5 minute read
Walking Up Thin Ice
from February/March 2023
In the Big Sky Country, our correspondent finds the beauty of nature imbues her with a sense of peace no medication can match
By Vonetta Logan
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If you were to ask my dear mother to recount tales from my youth, she’d wave a handkerchief in the air and say, “Lawd, that child was always runnin’ wild outside.”
I spent every free moment either climbing or jumping. I’d build a ramp and point my banana-seated bike toward it at full speed, handle grip streamers flying, physics be damned.
My mother promptly enrolled me in the Girl Scouts. I was stoked to learn how to survive in the outdoors— until I found out the Boy Scouts got knives and we got Easy-Bake Ovens. Weak. But a lifelong love of the outdoors was born.
“The physiological response to being outside in nature is real, and it’s measurable,” says Michelle Kondo, a research social scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service’s Northern Research Station.
She’s right. Studies show spending time outside can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by easing stress and regulating cortisol levels, muscle tension and heart rate. This is the Big Pharma issue, and I’m here to tell you to get high…on nature.
So, it wasn’t surprising when a random Instagram post led me to hop on a plane from Chicago to Bozeman, Montana, in December 2022 for a beginner ice-climbing clinic. The expedition was a joint effort of groups called Inclusive Outdoors and Montana Alpine Guides.
Outdoor activities, especially in the winter, are often dominated by a heterogeneous group of aggressively attractive white guys who won’t text you back. This clinic was intended to bring new faces into the sport. Looking for a new adrenaline high, I was delighted to attend.
Eleven intrepid climbers from all over the country showed up, from a Haitian NYPD cop to a nurse who jumps out of planes to fight fires in Oregon to a Paralympics ski racer. We met up at Alpine Guide headquarters to pick up our gear.
They outfitted us with mountaineering boots, harnesses, crampons, helmets and ice axes. I thought we were going to have a day of classroom instruction, but the training was pretty much, “Go up. Don’t fall.”
Soon enough, we’d learn ice climbing is the art of staring at a frozen waterfall and saying, “You’re not better than me, water!”
But first we carpooled into the Gallatin National Forest to reach the Hyalite Canyon trailhead. It was my first time in Montana, and now I know they nailed it with the state slogan, “The Last Best Place.” Step ya game up, “Maryland of Opportunity.”
Big Sky Country didn’t disappoint. I joked with another participant, who lives full-time in Bozeman, that “nature really didn’t have to go off this hard.” Many consider Hyalite Canyon one of the three top U.S. destinations for ice climbing.
Once at the trailhead, you hike straight up another mile or so, with all your gear, to get to the ice. I don’t know why, but I thought there would be a valet.
Gasping for air at almost 7,000 feet above sea level, this round Midwesterner found herself challenged. But once you reach the crest of the trail, a majestic view of the crag emerges.
Icy blues, greens and white vie for majestic supremacy as the ice forms concave and convex features rippling down the rocky face in a stunning display.
Ice climbing requires a harness similar to the systems used for rock climbing. You’re safely clipped into a belay device that controls the rope, and you kick the ice like a nemesis who wronged you.
You then swing your axes in a downward motion in your best true crime podcast recreation as extensions of your arms to lever yourself up. You check to see if you’re still alive, then repeat.
Ice climbing is meditative because you drown out all the noise in your head so you can concentrate. You’re using every appendage to climb, and there’s no time to worry about that marketing email.
You focus on the high-pitched scrape of your axe making contact with the ice and the crunch of your crampon biting to find grip. If you’re quiet enough, you can hear the trickle of the water flowing behind the ice.
It’s both exhausting and exhilarating. We all shouted encouragement to each other, shared snacks and danced around when someone pulled out a Bluetooth speaker.
A wall of ice before you and blue skies above. You focus on the scrape of your axes and the crunch of your crampons. Ice Climbing: It’s both exhausting and exhilarating.
There was instant recognition in this disparate group. In our hometowns, we may be the only ones “who looks like me” and also love crazy adventures. Here, we were all so similar that the friendships were instant.
As we made our way down the mountain, we spoke with other climbers at the trailhead who were curious about our diverse group. “We’re bringing melanin to the mountain!” we joked, but everyone was welcoming.
With any new skill, whether it’s training to scale ice or learning to trade options, it’s comforting to join a group of newbies who embrace you even when you fall. Nature is healing. Get outside.
