Climber Repeats Historical Solo of Hard WI6+ Ice Climb in Rockies
Blessed Rage was first climbed in the early 1990s by Bruce Hendricks
Bruce Hendricks was one of Canada’s leading ice climbers in the 1990s. He was widely regarded as one of the boldest in the North America with hard first ascents and solos.
In 1992, he made the first ascent of Fearful Symmetry WI6+ in the Ghost with Joe Josephson, and made the first ascent, solo, of Blessed Rage, a 250-metre WI6+ 5.7 above Emerald Lake near Field, B.C. In 1993, he and Josephson established Sea of Vapors WI7 on the Trophy Wall above the town of Banff. A few years later, Hendricks soloed Sea of Vapors, The Replicant WI6 and Terminator WI6 in a day.
Canmore-based Quentin Roberts has been soloing hard Rockies routes for years. In 2018, he soloed the Grand Central Couloir on Mount Kitchener and later that year, he repeated Stiving for the Moon on Mount Temple.
His most recent Rockies adventure was a repeat of the historical first solo ascent by Hendricks of Blessed Rage. There’s no knowing how many times it’s been soloed since the first ascent, but nevertheless, it’s still a bold climb to be undertaken alone in a big mountain environment.
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