Author: Evgeny Krivosheitsev
Canada, Canmore, March, 2005

Canmore, Canada. Mixed climbing

It was very warm as in spring (up to 10-12C!) in Canmore where I enjoyed mixed climbing. Will Gadd told to me that it was the warmest March in Canada for the last 45 years! That fact pleased me very much - it would not be very cold to climb mixed routes into the caves where a lot of fans - ice-climbers spend most of the time!

After my arriving to Canmore from Montreal I spent for some days searching for a partner for mixed climbing. It appeared rather difficult. Some climbers were in travels, others wanted only multi pitch climb, the third - would like to try only ice. But as I consider Canmore the capital of mixed climbing in Canada and I would like to climb only mixed routes! For the third day of my staying in Canmore Will Gadd returned after his far tour of the Norway ice falls. And he agreed and became my best climbing partner for the all next days.

First three days we climbed in Hafneer Greek - that small gorge is located an hour away from Canmore and abounds with mixed lines and ice routes.

More than 12 mixed routes from M7 up to M12 + are concentrated there. We started right away with the most difficult ones.

The first route (Neolitik M11 +) - appeared a complex line with fifty-degree overhand and two long dynamical moves. I nearly sent it second go but while hanging the last quickdraw I relaxed and slid off a sloping ledge. As the result I had to climb it one more time and finally climbed to success third go. Will had already sent this line in winter and this time decided to sink his teeth into a new project - M12 + Pilt Cave Man.

It's a route with a roof of 7 meters and an overhand of 12 meters and 50 degrees. To my surprise this line appeared easy to climb: I made first climb it second go (nobody had climbed it before!). First climbing day Will did not feel great security and climbed hard after the flight and crossing the zones of time. But already next day he climbed this route too. For the second day we tried one more project - M10 Troglodit (I sent it first go) and Cave Man M10 (first go too).

If at the end of the previous ice-climbing season all ice all climbing society only argued about climbing style: with and without heel spurs and leg-hooks on tools but this year almost all leading ice climbers are sending routes clean: without using his heel spurs, toes or legs to rest off tools. Climbing with heel spurs even slightly became a mauvais ton. The clean style of route sending adds at least half a grade to the difficulty.

Will Gadd wrote about new technique in mixed ice climbing: "Spurs Are for Horses, Tools Are for Your Hands. Heel spurs are aid. A route climbed by sitting on your tool, hooking a tool with your knees or spurs or even using spurs is an aid climb".

In Hafneer Greek I repeated all the routes clean. It was really hard, sometimes I wanted to take advantage of the old technique and use my legs to rest off tools very much. But clean climbing is the real struggle that enlivens sending of a difficult mixed route. If you don' have good training and force enough you will not be able to climb a hanging route of M9-M10: there is no place to rest.

All the routes that were sent with heel spurs in the previous season now are reconsidered their grade. For example, Musashi is M10/10 + with heel spurs but M12 in clean style! I had already clean climbed Musashi last year. It seems to give an impetus to Will Gadd in his struggle for change of mixed climbing style. Bubu Mauro Bole just two weeks ago clean climbed the first M12 in Europe.

For the fourth day we went to Cineplex - the well-known climbing area where the most complex for today routes The Game M13, Musashi M12 +, Rocky Mountain Horror Show M11 + and many other heavy lines from M8 up to M9 + are located.

Cineplex is 2,5 hours away from Canmore (more than 140 km over the mountains) and our trip took away a lot of time.

Will Gadd was there in December, 2004 and accomplished a real sports feat: he climbed The Game M13 + in "bareback style" - no hooking the tools with one's feet, legs, or ass. He started to test this route in the spring of 2004, but failed. In September - October, 2004 Will persistently trained himself especially under this route on a climbing simulator in local bouldering gym. However, all his attempts to send the route in November were unsuccessful. Finally in December he had lack and the hardest in the world route M13 + was climbed! Will added "+" to M13 because this year less quantity of ice had accumulated on it and he had to climb on a rock 3 odd meters to the finish that added complexity to the line.

He called it The Game Reloaded (possibly M13+). Almost all the route is a continuous roof of 14 meters, then 3 vertical meters (a unique place where it is possible to mellow out for a few moment), then again 7 meters of a roof. Three very long dynamical strength moves even dramatize sending of this the most complicated route.

You have to climb The Game maximum quickly (hands grow weary instantly), without mistakes, successfully getting in holes on long dynamical moves. And you should have huge physical endurance - it is a secret of success here. I tried The Game for the fourth day of our climbing, and that, certainly, was a mistake. I hardly stayed alive up to the end of the route - I had a lot of falls, my hands refused to hold no longer than 5-10 seconds and then came loose again.

One more difficulty was that my "Cassin" had no handles like "Simond", "Black Dimand" or "Charlet Mouser" but only small finger shelves for gripping and control. For average overhangs they are not bad at all - you feel surface much better, than with a tool with a proper handle, but The Game is an another story.

I made some moves climbing the roof and pulling literally two fingers into small finger s

helves that, certainly, did not make it easy to climb that challenging route! Then I had a rest for an hour and tried the line again without result. I should have a better rest and accumulate energy.

My visit in Cineplex pleased only with on sight M9 + Orgasmo in clean style. The fifth day of climbing non-stop (without any rest) I spent again in Hafneer Greek for training. I climbed only easy routes. But Will after one-day rest set up an original record - he sent all the most complicated mixed lines in Hafneer Greek for one day (M10-, M10, M11+, M12 +).

Hafneer Greek	Zgenya -Will Gadd	Cave Man
Cave Man	Cave Man	Cave Man
Cave Man M10-	Cave Man M10-	M12+
M12+	M12+	M12+
M12+	M12+	Neolitik
Neolitik	Neolitik	Neolitik M11+
Toshi Shiba, Musashi M12	Troglodit M10	Troglodit M10
Will Gadd M10	The Game M13+	The Game M13+
The Game M13+	The Game M13+	M10 Cineplex
	Cineplex