[MCR] Candle Stick Maker

Climbed Candle Stick Maker Yesterday Via Hidden Dragon in the Ghost.  Extremely strong winds, and a two hour squall gave us 5 cm.  Soft and hard slab reacting extremely easily.  Good thing that we were in and area that was well below threshold.  I am not sure what was like anywhere else, but if the Banff Jasper highway had the same winds as we did, definitely need to be careful of any big open slopes!!!

Second to the last pitch I found quite challenging,  very cold ice, and even the ice screws were squeaking and having a hard time going in.  Had to clean a lot of ice to get a solid stick!  Sure felt like a solid WI 5.  The last pitch was quite a bit easier.  There was water running, which made for good plastic ice.  The draw back was the wind was blowing the water all over the place making us wet, and with –10 degrees temperature, everything froze solid instantly.  However was a great day out!

Marco Delesalle
Mountain Guide ACMG/UIAGM