We all offered our opinions and explanations why the cold water would obviously freeze faster. The first container held hot water, the second cold. This question has been tormenting me since I was a student in Banff Elementary School and a teacher asked us what would happen if you put two identical containers outside in the snow. I suspect the initial problem was poor foot placement – both feet popped out when I was fiddling around with the ice screw – and as I crept up the ice with my remaining tool I realized just how poor my footwork still was. I thrashed around getting ever more flustered, but managed to inch my way back up to where I was supposed to be in the first place. People who actually know what they are doing don’t have much trouble climbing with one tool, but I was a bit flummoxed and determined not to have to be lowered down on another climb. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a huge issue but I had parked one of my tools in the ice so I could unscrew more easily but when I fell I accidentally left one of my ice tools lodged firmly in the ice and well out of reach. I had trouble negotiating the second one and slipped off when trying to retrieve one of the ice screws Fabio had put in on his way up. Managed to get up the bottom two pitches, though not without some issues. With my newfound skills (hah!) it was off to tackle Guinness Gulley. Getting to the top of a route in Haffner Creek But right about where Fabio is (over on the right in the photo above) I had a total crisis of confidence and a complete failure in my minimal ice climbing skills and slithered off my precarious perch. There was no disagreement about the beauty of the place. Wind, water, and chilly temperatures create wild ice sculptures at the top of Cascade Falls – Banff National Park My climbing companions for the day were totally unfazed by all this – apparently flowing water is just part of ice climbing – who knew? In one place there was a huge hole in the ice and when I stood on the lip trying to collect my thoughts and convince myself going up was a good idea, my boot and leg got totally soaked by the waterfall rushing past and underneath me.
The ice was so thin up there it seemed like the water rushing underneath my feet was just as likely to suck the ice right off the rock and send it (and me) flying. The one small hitch in this plan was my total lack of experience and failing nerve right at the top. The next day we tried again and this time walked around the bottom three sections so we would have time to climb right to the top.
The first day we climbed all the lower pitches and ran out of light before we were able to climb the top pitch. In terms of the view, it’s not a bad thing to be caught high on a mountain as the sun begins to set…
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