I first learnt about the Patagonia expedition whilst tied to Gabby in a white-out on the Wapta in March. I’d overheard that she was going to Patagonia this October, but was unaware that not all of the team was confirmed yet. She later revealed that her questions about my kayaking experience whilst in an Alpine hut in the Rockies might have been more than making conversation and something to do with getting the team together for Patagonia. I was honoured to be invited to such a sweet team on this trip, and to get stuck into making this great idea a reality. Being such an international team and everyone having a busy schedule pursuing the snow, rock or water adventures makes team training a little tricky to organise. I managed to miss-time the last group chat due to an Alpine start to climb Mount Cayoosh – whoops! However this past week we managed to get three quarters of the team together for a week of training in Canada. We met up in Vancouver to get some admin done: catching up with sponsorship deals and discussing the planning progress that we had all made since our last chat. Co-ordinating with each other despite being on other sides of the country is phenomenal with the use of group documents and the internet, but being able to discuss in person is still invaluable in the process. With the main tasks sorted, it was time to address the second priority: food for our overnight paddling trip! The shopping list was compiled and we certainly weren’t going hungry. On our main expedition space will be at a premium and food with a high calorie:weight ratio will be key to keeping us sustained over the weeks. However, on this trip we were able to go luxury and pack banana pancake mix and maple syrup – we are in Canada after all! We invited Raphy along with us for our paddling trip. Raphy is an absolute legend and has kayaked from Vancouver to Alaska over three months with a friend, he told us a few tall tales and great top tips as we paddled across from Sunset Marina to Bowen Island. The skies were blue, and the water was as flat as a millpond as we pulled up and started loading the boats. However, the wake of the ferry reminded us quickly of how important it is to get everything watertight before packing close to the water! We made good progress across the bay, and enjoyed seeing the West Coast Mountains towering above Howe Sound from a different perspective. We avoided the high winds and made steady progress back to the marina meeting a few seals along the way. It was soon time to celebrate with our breakfast pancakes and the obligatory gear clean-up. It highlighted our need to work out how to make our skis salt-water proof for the main expedition. Maz & I spent the next couple of days refreshing our hardskills with the Women on Water event run by Deep Cove Kayaks. There were some amazing kayakers instructing and we were keen to glean every kayak hack that they might have learnt from their own trips from the best tape to use for boat repairs, to the most used piece of kit they have. Sadly I had to return to work after the weekend, so Maz & Gabby and another friend Fraser headed off into the Alpine for a sweet ascent of Mount Garibaldi. Their 4hr nap in a bivvy was well worth it for the great snow conditions that they had on the way back down. Last minute challenges were made up for by great team work and plenty of snacks! Before our final mini-mission we spent a morning recapping our rope skills. It was good to see us all work together efficiently in various scenarios, and be familiar with each other’s equipment as well as our own. First Aid and Self-Rescue is a high priority in our planning, working out what kit will be most adaptable for both the water and mountain phases of the trip. With snow levels getting higher and time being at a premium we decided to head to Mount Rainbow from the Callaghan Valley for an overnight mission. Nicole who was part of the Kyrgyzstan expedition was able to join us and make the 3-man tent particularly cosy! Having last been there in the dead of Winter it was interesting to see the bottom half of the track without any snow on before we got high enough to put the skins on. The blanket of needles and exposed bridges were entertaining as we ascended to get to the meadow and onto Hanging Lake. After setting up the tent and ditching our sleeping stuff we headed onto Rainbow. Sadly the weather wasn’t co-operating and we were skinning up in a white out. Cliff bands were indistinguishable even when they were less than ten meters away so we decided to ski back down for some Spring hero-turns closer to camp. The conditions were great with the Spring corn and better visibility as were Maz’s drone-flying skills. Dinner was a game of pass the packet as we shared our meal around in a circle, each passing to the right after having had a spoon of food. As it grew colder we piled into the tent negotiating the logistics of top-and-tailing in a very confined space and played a game of cards, all skills we will be practicing a lot on bad-weather days in Patagonia. A semi-early start was required for me to ski out in time for work so efficient packing and cooking meant that we were all set by 6:30am and skiing across Hanging Lake. The ski down on needles and snow scalloped with the effects of melting wasn’t the most pleasant but quite fast as we negotiated muddy patches and skunk cabbages to reach the path once more. As we walked back to the car, we all realised that the whole trip had been “Type 1” fun – which is often unheard of in the kind of missions that we plan – but we’ll take it and enjoy it!!!
Our time together on this trip was invaluable not just to get out there on the water and in the sea, but to see how each of us work within the team. We’re unlikely all to get together again before the actual trip, but I’m pretty confident that despite there being lots of “Type 2 fun” opportunities we’ll have a great time and work together to make the most of all that is thrown at us.
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AuthorMarian Krogh Archives
August 2019
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