So this was an epic weekend of Winter Bucket List Activities. I finally got to check off Ice Climbing from the list and it was so much fun and much easier than I thought.
That’s me all the way at the top. I was totally racing the small child to my left and had to beat him.
It’s been hard to find a guide that has the equipment to take beginners out but someone tipped me off that Mt. Tremblant offered it and we booked a 2-3 hour experience over the Family Day long weekend.
I totally messed up and forgot that we needed ski boots so we madly rushed over to the rental shop and grabbed ski boots and then climbed a short distance up the main mountain to the ice face. There we strapped on crampons, pulled on a rock climbing harness and learned how to use the ice axes. Mike and I partnered up with another climber who already knew how to belay so we started climbing right away.
Our guide was awesome. He was bilingual and explained everything in both languages. He also lowered everyone off the ice face as he didn’t have time to teach that and it was also a way to ensure safety as there was no time to do a belay test for even experienced climbers.
The hardest part was jamming the crampons into the ice face without bashing your knee into it. Since I fell multiple times the day before boarding I was a little scared to smash my knees into the ice. I also really liked to have 3 points of contact and would jam both feet in before even thinking about moving an ice axe up.
While Mike has already ice climbed and is an experienced climber, I think he still enjoyed himself as he flew up the ice face in record time. We could barely belay fast enough for him.
Is this on your winter bucket list? Is it now?