‘Pushing your limits’ to new heights

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This article was published 05/02/2024 (811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Suspended from a harness, wielding a pair of ice tools and wearing sturdy boots outfitted with spikes, Zoé Le Gallic clawed and kicked her way up the 60-foot peak of the St. Boniface ice tower Sunday afternoon.

The Winnipeg alpinist completed her race to the top in less than a minute, casting a smile down at a crowd of onlookers as she rappelled to the ground.

Gallic was one of dozens of people who climbed the tower in celebration of Festiglace, an annual ice-climbing party for members and guests of the St. Boniface chapter of the Alpine Club of Canada.

“It’s about pushing your limits mentally. You think you cannot do something, but in fact, if you get over your fear, then you can see that you can make it,” she said, speaking from ground level minutes after completing her ascent.

“You’re doing something you can work on, something you can improve on. You’re working on your skills, you’re learning and you’re sharing… This helps me to work on many other aspects of my life.”

More than 68 climbers braved the 141 Rue Messager ice tower in celebration of Festiglace, which is now more than 20 years old, event organizer Trisha Burch said.

Planning for the event began in September, but this season’s unusually mild weather — including temperatures that have exceeded 0 C every day this month (peaking at 2 C Sunday afternoon, according to data from Environment Canada) — left the club wondering if the ice on the tower would be safe to climb, Burch said.

“We were 90 per cent sure we weren’t going to be able to ice climb today, so we had prepared a bunch of alternatives,” Burch said. “But at 10 a.m. this morning, we decided it’s cloudy today, things are looking pretty good; let’s climb.”

In colder years, the tower has opened as early as Jan. 1.

Typically, club members check ice conditions three times each day, hoping for favourable weather so they can flood the structure from above, allowing the ice to refreeze in a waterfall formation that cascades down from the peak, Burch said.

The ideal temperature for construction is around -15 C.

This year, the ice was not ready until Jan. 22, and the tower only remained open for one week before conditions forced it to close. Leading up to the event, volunteers sheltered the tower under an arrangement of tarps to shield it from the sun, Burch said.

While Sunday’s weather conditions were not perfect, to be able to climb was a relief, she added.

“It definitely feels good,” Burch said. “We discussed cancelling the event, but logistically, there is just too much riding on this day. We were kind of just going with rain or shine. We were going to make it a wacky, wild, winter in Winnipeg party either way.”

The local branch of the Alpine Club includes members ranging in age from 15 to 60 years old, club president Charles Roy said.

Roughly 25 volunteered their time to help make sure the event ran smoothly and safely, he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca