Helmcken Falls - Canada

Power shrimp

It worked! Finally! We have drilled and now climbed a new route.

Since the first picture I saw, it was my goal to do something big there one day. For an ice climber, this is like a wonderland or magic land. Millions of different icicles hang in this hole on the walls and centrally in the middle a huge waterfall.

This was already our third trip here. The first time the conditions were so bad that we could not climb. Then last year it was quite good. But it was clearly shown to us how dangerous it was there. Already the crossing in caused a queasy feeling. We walked underneath several icicles and other strange formations. You never knew when they would fall. At that time my goal was to repeat a route. We invested three days to find the first meters. We had even bought a metal detector, which was supposed to show the pitons. We found nothing! This could only mean one thing: The pitons had broken out along with the rock. Of course, this made us more cautious and thoughtful. We tried to go up for a few more days. After another piece of ice fell on my forearm, I decided to call it off. I think we had already been very lucky and I didn't want to push it any further.

After those two years of failure, luck was on our side this time. I prepared very well for this journey and with the experience of how not to do it, the current success feels even better.

Martin, Thomas and I have already seen on the first day that there is generally less ice. This was to our advantage, because so generally less large cones hung. Of course, we had also learned from the past. This year, we didn't want to spend our time looking for pitons; our goal from the beginning was to drill our own route. Drilling the route took two days. Setting it up is very hard work. I had to hack the route clear, somehow make a makeshift belay, then tighten the drill, drill the hole, and drive the piton in. That none of this is easier when it's as steep as it is there stands to reason. But I don't want to complain. It's also very cool to make your own line and we were very happy with the result.

Then it was still a matter of climbing this route without falling. To be honest, I had imagined this to be a bit easier. I had to invest a day to figure out how to climb the route. Moreover, I felt that my strength was not inexhaustible. I reached the key spot in the first pitch at the very end after about 40 meters. An almost horizontal roof!

On the second day, however, the time had come. I was able to climb the route "Power Shrimps" without falling.

In this grotto, the icicles are not shaped as usual. They are twisted, have spines or are crooked like a banana or just like shrimps. Our line runs exactly through this zone of cones, hence this name.

It was an unforgettable time in the Helmcken Falls. With many setbacks and painful realizations, and yet this place fascinated us so much that we kept coming back. Sometimes it pays to keep at it.

Many thanks to:

Martin, without his support nothing would be possible. Sorry for the long backup.

Thomas, without Thomas it would also have been boring and especially there would be no pictures.

Will Gadd, he found this location and did the first routes and we were in the hole together for a few days.