Saint Nicholas Peak and the Bow Glacier

Monday June 29. The first night in a new, unfamiliar place can be rough. I can’t say I had the best sleep. Even though the foam mattress in Bow Hut was comfortable, it’s just never the same as the comfort of your own bed. I had the top bunk all to myself, but even with the window open all night, I was roasting in the sleeping bag. Like, full on sleeping in a pool of my own sweat type of roasting. It was gross. I awoke to find breakfast ready on the table- pancakes, bacon and coffee. Yamnuska Mountain Adventures certainly had not disappointed with the food thus far!

The day started off drizzling, which was the anticipated forecast. On the agenda: go through the necessary roping and safety skills we needed for the course. First up, knots. Overhand knot, figure 8 follow through, figure 8 on a bight, prussic hitch, oh my. I won’t go through the how-to’s of everything, as the practical component of it is what makes the course. Thank goodness Yamnuska provided a recap sheet to remind us of all the techniques. Then it was on to hiking on snow with ice axe in tow; T-stop anchors and self-arrest; walking on ice with crampons, which requires more technique than I expected; Ice screw anchors; how to rope together as a group; crossing crevasses, and crevasse rescue techniques. Crevasses and deep cracks or fissures in the glacier, and the risk of falling into one is very real. More on how I feel about that later! (Teaser: I don’t feel great.)  All in all, so much information to remember and recall. With 4 more days to practice and repeat all of the techniques, surely I’d be an expert in no time, right? [Read more…]