Friday after 5 pm, another working week is over. The beer tastes so good after five hard working days, with my friends, on the patio. Finally, the summer is here, which means the temperature is over 20 degrees C and the patios are opened. For you people living outside of Canada, do not laugh. I do not know when the spring was here, maybe I was sleeping and I have not seen it. Anyway, I have a weekend ahead of me…and I get ready to do nothing. First, I want to rest because after two trips in the last two weekends (Mount Old Baldy and Mount Howard) I feel like I want to take a nap for 12-14 hours. Florin is leaving tomorrow towards Mount Hector. It is a peak, which he tried last year with his friend, but they had to give up because of the poor weather condition. They want to try it again.

Florin calls me: Do you want to join me on Mount Hector? My friend cannot come anymore!

Hesitant:  Aaaa…, yes. I think: “What the heck, it is a glacier, I can do it”.

Florin: Ok, we should leave tomorrow at 3 am!

Me: Aaaa...ok! It is 7 pm, I’ll finish my beer and I’ll go home. I ride my bike and in 15 minutes, I am in front of the house.

At home we start to get organized…it seems that I am too tired to leave in 7 hours for a trip of 12-14 hours on a glacier. Beside this, I did not pack anything. I convinced Florin to make our attempt on Sunday. He accepts with regrets, he does not have a choice; he cannot go alone. I gain a day to rest and in the same time to prepare (psychological) for my first glacier travel.

Saturday evening we pack, Florin looks over the tools that we will bring with us. Saturday, at 3.15 am we leave the house comfort. The weather forecast is excellent. I take a nap for two hours until we get closer to Mount Hector.

We parked the car on the side of the road and we got the gear. Around 6 am, we started the hike through the woods beside a stream. Little Hector was visible, being connected to Mount Hector through a ridge. I yelled from time to time, we did not carry the bear spray, just the minimum gear. We gained altitude and we warmed up. The wind did not blow and it was not cold. Approximately, after 30 minutes, we left the forest and the slope angle increased. We crossed the stream few times. It was not wide, but the rocks were covered with ice and we used the ski poles to keep our balance. We crossed a waterfall, covered at the edges with ice. We got onto the first plateau and the scenery rewarded us. We headed towards the second plateau.

On our way, we saw a marmot under a bolder. It did not seem to be scared…it was just curious. What a nice view had the marmot from her bolder house. And it was happy, it did not have to pay mortgage! I wanted to grab my camera, but I changed my mind: what the heck, I do not have to take picture of everything. I looked at it and it looked at me, I admired her and I enjoyed the moment. I whistled like a marmot and it looked at me curiously, it seemed like it was smiling...

We gained more altitude and finally, we spotted the top…it did not seem far…I mean if there were only rocks it would be quite easy, but there was a glacier.

We reached the glacier and we geared up: ice crampons, rope, helmet, etc. The crevasses were not visible, it seemed an approachable glacier…but could you know that? And if you know, can you be sure…Badea’s saying!

For a while, I got in front: obviously, I walked slower and therefore I imposed the pace and I did not risk to be “pulled” by Florin. Short often breaks are the key to success! The snow was perfect, the crampons gripped easily into it and we did not sink at all.

We climbed up, we took breaks and pictures…already we could see Hector and Bow Lakes, partially frozen.  A clear sky allowed seeing faraway. Mount Hector is a popular destination for skiers. It has a long slope, not to steep on the lower parts and without to many visible crevasses.

The final part was steeper. Around 11.30 am, we reached the saddle between the peak’s boulders. What a view…I was speechless. Most of the ones that climb the peak stop here. The top is around 60 m higher on the right bolder. The ski traces that we followed stopped at this point too. I have respect for the ones that ski from here; the first section would be a black diamond. I belayed Florin who was going to the top. I got cold during this activity because the wind started to blow.

Florin was getting down, we took pictures, and we did not get tired of this landscape.  We both got cold therefore, we decided to start the descent. 2/3 of the way down is ok, the snow was firm enough and we did not sink, despite the warm rays of sun. On the last part, we started to sink deeper and deeper: up to ankle, calf, knee, waist! We reached the rocks and we got rid of the gear. We ate and we made plans for next weekend.  We started again to walk.

We crossed on the slopes of Little Hector. We hurried because we realized that the slope was exposed and at its base, we sank again in the snow. We tried to walk on our knees, and finally we reached again the rocks. Form here we followed them to avoid the”swimming” in the snow.

In the end, we reached the forest skirts and the stream. The waterfall was significantly bigger, as a consequence of the sun. We traversed it without problems; at least the rocks were not covered anymore with ice. It was sunny and it was hot. We would have shed another layer of clothes, but the backpacks were full…therefore, we resisted for an extra half an hour. A last glance at Hector Lake, which disappeared slowly…from the road, only its end tail is visible.