BURSTThe Canadian Rockies are home to some of the world’s most famous ice climbs, from mellow intro routes to in-your-face test-piece classics. Below are five routes that will test not only your technical skills, but also your hazard-reading know how and mountain sense.
The grade WI6 is reserved for the most severe, difficult to protect, and steepest waterfall ice climbs. The following five routes get the grade of WI6+, which means they’re meant for seasoned ice climbers during periods of good conditions. Always check avalanche conditions in the Rockies here before heading out and follow local ice and mixed conditions on the Facebook page Rockies Ice and Mixed Conditions here.
Riptide: This might be the Rockies most famous WI6+, which was first climbed in 1987 by Larry Ostrander and Jeff Marshall. Mountain author Chic Scott wrote about the climb in Pushing the Limits, in which he quoted Marshall as saying, “It’s a five-pitch horror sporting sustained technical climbing on thin and otherwise unprotectable ice. Certainly I climbed some of the hardest pitches I’ve ever done on Riptide. We had five really hard grade V pitches in a row, one after the other – thin, shitty ice, sketchy gear if any gear at all, and huge falls. We called it a VI+ but people insisted it was a VII. It’s a psychotic ice climb. It’s way out there. Even when it’s fat it’s still hard.” Here’s Roberts and Michelle Pratt mid-way during a fat season.
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Happy Days: There are many world-famous routes in Jasper National Park, including Happy Days WI6+. Found next to the famous Ice Nine WI6, the route doesn’t often form but when it does climbers line up. Watch ice climbing guide Kris Irwin on it below.
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Blessed Rage: Bruce Hendricks was one of Canada’s leading ice climbers in the 1990s. He was widely regarded as one of the boldest in the North America with hard first ascents and solos. In 1992, he made the first ascent, solo, of Blessed Rage, a 250-metre WI6+ above Emerald Lake near Field, B.C.
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Les Misérables: In 1992, legendary ice climbers Barry Blanchard and Kevin Doyle climbed Oh Le Tabernac on Mount Wilson continued to a bowl far above where they made the first ascent of this now-famous WI6+, which is popular when fully formed.
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Arctic Dream: Mount Quadra is known for its intimidating winter lines. One of the most wild is Arctic Dream WI6+, first climbed in 1992 by Joe Josephson and Joe McKay to below the upper serac. Serge Angellucci and François Damilano repeated it shortly after and climbed through the serac to the glacier above.
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