Frozen Ropes

Ey up all! 't has been a while since the last post regarding avalanches; due to avalanches of a different kind - the report papers piled high on the desk kind of avalanches. I've been swamped with bloody school work, burried beneath mounds of paper (all as a result of my own deathly procrastination throughout the preceeding few months) and thus have just managed to complete my final report - it is Friday night now and the deadline was a good few hours ago (midday to be precise). Ho hum.

Anyway, not wanting to let work get too much in the way of freezing your brass monkeys off kind of fun, last Sunday was dedicated to a day out in Kananaskis searching out the easiest ice climb this side of the Rockies in a vain attempt to reassure myself I could still thwack an ice axe around with some kind of conviction (although I was still debating this by the end of the day).
This is the route we stumbled on - Chantilly Falls in Evan Thomas, and it proved to be all good fun.

The guy I was climbing with was a scouser no less - so I had to keep a close eye on my gear all day and double check that all my wheels were on the car when we left, but it was good fun none the less. There wasn't even much smug satisfaction about the scousers 2 nil win over Chavski and the Gooners jammy 2-1 injury time victory over Man U.

It was great to be out in the quiet cold mountains - and a super feeling that this place is less than an hour from home. Despite the simplistic nature of the route, my concentration was a bit much at times - see the next shot, I look like I'm trying to work out some formula for splitting the atom (or look like I'm worrying about an exceptionally wet fart).

All in all, a bit of a different jolly for the winter weekend fun which was a blast. I had kind of written off any ice climbing this year in a manic obsession with boarding and keeping the biking legs in some kind of shape - but it was great to get out and I'm sure there'll be a few more days of crampon renting before the season is out!
This weekend sees a return the calving the powder (and a gear freak excitment at testing out the new soft shell), although Saturday is a wife day. We're off for a mooch around Bragg Creek for breakfast and a hike tomorrow with beers on the agenda for the pm! (afternoon, not Prime Minister). Brina is still fighting off her sickness, but it seems like we're getting to the bottom of it so hopefully we'll have a healthy house soon (for the first time in a good while).
(Here's the second pitch).

Anyhow, the Canadian roller coaster continues (I shall avoid any comments regarding legality of certification here in case it is ever held against me in a future law suit), hopefully some of you are putting coins away in a tin to help me out with bail money for the inevitable illegal immigrant customs bust that's going to happen in Cochrane soon.

Keep smiling, breathing and checking your undies - just in case.
Good health and laughter to you all,
S&S.