In February 2020, weeks before the idea of the novel coronavirus having any impact on my upcoming adventures, I travelled to David Thompson Country in Alberta for a weekend of ice climbing with the Saskatchewan Section of The Alpine Club of Canada.

The club rented out the entire Shunda Creek Hostel in Nordegg, AB. The trip totalled around 40 people which was split into two groups of ice climbers and one group of back-country skiers and snowboarders. The skiers enjoyed two days of touring, learning avalanche safety and rescue techniques, as well as riding some sick powder. Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of learning to ice climb and belay on some easier top rope routes with new and old friends.

My partner Bryce was one of the ice leaders for the weekend, so I joined him and the other leader Kobus each morning as they set up the routes. As someone with no previous experience climbing outside, it was super interesting for me to watch and learn how they choose route locations and built tree and ice anchors. This also gave me an opportunity to learn how to rappel, a skill that is essential to any climbing or mountaineering trip.

We spent our first day at Balfour Wall on the Icefields Parkway. We had about a half hour approach with a 300m elevation gain to get to the ice curtain. We were able to continue up the trail to set anchors and ropes for the route, rather than needing someone with the finesse to lead climb the ice and then build an anchor for others. This location had great views of other peaks as well when the clouds lifted a bit. About half of our group was climbing ice for the first time that day, but Bryce and Kobus did a great job of showing us the ropes and keeping us all safe while we had fun trying out a new activity.

On the second day Bryce, Kobus, and I approached the location, Isaac’s Wet Dream, by hiking a trail through the woods from the Crescent Falls parking lot, which brought us to the top of a large 30m waterfall. Bryce and Kobus set lines using tree and ice anchors before the three of us rappelled down the falls to meet the rest of the group. The frozen waterfall was magnificent and it was quite a unique experience hearing the rushing water behind the ice as we climbed. It was a beautiful day, but the warm temperatures led to our ropes getting wet and then freezing into the anchors or onto the ice, which was a little frustrating. We all enjoyed our time climbing in the canyon before walking along the frozen river to return to the parking lot.

If you want to try ice climbing or other mountain sports for yourself, visit https://accsask.ca to become a member and sign up to be notified of upcoming trips. The Saskatchewan Section is super beginner friendly and has one of the lowest member fees of the Alpine Club of Canada (under $45 annually with $38 of that going to national) and trips are only $20 plus equipment rental and lodging. You need to bring your own food and split gas with your carpool friends, but before that this trip only cost me $196 for a great weekend of adventure.