Ice Climbing- All the Crazies and Infants Are Doing It!

So I had been anticipating this day for quite a long time. Back in November, I texted my friend Dan because I came across an Intro to Ice Climbing course. I had tried rock climbing earlier in the year and enjoyed it, so why not try ice climbing?? Since Dan is the adventure-go-to guy who’s always up for anything ‘crazy’, I figured I’d ask him. Even though he lives in Guelph, I knew logistics wouldn’t be a problem, since he makes things happen.  The conversation wasn’t all that surprising:

And the next day, we were booked months in advance to try ice climbing… which, fast forward, was yesterday! In the end, my friend Sanjay signed up too (…he’s always up for anything, having already conquered the West Coast Trail and Mount Kilimanjaro and numerous other adventures). And ZOMG, ice climbing was mos’ def’ awesome, and the company was great.

After a quick equipment rental and belay session the night before, we were up super early in order to meet the group at King’s Creek near the Highwood Pass in Kananaskis. And from there, it was all about learning the basics of ice-climbing, from safety, to securing the crampons, to climbing with style and finesse. And when I say style and finesse, I refer to a lot of exaggerated butt posturing, close hip-to-ice contact, and setting your body up like a tripod. There were many tee hees, but all jokes aside, we were scaling the wall of ice in no time.

By the end of it, my body was done. It was exhausting on the upper body, the hips and calves. I was freezing, my legs were sore, and I pretty much had the upper body strength of an infant by the time we left. An infant. And that, my friends, is why ice climbing is for both crazies and infants alike. But NBD, No Big Deal- we all managed to complete many climbs, and had tons of laughs and fun in the process. Overall, and as expected, the day was awesome!! A must-try for all.

All in a day’s work.

Just awesome 😉