The May weekend is marked with ominous red x's on my calendar. Much like an expectant teenager fears his pregnant girlfriend's due date I anxiously await a pitiless approach as well. It's one thing to read about navigating ice fields, serac's and crevasses in a book, it's another thing entirely to do it yourself. My drive on the Ice Fields parkway past Mount Columbia last November was intimidating enough, never mind thinking about climbing up there and spending a night somewhere on that frozen white wasteland.
I had originally planned to do this in May of 2009 but my wife talked me out of it because I had no mountaineering skills or equipment, was not really in great physical condition and had never camped in the winter. This year, however, I'm going for it. I still don't have any mountaineering skills but I have been walking for 30 mins every night with a weighted vest and backpack through the deepest snow I can find. I successfully spent the night of Jan 1 in the wild and found out that I can rent the required ice climbing gear from MEC Calgary for less than the cost of a deep dish pizza.
My plan is to walk up the glacier doing my best to avoid the many crevices and seracs. When I get past the ice field I will don my rental cross country skis and ski as far as I can the first day then setup base camp around 6pm. The following morning I will ski until I reach the portion of the mountain that is a shade less than 38 degrees, and then I will walk up the rest of the mountain with my snowboard strapped to my back. When I summit I will take some pictures, throw a piss off the vertical west face then strap in. As I shred back down and throw some grabs off the booters I make during rest stops on the way up, I will thus become the first man in history to snowboard down the highest mountain in Alberta. It's going to require carrying a hell of a lot of bullshit and gear up, but it will be worth it to say I rode the 12,293ft brute. Bragging rights and a few new hairs on the twins is my only potential reward.
Of course my success hinges on good weather, no accidents or failed gear. Could make for the most interesting misadventure yet......check back for that update.