"Ice Climbing at the Chute Montmorency" Quebec Travelogue by tayloretc

I was really excited to try ice climbing here, and it’s a great experience. I failed, utterly.

Backing up for a second… when it’s cold enough, parts of the waterfall at Montmorency freeze, and people use it and the steep basin to practice mountaineering and ice climbing – which is the sport? activity? of climbing vertical ice. There are harnesses and ropes involved, and various spikey things that look more complicated than they are and will rip up your snow pants quickly if you don’t keep track of your feet.

(If you’ve never tried ice climbing but have wanted to, or ever thought it might be neat, or just wondered what “ice climbing” was, I whole-heartedly recommend trying it here. Local all-vertical-surface-climbing training outfit Roc Gyms runs half- and full-day beginner sessions. You can arrange for boots, etc, through the gym too.)

Getting to the ice wall

At Montmorency, the ice walls are for beginners, only about 60° steep, and I think the instructor said they were only about 40 meters high. You have to walk a little ways off trail to get to the ice walls, awfully close to the icy water below the falls, often through freezing slush that sticks and makes your boots even more cumbersome. (On the up side, at one point I was at least 6 inches taller.)

I failed the climb because I’m afraid of heights, and am extremely afraid of falling, and had no idea what to do with my feet. I wasn’t fit enough and knew it. I got a little ways up, looked down, realized I was standing on nothing with just spikes on my toes and ice-axe extensions of my arms keeping me from a long drop, and freaked. Down was way worse, because you have to lean back and walk down the wall, held only by the rope. The rope looks way too thin for that kind of thing. (Forgot to mention, if you were to drop, you’d most likely end up in that icy water mentioned above.)

I'll conquer you yet...

Someday I’ll try again. After a year at the gym and a class on what you’re supposed to do with your feet, and some experience trusting that the ropes are really strong enough (they are, and I know this intellectually, but still).