A former Ukrainian soldier’s warm Winnipeg welcome involved scaling a 60-foot tower of ice — and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

“I felt joy from the fact I succeeded,” said Michael Malets, an electrical engineer who joined the fight against Russia before deciding to start a new life here. He arrived just two weeks ago and is embracing a new winter sport.

Malets had the first official ice climb of the season on Sunday afternoon at Festiglace, the annual ice-climbing party for members and guests of the St. Boniface chapter of the Alpine Club of Canada. He fell once, and got a small cut above his upper lip due to falling ice, but he persevered and made it to the peak — a small platform overlooking the Red River.

“It was very, very difficult,” he said, all smiles, in an interview assisted by Google Translate. “But the victory was worth it.”

Malets made the climb despite a bullet lodged in his back. It’s one of five wounds he suffered while fighting for Ukraine in the Maidan Revolution in 2014. His first ice-climbing adventure was a prime example of the “instant community” the club offers, said Josée Lavoie, president of Club d’escalade de Saint-Boniface. She had a similar experience during her first ice climb in 2003 after she moved from New Zealand. The friendly competition to climb the “big popsicle,” has a way of bringing people together, Lavoie said. It’s been happening every winter since the mid-1990s in St. Boniface near Whittier Park, organized entirely by volunteers.

“Especially during COVID, this was a vibrant part of our community, because we were able to be outside,” Lavoie said.

More than 50 people ranging in age from late teens to 70s signed up to do the ice climb. Climbers tackled the slippery slope to a soundtrack of ’80s hits and encouraging cheers on Sunday between breaks in the woodstove-fired warming tent. They’re equipped with harnesses, helmets, ice axes and crampons spikes over their climbing boots.

The 60-foot ice tower requires 100 shifts of volunteer work to build over at least two weeks of consistent freezing cold (the ideal temperature for construction is -15 C). Volunteers climb ladders on the inside of a wooden base structure and connect a series of hoses to ensure the water freezes evenly over the tower.

“It’s definitely fuelled by passion,” said Charles Roy, the club’s vice president.

How long it lasts is down to the weather, but now that the ice tower is open for the season, the public is invited to climb on Saturdays — no membership or climbing experience required.

“We teach newbies all the time how to ice climb,” said Lavoie. It’s a confidence builder for lots of people, regardless of whether they reach the top, she said.

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The tower at 141 Rue Messager is open to the public on Saturdays from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Climbs are $40 for non-members or $10 for members.

Malets plans to become a club member as he prepares for his wife and son to join him in Winnipeg. He said the family specifically chose to settle in Winnipeg because of its large Ukrainian population and is looking forward to their future here. For him, the ice climb was part of an effort to make the most of life.

“I would advise everyone to try it at least once, you won’t know how wonderful it is until you try it,” Malets said, adding he wants people to enjoy life while they can.

“Because war can change your life at any moment… War changed my life completely.”

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com

Katie May
Reporter

Katie May is a general-assignment reporter for the Free Press.

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