Ice Climbing Closet Secret

It was February 29, Saturday morning, and I saw a notification email from BCMC (British Columbia Mountaineering Club). Farbod had posted an ice climbing trip for the next day in the Duffey Lake road area.

My last ice climbing trip was with Farbod at Marble Canyon, and it had been four weeks. So, when I saw Farbod’s trip, I signed up immediately. 

For my non-climbing friends, here is a glossary of climbing terms.

Alpine Start…for Driving

Farbod texted me shortly to confirm. He mentioned that we would be climbing Closet Secret, a solid WI4 and Danny from Lillooet will be joining us as well. And yes, we will be meeting at 4:30 am. I was relieved. Why? Because, on my last trip, the meeting time was 3:30 am.

I live in Langley, and our meeting point was St. David’s Church in North Vancouver. It is a 50 km drive from my house to the Church and then another 200+ km drive to the Rambles parking area. Depending on the road conditions and stops on the way, in total, it is about three and a half to four-hour drive. 

The next day, I got up at 3:30 am. I had already packed my climbing gear, food and water the previous night. After a quick breakfast of coffee and bread, I left home. I picked up Farbod from the Church, and started driving north on Hwy 99.

After around two and a half hours of driving, I was feeling sleepy. We made a quick stop at McDonald’s at Pemberton, and I requested Farbod to drive. I moved to the backseat to get some sleep.

We reached the Rambles parking lot around 7:30 am. Although I couldn’t sleep but just having some rest helped me feel better. Soon, Danny arrived from Lillooet. 

The Gully

Right across the road from the Rambles parking lot, you can see the Rambles Approach trail that goes left. We crossed the road and turned right to head towards Closet Secret.

The trail gets steeper as you enter the gully, and it was a mix of ice, snow and scree. Towards the end, as it got icy and steep, I started front-pointing. It took around 35-40 minutes to get to the base of the first pitch. 

First Pitch

The first pitch seemed easy, and Farbod was thinking of climbing it without placing any protection. Danny suggested that we should protect it, and I agreed. I was more comfortable with having at least a couple of ice screws on the initial section.

Danny led the first pitch. It was his first ice climb of the season, and he did great. Farbod went up next, and I followed him.

Second Pitch

Farbod led the second pitch and described the ice as “very brittle and dinner platy condition.”

Once Farbod had secured himself, he belayed Danny to the top, and soon it was my turn to climb. The second pitch was more challenging than the first.  

Being the last one to climb, I also had the privilege of watching Farbod and Danny climb. I could visualize some of the moves and better understand the route.

Third Pitch

Danny led the first section of the third pitch, but was not comfortable doing the last section. Danny has done much harder climbs than this route, but it was not his best day. He built an anchor and belayed Farbod up.

The pillar on the third pitch was intimidating. It was brittle and broken at places. Farbod slowly made his way up the pillar and finished the route.

Next up – Danny.

Belaying while ice climbing is tricky as there is ice falling around you. In less than ideal ice conditions like we had, you hear more “ICE” than you would like. While belaying from the ground, you can move around, but it is quite challenging on a multi-pitch route. 

“If the first rule of ice climbing is don’t fall off, then surely the second is, don’t stand where you can get hit with falling ice.”

– Will Gadd

Belay stance for our first and second pitch, was well off the fall line. For the third one, it was off just a few feet from the fall line but partially protected by the overhang.

I was getting cold at the belay station. I was probably waiting for an hour or so before I started climbing again. The third pitch was the hardest for me, and I can imagine what it was to lead in such conditions.

At around 1 pm, I finished the climb. Overall, I felt good. Compared to my previous climbs, my hands were relaxed and movement was better. I need to do a better job of swinging my ice tools for a good stick.

With two 70m ropes, we did two rappels and made our way down even below our starting point on the first pitch. Farbod was the last one to come down. 

Fastest way down the Gully

Along with Farbod, I was side-stepping and coming down the steep section. Danny was ahead of us. We were probably chatting about the grade (how steep the gully was), when Farbod lost his balance and started sliding down. 

He slid past Dany, bumped against two boulders and by the time he came to a halt, he was 30 m below from where he fell. I put my hiking poles in the backpack, took out my ice tools and started front-pointing to get down. It was a slow and tiring descent. 

I was climbing with Danny for the first time, and it was good to chat with him on our hike down. He lives in Lillooet and works as a Fisheries Biologist. He occasionally guides on Kayaking trips and had just got back from an expedition in Antarctica.

Farbod also mentioned that Danny had established a 19 pitch 5.9 sport route called The Goat in Marble Canyon, BC. Later, I read about the Bitcoin Billionaire graded M6 WI4 route that Danny completed in 2018. I was glad I signed up for the trip and had an opportunity to climb with Danny.

By the time we got back to the parking lot, it was around 3 pm. I knew Farbod was hurt as he was limping, but didn’t realize how bad it was till we got back in the car. Given Farbod’s experience and the things he had endured, it was probably not a big deal, but it seemed painful. 

Peaked Pies

Around 3:30 pm, Danny left for Lillooet, and we started our long drive back to Vancouver. We had great weather throughout our climb, but on the way out, it started raining. Alpine start paid off.

On the way back, we made a quick stop at Peaked Pies – an Australian Bakery Cafe in Whistler. I think it was Slawomir, a climbing friend, who introduced me to this place a few years back, and their handmade Australian style pies are delicious. My daughter loves their mixed berry pie, and I always grab one for her on the drive back.

The traffic was terrible heading out of Whistler, and then it slowed again close to Squamish. I had a good chat with Farbod about the climbing culture in Iran, his Mont Blanc and Matterhorn climbs, and his plans to climb Ama Dablam. 

Farbod works as a consultant and has a pretty busy work/travel schedule, but still, he managed to lead 38 (mainly mountaineering, ice climbing, rock climbing) trips for BCMC in 2019. That’s pretty awesome!

I dropped Farbod off at the Church. Considering his bruises, I thought he would take some time off. Not really, he was out climbing the next weekend.

By the time I got back home, it was around 8:30 pm. It was more than 500 km and eight hours of driving in a day to climb less than 150 m of ice. That’s ice climbing for you in BC. But I still love it! 

Resources:

Glossary of climbing terms and Alpinist page on climbing grades.

West Coast Ice Facebook Group is an excellent resource for route conditions. 

List of other climbs at Duffey Lake road.

Watch this video of an ice climb and then read Will Gadd’s excellent analysis of everything that went wrong in this climb. You will likely enjoy his follow-up post as well.

If you are in Metro Vancouver and looking for a group to climb with, check out British Columbia Mountaineering Club.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with any of the above individuals or organizations.

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