Couch climbers & aspiring adventurers
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Update 2 : 29-09-02
Hello again,
Thanks for being interested enough to want to hear more about the preparations - it's a great support to know that interest is there.
Like the first email, I am sending you a combination of info about the course, my progress in getting ready for it and other info, often in other people's words, which helps describe my inspiration to climb in the mountains.
I'd love to be able to add stories from other people - if you have a story about something that you've done and would like to share it send it to me. Courage and adventure take many forms!
1. The course - Canadian and New Zealand Semester
The guiding company - (from the Yamnuska website www.yamnuska.com )
Yamnuska has been a presence in the Canadian Rockies since 1977. It began as an adult 'Wilderness' program at the Rocky Mountain YMCA's Yamnuska Center. Programs included backpacking, rock climbing and mountaineering. Quickly gaining momentum the 'Wilderness Program' left the 'Y' and 'Yamnuska Mountain School', a non-profit society directed by Bruce Elkin, was formed and based in Bruce's basement in Canmore. The next years saw a steady evolution as instruction in mountaineering, rock and ice climbing became the core activity with the Fall 'Mountain Skills Semester' an annual event. By the early 80's Yamnuska was at the apex of the instructional market.
Incorporation in the mid-'80's resulted in 'Yamnuska Mountain School Ltd.' In 1988 a New Zealand guide, David Begg, who had recently emigrated to Canada purchased the company and renamed it Yamnuska Inc. to reflect its wider goals. Since then the company has grown by leaps and bounds as its dedication to quality and service has resulted in more and more satisfied guests spreading the word about the great adventures they had in the Canadian Rockies and other parts of the world with Yamnuska.
"Yamnuska" is the popular name for the mountain guarding the Bow River's exit from the Rockies. This Stoney Indian word means 'flat faced mountain'. It is this 'flat face' that is famous for its many challenging climbs.
- and where is it? (extracted from www.tourismcanmore.com)
Yamnuska Inc. has its base in Canmore. Nestled in the Canadian Rockies only 90 minutes from Calgary International Airport and 20 minutes from world-famous Banff, Canmore is a relatively undiscovered jewel of the Canadian Rockies.
Through controlled growth, the community strikes a balance between development and unspoiled mountain terrain. This friendly town offers outdoor enthusiasts almost everything they could possibly want, while providing an equally enjoyable experience for those whose idea of the high life is spas, fine dining and shopping for mountain art.
For wildlife watchers, there are frequent opportunities to see elk, deer, Rocky Mountain sheep, bears, pine martens, pikas, moose and snowshoe hares. Wildflowers abound in spring and summer. Year-round, Canmore offers an enormous variety of outdoor activities to suit every taste and level of experience - hiking, skiing, horseback riding, fly fishing and caving, to name a few. The magnificent mountain setting is a photographer's paradise, offering scenic views in every direction.
Course activities are located in the nearby Rockies in places with names like Rogers Pass, the Wapka Icefields. (I don't know what these places are like but I gather they mean something to the north americans)
After about 6 weeks in Canada the course goes to New Zealand and is then based with Mt Aspiring Guides out of Wanaka in the south of the South Island. Mountaineering takes place in the Mt Aspiring National Park or further north in the Mt Cook area.
2. My progress
The latest part of organisation has concerned the flights. The best time to leave is on Christmas day because everyone else is tucking into Turkey and Pudding and the flights have seats available. The cheapest flight turns out to be an around the world flight - the total fare costs about the same as the leg to San Francisco at that time of year. Going around the world means though that I will have to go via Singapore and London. A quick 33 hours of flight time with a couple of plane changes in between. I think it also means that I'll be chasing Christmas around the world. By my calculations I think I have to travel ¾ of the world to get to somewhere ¼ of the world's distance away - doesn't make a lot of sense but the relative dollar values do
3. News from/about others
As I mentioned in my first email, one of the sources of inspiration for me was the trip made by 5 British women to the South Pole. Caroline Hamilton wrote up their story in a book called South Pole 2000. (published by Harper Collins,2000).
At the end of the book (p 232) Caroline writes
"I am very proud of our achievement yet I don't believe that I - or any of the women who traveled with me - have special qualities. Everyone has their own mountain to climb. For some people getting to the end of the road, competing in the Special Olympics or recovering from a major illness may seem a massive hurdle"
The way the book was written makes the journey seem possible, though yet incredible for the time and energy required.
Another excerpt (p 183)
At last the Theils appeared. Rosie went outside the tent twice without seeing them and then she shouted: 'There's a huge great mountain in our way.'
I was in the porch [of the tent] putting on my boots. I shoved my head outside at once. On the southwest horizon there was a long jagged ridge sticking out of the ice….
Looking at the Thiel Mountains I felt excited. I remembered that day I first heard about them, sitting in Geoff's kitchen eating his homemade grapefruit and lemon marmalade. It was out first conversation about the South Pole and he had pointed to the Thiels on the map. Now, over a year later, we were nearly there. We had trudged almost 300 nautical miles in this great wilderness and managed to find them.
I felt a rush of pride in out compass - and in Ann's and my navigation. The Thiel Mountains meant so much to us all. We did not know what they looked like, but they were the only landmark we had had. There was something oddly familiar about them. They had acquired a powerful and magical significance.
and another (p 214)
Rosie, Pom, Zoe and Ann - closer to me than anyone had ever been. We were sharing an extraordinary adventure. Their lives were as important to me - every bit as important - as my own. I felt their aches with them - I had them too. I knew the euphoria and the empty hopelessness. WE rarely expressed out fullest feelings - we hinted at them and stepped around them. Just enough for each other to know. keeping a lot to ourselves….
We were all breathless, Whenever we stopped we could feel our hearts thumping. Ann had a headache and her nose bled. We went very slowly, heads down in our hoods. Faces covered against the wind. Impossible to chat at breaks because of the wind. Goggles so misted we could hardly see. Sometimes the sun kept the mist watery. It was like looking through a bottle of vodka. When it was my turn to lead, my goggles turned to thick ice. I fell over.
'No bumps for miles and Caroline chooses the only one to clamber over,' Zoe laughed. 'You looked like Pom when she crashed into my snow wall.'
Zoe took over at the front.
'Just follow my sledge.' she said.
But I couldn't even see that. Or a shadow.
Every few minutes, Zoe turned and called out. I could just hear her voice through the wind and set off towards it. Later I discovered Ann and Pom were in the same state. We made a sorry gaggle staggering along in different directions.
At the end of the hour, we stopped as usual, lifted out goggles an inch and looked at each other. The weather was closing in, visibility was worse and the wind was much stronger. We were loathe to stop but worried about putting up the tent in a storm. W had skied for over 6 hours. Eight miles, told ourselves , was much better than nothing.