After our big day on Polar Circus yesterday, Matt and I were in the mood for something mellow in terms of grade and duration. Jordan wanted to just rest for the day, which he had more than earned with all of the hard leading he did the day before.Matt and I decided on climbing Cascade Falls. It was nearby (just off the road north of Banff), moderately rated (only 2 roped pitches of WI 3, though it was given a grade III of commitment in the book), and the weather was stellar with nice sunshine beckoning us. We slept in and got a very moderate start of about 10am or so.
The guide said there was 300m of elevation gain, and I was incredulous at first. After about 45 minutes of huffing and puffing, and low angle ice steps reminding my calves of how hard they worked yesterday, I no longer doubted the measurement. The two steep pitches looked like they were just beyond the last rolling step for pretty much the whole way. It was a relief to finally get to the chains where we roped up.
Matt gave me the first lead. It was enjoyable. After climbing ice for four days straight, I was beginning to feel very comfortable and smooth, and this pitch of WI 3 went smooth as silk. Matt got a cool photo of me on lead; if you blow it up you can see ice chunks falling down from a tool or crampon stick I just made. It was nice and warm out, no need for belay jackets. All that sun was a little unnerving, though. There was definitely water running under this pitch and the falls were wet to the touch. Good thing we were doing this today instead of planning on it for later in the trip !I brought Matt up and he took off on the second and last roped pitch. It was definitely thinner than the first, and had more running water underneath. I got a cool video of him and the relative position. It was so peaceful up there, and fun to be on moderate terrain. Don't worry Matt, my other hand was on the ropes for the belay the entire time.
Matt quickly brought me up to the top, and I was able to see just how much water there was running under his pitch. I was ready to get down before the sun melted any more of this sucker! We rapped down to our packs at the base of the steep pitches, and then decided to rap again over some low angle terrain.
And then rap again.
And again. I don't actually remember how many raps we did, but I think it was six. Which was a lot of frickin' raps for two pitches of climbing.
The terrain was low - angled, and so the ropes enjoyed getting tangled up and making our lives a little difficult. In addition, Matt put our rap experience best - it was like a history of north American mountaineering protection. We
went from shiny bolts and chains up high, to pretty new - looking fixed pitons, to some kind of older rusty pitons, to some bolt hangers that looked like they'd been fashioned in someone's garage in the 80s, to an old single ring pin that looked even older than the first ascent of this route from the early 70s. There was also a hodgepodge of other rap stations littered all over the place, which was kind of confusing. I guess that is to be expected on such a high - traffic route.
Amidst all the raps, I got the opportunity to pose for my best Marlboro man impression, sans cigarette unfortunately.
We got back down to the car in only 3:45, a very respectable time in my opinion for the ground covered. This climb is definitely a moderate classic. It was recommended against by some other folks due to its sun exposure and risk of crowding, but I thought it was one of the more fun romps of the trip.We got back down to town shortly after lunchtime, and Matt wanted to get some work done. I could stand to do some CFA studying, so we hit a coffee shop for awhile, then cruised around downtown Canmore while I looked for souvenirs for Christine. I'd only been gone for about five days, but missed her and was ready to be back home. It was a reminder of how hard a month - long trip to Alaska would be when I lacked cellphone reception (we could call or text every day while I was here). I also had ants in my pants to be back in Seattle, since the jeweler who was helping me with her engagement ring emailed me that the she had some diamonds and tsavorites come in for me to review. I am a big - time surprise spoiler, and it was taking a lot of concentration on my part not to spill the beans to her about my plans to pop the question in the coming weeks.
