Canoeing 101

The next thing to check off after rock climbing was canoeing. We spent the week at a local lake learning flat water skills to get us prepared for our instructor certificate and for whitewater canoeing. Each morning at the lake looked like a movie set. Golden sun peaking through a thick layer of fog was breathtaking.

Once we wrapped up our learnings on the lake we went for a day paddle down the Elk river. We hit a few swifts and class 1's and for most of us who have not canoed in moving water before, it was a great chance to practice those eddy turns and peal outs. We even had the chance to surf the canoes in a standing wave. Can't wait for the next high-water season.

Rock Climbing In Montana

Possibly one of my favorite trips so far was our Rock 1 course in Stonehill, Montana. We left the school bright and early expecting holdups at the US boarder. Fortunately we got through pretty easily and with enough time to get in a little rappelling at the crag before setting up camp down the road.

Doing some rappelling

 We were once again being trained by the same ACMG guides as the mountaineering trip with the welcome addition of Patty (another FULL mountain guide with the ACMG). As with the mountaineering trip, we were learning more knots, proper anchor setups, rappelling and belaying techniques, as well as learning how to thread and rappel at the end of the day. For the most part our days in Montana were spent racking up mileage on the rock, and I gotta say, it was pretty great. Sometimes I found it hard to believe that were are earning credits while having so much fun.