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For most people, their idea of a good time does not involve putting on a bunch of extra clothing, lugging a bunch of heavy gear up a hillside, then spending a day dodging falling ice while alternating between moments of overheating and freezing. Oh, and of course there's always the chance of sliding off the edge of the cliff, twisting an ankle thanks to the spikes on your feet, and the inevitable stabbing yourself in the calf with a crampon. Why do we do this again? Oh yeah, because ice climbing is awesome! That's why!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a clinic hosted by the Sierra Mountain Center down in the town of Lee Vining, right next to Yosemite. I honestly can't thank them enough for all the hard work. It's not easy putting up a ton of ropes, hauling gear around, and generally herding a group of 50 rambunctious outdoors-folks around a snowy slope. Their guides were knowledgeable, skilled, and most of all, just fun to climb with through the entire event.

I opted to forgo the cost of a hotel room, as I figured I could do the whole thing on the cheap, and just sleep in the back of my truck. This turned out to be a fantastic decision. Rolling up to the town of Lee Vining in the dark, I had no real clue where I was at or where to look for a spot to camp. Naturally, I headed off on the first dirt road I came to, and found a spot that seemed rather out of the way. Though I did have to double up on my sleeping bags at one point in the night, the views on waking up in the morning really proved my decision to be the correct one. The foothills of Yosemite rose all around me as I finally got a glimpse of where I was going to be climbing for the next couple of days.

I headed into town in search of the group, with no real plan of action. But hey, Lee Vining is a small town, how hard could it be, right? Posting up in the first diner I came across, it was a few short minutes until Tyler and Devin strolled through the front door, looking for all the world like two guys trying to find a group of ice climbers. Turns out, that's exactly what they were doing. They had been given an informational e-mail from the previous year, whereas I had been given no information at all. Armed with that knowledge, we were somehow able to find the group and it was on.

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After a brief introduction and some borrowing of gear from the generous reps, we loaded into cars and headed up towards Lee Vining Canyon. The hike up was pretty mellow, though you might not know it from some of the wheezing coming from them sea-level folk. Kidding! (Tahoe lungs for days!) A few stream crossings later, we were looking up at perfectly formed walls of ice just hanging out in the shade. I can honestly say that I have never seen such great ice in such warm conditions. It was pretty astounding.

Thankfully the clinic was happening on weekdays, rather than weekends, as we pretty much took over the entire area and set up ropes just about everywhere possible. I think at one point we had 8 or 9 ropes set up, in addition to an area for practicing putting in ice screws. Believe it or not, it's a bit harder to put in an ice screw than it is to clip a bolt. Who knew?

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The first day was spent scrambling up as many routes as possible, all while dodging raining chunks of ice and snow. Considering how much we tend to knock down, it's always amazing that there is any ice left on the routes at all. The SMC guides bounced around giving pointers, making sure people were belaying safely, and generally keeping any serious mishaps at bay. Smiles were abundant and spirits were high everywhere you looked.

That evening we were treated to pizza, beer, and a great presentation by the fantastic Canadian climber Paul McSorley. His talk was extremely inspiring, making me want to go out and climb some big mountains somewhere up in British Columbia. Also, as a sidenote, it doesn't get much more Canadian than "Eh, we're not going to put him in the penalty box for that, yeah?" Spoken in reference to a minor infraction someone had committed.

The next day, armed with a good night's sleep and my newfound lingo of our neighbors to the North, we headed up to the wall for another day of swinging sharp objects into ice. I can promise you there is almost nothing as cathartic as swinging an ice axe into ice and stabbing the route with your crampons. Can't quite make that next move? Well, as opposed to rock where this would pretty much break your hand, you can take out your frustration by just smashing the route. And hey, it might actually even help you send.

Sadly, the second day had to come to a close at some point. So, with a lightness in my step and a bunch of new friends and future-adventure buddies, I headed back to the truck for the long drive back home.