Tips for the Aspiring Alpinist (Hardwear Sessions)

Click here to see more photos of the climb on Flickr.com

By Will Meinen

As the snow begins to fall in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and old man winter takes his grip once again, the alpine rock season abruptly comes to a close. With a very short alpine rock season here in the Rockies, the apprenticeship of an aspiring young alpinist is a very testing process. However, with persistence and a humble attitude, alpine climbing can bring forth moments and memories that can be treasured for a lifetime.

Reflecting upon my alpine rock season I must say that it definitely brought forth more failures than successes, but (with my limit experience) this seems to be the nature of the matter. My new motto has become "failure and hardship brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character." I figure as long as I take away lessons with my failures they are not failures at all, but rather mini-successes.

Several weeks ago a friend and I attempted to climb the East Ridge of Mt. Edith Cavell (III 5.3 3373 m) in Jasper, Alberta. Mt. Edith Cavell is considered one of the 50 classics of North America. As I read the guide book description, prior to my attempt, it sounded too good to be true: Easily done in a day, the best route on Mt. Edith Cavell, etc, etc. I was shut down. Hard.

Several hundred meters from the summit we bailed. Above 3000 meters there was snow, of dubious quality, covering the route, a huge cornice protected the summit, we observed several avalanches off the North face, and we were way behind schedule. In retrospect our impending failure was obvious. When I got back home I wrote a list of "Do's and Do Not's" as a reminder of the lessons learned in hopes of not repeating my mistakes next year when I try Mt. Edith Cavell again.

I will share them with you, starting with the things not to do:

DO NOT!

Do not go drinking the night before you attempt a big climb. I have been fooled into thinking this is a good idea many-a-time before. Trust me - Always a bad idea!
Do not think you will get a good night of sleep in an all-girls staff dormitory at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. You will not sleep at all, and you will be exhausted in the morning.
Do not hit the snooze button when the alarm clock goes off. Have your bags packed the night before and be ready to leave as soon as the alarm goes off. You cannot afford to sleep in.
Do not leave your helmet in the car. Helmets and the alpine are synonymous. Climbing a mountain is no day at the crag. There are more loose rocks than you can shake your nut tool at.
Do not leave your route description in the car. In fact, it's best to bring two copies of it. Mountains are big and it can be very easy to get off route and route finding without a proper topo can be very time consuming and costly.

DO!

Do learn as much about the approach and descent as possible before attempting the climb. Quite often the approach and descent can be just as tricky and time consuming as the climb itself.
Do talk to locals about route condition, weather patterns, etc. Locals can be your most valuable resource!
Do bring more water than you think you will need. It's easy to dump out extra water. It sucks to run out of water.
Do follow your intuition. If something seems wrong, it probably is, whether it's weather, route finding, or timelines. Discuss these thoughts with your partner before you make a decision about anything you are unsure of.
Do know when to pull the plug. Mountains do not forgive you for your mistakes or lack of experience. If you are over your head, it's time to get out.

As you can see there is much more to climbing a mountain then most of us would assume. There are so many subtle things that can affect your outcome. But I am relatively new to the game and realize that I have much to learn before I can consider myself a seasoned alpinist. In the mean time I'll take with me the memories, and the photos and continue (through trial and error) to hone my skills in the mountains.