One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences by Robin Esrock

Author:Robin Esrock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2017-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

We meet at the ticket office of Mont-Sainte-Anne, where I’m kitted out with ropes, crampons, and a backpack. “The most dangerous things on this trip are crossing the highway and avoiding the snowmobiles,” says Marc reassuringly. We hike over to the highway, wait for local drivers hell-bent on creating roadkill, and continue along a snowmobile path where Marc’s assistant, Genevieve, keeps watch over a blind hill.

Once we enter the woods, we’re in a magical world of snow and ice. A stream flows, barely, carving ice structures along its edges. During the summer this path will be full of hikers, but in winter it belongs to us. Farther down, Marc helps me with my crampons, shows me how to loop my figure-eight hook, and ropes me up to practise my descent. “Keep your legs apart, watch out for the crampons, and just ease your way down,” he instructs me calmly. Child’s play, which is why even children can do this. I have to watch my harness, though, which has a tendency to trap testicles, initiating a Michael Jackson-esque falsetto.

We continue downstream until we come to the edge of a 40-metre cascade. In summer, you’d descend down the same spot, showering in the flow of the waterfall. This overcast day in February, I hear water barely descending beneath a spectacular frozen formation. Nature has burned 10,000 giant, icy-white candles, and I’m about to lower myself down among the hardened wax.

Crunch! The sharp teeth of my crampons dig into the ice as I do my best to avoid breaking the frozen stalactites. Once I’m over the lip, I stop to admire the view. Limestone caves would take millennia to form these sorts of structures, but out here in winter, every day produces a different show. Goosebumps sprout like mushrooms on my neck. I eventually lower myself to the bottom, where Genevieve unhooks me. I greet her with my favourite one-syllable word: “Wow!”

I can barely recognize the waterfall when I see photos taken during the summer, but winter climes offer an entirely different adventure: an icy, exhilarating thrill that belongs on the Great Canadian Bucket List.

START HERE: canadianbucketlist.com/canyoning

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.