Winter 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada
Winter 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada
Winter 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada
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Ontario’s Eagle’s Nest lures ice climbers, c<strong>of</strong>fee addicts<br />
by Margaret Imai-Compton<br />
If you aren’t a Bancr<strong>of</strong>t, Ontario local,<br />
and you pull into Tim Horton’s on<br />
Highway 62 any winter weekend,<br />
you’ll see a most curious sight: people<br />
lined up outside with their backs to the<br />
window, c<strong>of</strong>fees in one hand and pointing<br />
across the highway with the other.<br />
Following their gaze less than 200 metres<br />
across the highway, you see the reason for<br />
the crowd; a dozen ice climbers spread<br />
out across ice curtains and rolling formations<br />
on the huge rock face called Eagle’s<br />
Nest.<br />
“If God had wanted us to climb ice,<br />
he would have given us picks instead <strong>of</strong><br />
toes,” comments a grizzled man in the<br />
crowd.<br />
Until recently, ice climbing in southern<br />
Ontario was a limited activity, due<br />
mostly to the limited topography and lack<br />
<strong>of</strong> route information. But within the past<br />
10 to 15 years, Eagle’s Nest in Bancr<strong>of</strong>t<br />
has come into its own as a favourite ice<br />
destination for enthusiasts from around<br />
Ontario, and even adjoining US states<br />
including Michigan and New York,<br />
thanks to the publication <strong>of</strong> the guidebook,<br />
Southern Ontario Ice, by Kartner<br />
and Bracken, (Borealis Press, 1995). An<br />
entire chapter is devoted to Bancr<strong>of</strong>t and<br />
the surrounding Madawaska Highlands,<br />
which are described as having Southern<br />
Ontario’s best and most scenic routes.<br />
A climber works his way up Blue Angel at Eagle’s Nest.<br />
Climbers hang out between routes at Diamond Lake.<br />
Not only is Bancr<strong>of</strong>t an accessible<br />
three- to five-hour drive from Toronto,<br />
Ottawa and Rochester, NY, Eagle’s Nest<br />
has the shortest approach <strong>of</strong> any ice route<br />
I’ve ever done. It is, max, 100 metres<br />
from the parking lot and maybe another<br />
75 metres in the other direction to Tim<br />
Horton’s across the road. <strong>The</strong> great majority<br />
<strong>of</strong> routes may only be one pitch and<br />
you may have to share a top rope with<br />
five or six climbers, but the trade-<strong>of</strong>f is<br />
Photo by Colin Huggard.<br />
Photo by Colin Huggard.<br />
the comfort <strong>of</strong> a warm washroom and<br />
Timmy’s c<strong>of</strong>fee when it’s -20 C outside.<br />
For the past five years, the <strong>Alpine</strong><br />
<strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>’s Toronto Section has<br />
hosted a weekend event at Eagle’s Nest.<br />
<strong>The</strong> announcement is eagerly anticipated<br />
at the start <strong>of</strong> the season.<br />
“Join us for our annual Eagle’s Nest<br />
Ice Climb with a sleepover option. Stay at<br />
the luxurious Imai-Compton cottage (aka<br />
un<strong>of</strong>ficial ACC “hut” for the weekend),<br />
10 minutes from Eagle’s Nest. $40 gets<br />
you dinner, breakfast and a warm place<br />
to sleep. Bring a sleeping bag, towel and<br />
your libation <strong>of</strong> choice.”<br />
At its inception, between eight and<br />
ten climbers participated in the weekend,<br />
but in the last two years the numbers<br />
have been capped at 25, as the “hut”<br />
quickly overflows with a mix <strong>of</strong> seasoned<br />
and novice climbers.<br />
As the evening unfolds, the climbing<br />
stories grow increasingly outrageous and,<br />
as scotch and wine bottles form a mini<br />
pyramid in the snow outside the door,<br />
negotiations begin for the prime sleeping<br />
spots in the l<strong>of</strong>t and before the fireplace.<br />
With so many bodies squeezed onto<br />
every available surface, it is inevitable<br />
that sleeping positions require a kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> syncopated choreography, a situation<br />
which inspired trip leader Rob LeBlanc<br />
to rename the event: the Annual Eagle’s<br />
Nest Spoonfest!<br />
6 <strong>Alpine</strong> <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> Gazette <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2010</strong>