Tag Archives: christmas

Ice Climbing in the Rockies. With Mountains, Frost Bite and Albertan Culture.

Part 1: Driving, Driving and more Driving.  And some Ice. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEP! I awoke with the cardiac arrest I associate with all alarm clocks.   It was 7:30, 23rd December 2015, the morning after my last exam and the subsequent … Continue reading

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Hyalite Ice Climbing: a love story

Ice Climbing; a love story. So fair warning folks; this may turn out to be more of a cloying love letter to ice climbing than a legitimate trip report. Also, it’s pretty damn self-centred. Tough. You’ve been warmed. The cast: … Continue reading

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Rockies Ice 2014: Part 5 – The Thunder Down Under

I arrived in the Calgary Greyhound station weary, and battered. Sleep had come hard, as was typical on such ventures, and the ride from Vancouver was not made any easier by being on the tail end of a flight form … Continue reading

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Rockies Ice Climbing: Part 3 – The Ghost

Ian and I awoke in Calgary hearing that the others (fresh from Vancouver) were ready to go from Canmore. The plan was to skip the crowded and easy-to-get-to-crags along the Trans-Canada highway and go straight into the Ghost Valley. We … Continue reading

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Rockies Ice Climbing: Part 1 – The Chinook (warm-up)

Two carloads drove east from Vancouver early on Friday the 13th. The destination: the Canadian Rockies for some sweet, sweet ice climbing. We got to Ian’s mum’s house in Calgary in the evening, a chilly evening at -15C. The first … Continue reading

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Semaphore lakes trip

Wide eyed and bushy tailed, we set off at stupid o’clock in the morning from Vancouver to meet at the Petro-Canada station in Pemberton to buy some much needed coffee, it was then that the excitement of the trip settled … Continue reading

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Crossing of Tasman sea, Nov 2011 – Jan 2012 (part 1)

Four men (James Blake, Andrew McCowan, Nigel Cherrie and yours truly) have completed an unassisted crossing of the Tasman sea in a row boat from Sydney to New Zealand (landing in the Bay of Islands). This was only the second … Continue reading

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Lessons Learned in an Intro to Backcountry Skiing

Attendees: Helene, Alex, Kate, Noriko, Marius, Skyler, Faroe, Adriana, Olek, Knut, Jannu, Simon, Brett, Frans, Artem, Jessica. Trip Report by Kate and Frans. After spending most of Friday on campus in the rain and not knowing whether the trip was … Continue reading

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