Yamnuska Mountain Skills Semester – Spring 2010 – Ice Climbing
On belay! Secure! Ice!
These phrases were like second nature to us as our ice climbing program was coming to a close one and a half weeks into the Yamnuska Mountain Skills Semester (MSS) of Spring 2010.
The twelve of us enrolled in the MSS came from different walks of life and different corners of the globe. Men and women hailing Norway, France, Australia, USA and Canada (even someone from the flatlands of Saskatchewan).
Our common goal was to learn from and be challenged by the MSS. The week and a half of ice climbing certainly provided that. We started with the fundamentals (the pointy bits go into the ice!) and progressed to more advanced techniques (multipitch systems, mixed climbing and avalanche awareness to name a few).
As a group and as individuals we faced many challenges, for some it was the first time ice climbing, for others it was the physical and mental exertion required to climb multiple pitches of ice, for most of us it was extricating ourselves from the Jasper Aquatic Centre hot tub after a tiring day of ice climbing!
All in all the group finished the program with a sense of achievement, ready to tackle what the rest of the MSS has to offer.
Climb on!
Zenn Teoh
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