Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Mt. Athabasca North Face with Justin


Justin loving it on the crux of the North Face of Mount Athabasca!

Justin was visiting the Rockies from California and wanted to try one of our big icy North Face routes at the Columbia Icefields. He decided on the N. Face of Athabasca which we climbed on July 3rd in excellent conditions.


Justin cruising up the steep slopes above the crux.

We were walking by 3am in order to beat the afternoon heat and soon gained the glacier. Conditions were good so we quickly reached the face and commenced the 8 long pitches of ice up to 55 degrees which brought us to the crux. The crux rock band itself was in similar condition as last year (way harder than it was in the past!) and offered about 10 meters of difficult mixed climbing. This was Justins first mixed climbing experience but he gave it his best effort and quickly made it through the difficult climbing with a smile on his face! Two more snow & ice pitches brought us to the top where we basked in the hot sun for about half an hour before heading down the AA Col descent.

J. Mills
CRAG Owner & Head Guide
http://www.cdnalpine.com/

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