do it at all.That is why I decided to splurge on a ticket to Calgary for some mental rest and recovery, and for a chance to remember why I've devoted the last 8 years of my life to this sport. The Weldon sisters had a spare fold out couch for me at their home for the summer in Canmore, and after a comfortable flight with three seats to myself I was on a bus, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. As large and daunting as they are, those mountains have a way of making you feel safe and instantly at peace.
The destination for day one was Planet X. After a long meandering walk in along the river, the limestone revealed itself. I fumbled my way up 'Shooting Star', a classic 12d, taking what felt like hours to figure out all the moves. With two excited dutch climbers yelling indecipherable beta at me I found myself grinning from ear to ear despite my lack of success on the route. There's something about pushing yourself on a hard climb that makes ya feel just swell, regardless of how you do. Representing Edmonton, Marshal German sent 'Shooting Packer', a 13b split off the route I had previously been on. Strong people are inspiring, but what I find even more inspiring are people who have to work for it, and work he did. With a heinous fight through the crux and a less than intuitive finishing sequence, Marshal pushed through with everything he had and it was amazing to watch. Miss Vikki Weldon brought the day to an end quite nicely with a send of 'Timber', 13a. Who are these ridiculously strong people and where do they come from... Must be something in the Alberta water :)
My adventure for day two b
rought me to Lake Louise. An incredibly breath taking area, fully equipped with snowy mountains, a huge blue-green lake, never ending greenery and of course...a whopping load tourists laden with fanny packs and pricey cameras on Green Mode. Lake Louise is a beautiful place though, and I think every one should enjoy it. I got on a bunch of fun 5.11s and had a chance to relax and enjoy the view with a good group of psyched climbers.My third and final day in Canmore was spent in Acephale. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, perfect for the hour long, uphill Acephale approach. Its hard to feel anything but content in a place like that. I'm not sure what I liked best; the contrast of the green leaves with the brown dirt, the half-way mark waterfall, the creek to freshen up in before the last portion of the hike or having someone to share it all with. Every time Vikki turned around to check on the slow poke (me) we would exchange sweaty, red faced smiles, both of us giddy with excitement.
When we arrived at the crag we were greeted with a cool breeze and shade. Boots on and harnessed up, I got on the warm up climbs and immediately loved the style of climbing. I spent most of the day working on '39 Steps', an awesome 12d crimp fest, short and sweet. I also had the privilege of belaying Vikki on her send of 'Whale Back', 13c. Both hit by the 3rd-day-on wall of exhaustion we packed up and made the trek down for some celebratory ice cream. The perfect way to end a weekend of climbing.
Mission accomplished. I left Canmore feeling tired, happy and incredibly lucky to have climbing in my life. To say the grades, sending and competition aren't important would be silly, because they are. But the motivating, kindhearted people you meet along the way and the beautiful places you get to see are just as amazing. Needless to say I've fallen head over heels in love with the sport climbing in the Bow Valley area and cannot wait to go back. For now though, I'm psyched as ever to get on some new Cheak projects and train for the European Youth Cup and Youth World Championships coming up in Austria.
Thanks to all the wonderful climber folk, for making this such a great community to be a part of.
Happy climbing everyone!
oxox
