Hey all,
A little bit dated, but went up and climbed Shades of Beauty on the north end of the Icefields Parkway last week. It's in... but just barely. We took up a bit of rock gear (knife-blade pins) and were happy to have them, seemed nicer for the belays anyways. First half of the first pitch was barely thick enough for stubbies (10cm ice screws), I'm sure if you felt like you wanted it though you could protect it pretty easily with rock gear on the climbers left. Once you past the half way mark on the 1st pitch was definitely easier to find good screws and thread-throughs for pro on the ice.
2nd and 3rd pitches were fun, with some funky chandeliery type features to navigate through. Pro wasn't the greatest on the whole, but enough good placements to get the job done.
Aside from the pro, it felt like pretty reasonable WI4, plenty of positive features to stand on and pretty easy to keep the weight off of your arms.
All round, pretty good day out!
If your happy climbing thiner chandeliered ice, should be a good time, go for it! And if not, bet if you gave it a week maybe two given the forecast it will have fattened up enough to give you the warm and fuzzies when you go to climb above that last screw.
Have fun out there!
Mike Trehearne
ACMG - Alpine Guide & Assistant Ski Guide
www.yamnuska.com
mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx