make that height. The
tree (previous picture) was the best positive foothold I could get at the start(5ft up), my
left pick was in a tiny hole, and my right higher up in a tuft of moss while my right
foot was making sparks trying to get a better purchase in the thin ice below.
This route was probably no harder than M3, but I will say I was fairly
scared. I have not climbed mixed anything without bolts or a secure
toprope, so this felt difficult. I tested the tuft of moss feeling my
handles flex as I yanked. I trusted it enough to commit and did so moving
my foot up onto a positive hold on top of a flake. I scratched my way up
on small edges and finally got a thin stick in some ice. A few more thin
sticks and some committing foot placements later and I reached the tree
sweating. It felt great to sling that little cedar and great too look up
and see white ice and not a clear thin layer over black rock. So I started up.
30 feet later I got a 10cm screw in. The ice was shattering badly which I
think was from my mangled and dull picks from scratching/banging up the first
section. 20 feet later I got my final screw, a 12cm Grivel. I tried a 15cm
screw but hit rock and I only wished I could somehow bore right into it. The
last move moved from the ice to a hollow moss lip at about eye level. I got
a tool in the moss, pulled, looked right to a small tree and hooked the thing.
A few pulls later I was on top, throwing the rope around the tree and cleaning
the route on rappel as it was now dusk and Blake and I had to get back to town.
I got down and got a hug from Blake and we laughed our way to the car
quoting Super Troopers and Anchorman.
On the way home back to Jill’s we grabbed some Guiness. We got to Jill’s,
made up some French bread pizza with kielbasa and cheese and ate the rest
of the Vito’s Special while watching Anchorman. It was a great night with
2 of my close friends.
Sunday we woke up late to start our way home but not after a greasy
breakfast at a packed diner, a trip to MEC (again) to take care of some things,
and a lost bet (apparently I can’t tell a Quebec accent from Irish….) which
cost me a biner.
14-JAN-2007
Driving beverage?? (Blake)
We had a great drive home stopping in Kingston to get some
bread from the best bakery in town, Pan Chanchos. Traffic
wasn’t even that bad in Toronto and we made the trip from Ottawa
in great time filling in when radio stations cut out.
Thanks to Blake for doing this. We don’t get a lot of chances
to get out climbing together or doing anything for that matter (Blake
lives in Yellowknife, NWT) so I’m truly glad we got to safely share
some time on the ice and on the road. Thanks to Jill for putting us
up and showing us around town. It was terrific to see you so
unexpectedly and make some more memories!
Thanks all for reading!
Brent Elliott
