ICE, ICE, baby
“I LIKE THE WAY YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE ICE BEFORE PUTTING YOUR AXE IN. PEOPLE WASTE A LOT OF ENERGY JUST BASHING AROUND WILDLY.”
Did guide Adrian Camm have any idea how much those quietly called words meant, as he belayed me on a sheer ice wall in frozen Wye Creek last winter?
Because to me, it felt absolutely like I was bashing around wildly. Heart racing. Flailing with arms and axes and kicking hard with crampons. Relying on just six tiny points to hold me on this vertical cliff. Defying gravity.
OK, it wasn’t actually vertical, and I was securely roped, belayed by a guide from one of the world’s top climbing schools. Essentially that’s why I was in this frozen place – to learn new skills and challenge myself. By signing up to a five-day course with Adventure Consultants, known for guiding people to the summits of the world’s highest peaks, I would surely be in safe hands.
To some experienced climber friends, this week in Wye Creek was gentle, beginner business. Comfortable,
