Haffner creek is located in Kootenay National Park near Banff. It’s about 45 minutes from Canmore and under 2 hours from Calgary. It’s a beautiful crag with several pillars of pure ice from WI3 to WI5+ depending on the conditions. The area is most famous for mixed climbing as there are tons of mixed routes with good quality rock and good protection. No wonder it’s the place where beginners and experts come to learn or practice their skills. I’ve also heard it referred to as the Mecca of mixed climbing.
I headed in on January 11th with a couple of guys I met through the Gravsport-ice forum. I met Graham and Jason in Canmore and we arrived at the Marble Canyon parking lot around 10:30am. The thermometer on the car read -26C! We crossed the highway and followed a well packed trail for about 15 minutes before arriving at the main climbing area.
Graham lead the first climb to put up a top rope for me and Jason who were the beginners. Then it was my turn and it was my first time on a vertical piece of ice higher than a couple of metres. It was pretty difficult despite the ice being hooked out and decent holes for feet placement. After a couple of minutes I noticed the intense cold and pain in my hands. I kept pushing up after a slip and one moment of hanging to take a rest I got to the top. Video below.
From there we moved down the creek to a WI3 pitch that was a lot of fun and I realized the hard pitches make the easier ones seem like a cakewalk. Graham was giving me good tips and I felt great on that pitch, despite the intense pain in my freezing hands again.
After Graham did some mixed routes which were pretty fun to watch (not for me!) I took a burn up the first climb and this time I felt I had better form despite being more tired. Near the top my arms were pumped and I felt like my fingers were going to fall off so I got lowered.
I learned a few things on this day.
- Vertical ice is hard to climb. Might seem obvious when you spend a lot of time reading about climbing and watching others do it you get lulled into a sense that this is easy to do. I know better now.
- But I’m improving. It might be hard but I feel like I’m getting better.
- Cold hands while ice climbing is a fact of life. The only thing that matters is that I keep them warm at belays.
- I can climb when the temperature is below -20. It turns out I am prepared for very cold temperatures. Good to know.
- Video helps to learn from my mistakes. It’s not pretty to watch but it’s invaluable for reinforcing what I know and the things I need to correct.
More pictures here.
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