I rolled into Ignace with enough time for a quick lap around town to get my bearings, before heading off the highway, north, past Sandbar Lake Provincial Park, into what was once a vast clear cut, now towering with pine. I took a quick drive in to see if I could spot any of the boulders and wanted to have an idea of what I was getting myself into. I was shocked at the height of the trees and had doubts as I drove in if I would have much luck. But I did.
It took no time at all before I ran on to the first giant white, gnarly granite. I had a walk around to scope the potential and moved along to what should have been the main area. I was pleasantly surprised to find how close the boulders were together. Meaning that finding my way through the brush from area to area wouldn’t be quite so bad.
That night I set up camp at Sandbar Lake Provincial Park and waited for the rain. And it came, hard. It stormed into the morning hours and I knew I wasn’t getting on rock that morning. The bush was soaked, so I took a drive north to scout out the area I was in and see what else could be spotted in the new clear cuts farther along. I took a lap through Silver Dollar, Sioux Lookout and back to Ignace. Potential exists around that area, but nothing close enough to the road to warrant a stop on this lap.
That afternoon I managed to get on rock for a few minutes, just before the evening rain began. The rock was still a bit slick, but climbable. I worked an established project from the guide and then worked my own that I had spotted the night before. The topo for this area is old and the rock hasn’t seen many visitors in years. So whether my line was an FA or not, who can tell… But it felt great to be hitting new rock and I despite the rain, I was pumped for the following days.
In the end, I only got one full solid day of climbing and scouting in at the Blueberry Boulders. The rains stayed consistent, but it was a great experience to be exploring an area that seems mostly untouched in years.
From Ignace I pushed on, hoping to hit the Vermillion Bay boulder field on my way through, but it seemed to not be in the cards for me that day. I pushed through Manitoba and aimed for Saskatoon, where I’d take a training day at Grip It climbing gym. It was good to get a solid session in after a few long haul days across the prairies.
Things took a change of pace upon hitting Calgary, for what was supposed to be a quick stop-over. Having several shoots cancelled – including my big Squamish shoot – getting a flat tire and feeling the effects of the Canadian dollar, all took their toll as I tried to sort out my next move. Luckily though, I was able to team up with one of my closest friends and old climbing partner, Ashley Gales, to tackle some projects.
We headed for Lake Louise – an area I hadn’t climbed, nor spent any time at in quite a while. Along with Brook Bell and Adam and Andrea Juska, we put in a full day at the back of the lake. I got my start in climbing photography shooting with Ash at Louise, over 3 years ago. I was stoked to be back in the area, shooting with her and the crew.
The next day, Brook, Ash and I made a 4:45 a.m. start for Grand Sentinel, to shoot a project I had been quietly eye-ing up for quite some time – Cardiac Arête. I had only been back into the area once before, during our Mt. Temple summit several years back, but the spire stuck in the back of my mind.
Every now and then I head into a shoot with a gut feeling, “This is the day that all the other days have been leading up to.” I had had some great days in Norther Ontario and previous to that, but this one felt like “the big one” on this small stretch of the trip. And it did not disappoint. Everything went in our favour for the days shoot – for the most part. And we all walked away feeling like we had gotten everything we wanted and 10 times more. I opt’d to shoot the line fully from the ground. I had a vision of what I wanted in this shoot and I got it.
After the Sentinel, I returned to Calgary to start putting in some office days and getting caught up on the less adventurous tasks. Unfortunately, Serenity start to take a turn at this point. I had been impressed at how well she handled, considering the approx. 18,000 km we had put on the road so far. She was bound to be due for some love.
Being in the city longer than expected at this point began to weigh on me. I wasn’t ready to be back to that life yet. I put in a few work days and some training days back at The Stronghold and Hanger and then packed a much, much lighter load and headed into Kananaskis for a little retreat.
It was strange to be in the city so long. I wasn’t at all prepared to be back and the two weeks I spent around the city had me ancy to get out. But, before I did, I had the privilege of being asked to shoot the CCC Boulder Battle finals, held at CCC Chinook. Jelisa Dunbar did a great job putting the event together and it was a great night, with some really cool climbs.
It was my first time shooting at Chinook – Shooting in new gyms always presents a challenge with lighting. Sometimes you strike gold and other times… well, not so much. It was a great chance to catch up with some friends and get back into gear to push out once again. I’ve become so accustom to the constant change and fast-paced life on the road that taking multiple days away seems strange and almost uncomfortable. The Boulder Battle gave me several days to get my rhythm back before I hit the road.
I closed off the week and kicked off my last leg with a stop-over in Frank Slide, with Patrick Lebreux. It was a pretty relaxed day of climbing – Sticking around Albatross and Snakebite areas. Intermittent storms around the area had us watching the sky, but luckily we packed things in before they set in over top. The next day I would be BC bound, headed for Cranbrook, to hang out with Gord McArthur, at his new ARQ Mountain Centre. And then, I’d let fate guide me.
