Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Stanley Headwall is the naughty child of Rockies climbing. Beautiful, endearing, but also at times a real pain in the backside. Avalanche prone slopes at the base, avalanche prone slopes above, avalanche prone roads on the approach. Though, get … Continue reading →

I slump and the large leather chair wraps its comforting arms around me. A rest today after climbing Whiteman Falls yesterday. The living room in The Alpine Club of Canada’s Clubhouse is spacious. Clubhouse conjures images of austere, frugal, sparse – this … Continue reading →

  [‘Zugzwang (German for “compulsion to move”, pronounced [ˈtsuːktsvaŋ]) is a term usually used in chess which also applies to various other games. The term finds its formal definition in combinatorial game theory, and it describes a situation where one … Continue reading →

As we drove through K Country on Saturday morning, the snow flew past the windows of Jen’s truck like surf. We were heading to Red Man Soars and Whiteman Falls. Jen had offered to drive and the little boys from … Continue reading →

As we drove onto the Icefields Parkway, my heart sank. Snow was falling and our stupidly over-powered, automatic hire car with big fat tyres was causing me concern. ‘What if it snows a load while we’re climbing, we could get … Continue reading →

Its difficult being sensible at times but today was a day for sensibilities. Avalanche hazard is high to extreme and wading up to the Trophy Wall was not going to happen. Especially as Jen Olson and Sean Isaac came socialising … Continue reading →

  The weather… Oh, what a boring thing, don’t all climbers start writing with ‘And now the weather.’ Maybe we all want to be Michael Fish? So, Louise Falls yesterday for day one. Jetlag, Budget car hire ripping us off … Continue reading →

While writing and stuck behind the screen of a laptop the minutes, hours, days, month’s race by, it could be two weeks since I returned from Scotland… Maybe it’s three? Writing a memoire is a cathartic experience, writing and remembering … Continue reading →