We went ice climbing at Tangle Falls with Max, the owner of Rockaboo Mountain Adventures. We had no climbing experience and we were initially nervous about the climb and what to expect.
Our day started at the Rockaboo office where we got fitted with equipment and signed waivers, then we piled in to the shuttle and Max drove our group of four climbers to Tangle falls, which is about an hour away from Jasper. After parking, we got on our gear, and it was a five minute walk to the climbing site. Max set up two lines for climbing, talked about safety, and gave us an intro to climbing. We then took turns ice climbing and belaying. Max checked everyone's setup before each climb, watched and encouraged us, and even took a few pictures (the ones posted here). Max made us feel very safe about climbing and was a great instructor.
Tangle falls is about a 30 meter climb with lots of humps to stop and rest. It took us about 15-20 minutes to climb to the top and each person in the group had the opportunity to climb three or four times before the end of the day. I would have climbed at least once or twice more if there had been more time.
The ice was very different in the two climbing areas, despite being only a few meters apart. The one side had more sun so the ice was softer and wetter, but easier to get the crampons and ice picks to dig in. The ice was much harder at the second line and I had difficulty kicking in the boots and getting a good grip. At one point my crampons gave out under me but the rope held me up and I was able to maintain my grip on the ice picks and recover. It wasn't scary, but my arms were a little tired and I appreciated a brief rest while belaying my partner while he climbed. We didn't feel particularly sore or tired at the end of the day, but we felt it in our core muscles two days later. My partner and I are in our early 40s and hike regularly as our main activity.
Everyone had an amazing time and we're looking forward to future adventures with Rockaboo. I had initially booked for three people but one person had to cancel a few days before the climb and it was easy to get a credit.
