You just returned from a first ascent of the southwest face of Huaracane in Peru. Tell me about that experience.

This small peak lies on a long ridge called "Huamashraju" at about 5,434 meters. It can be seen from Huaraz, in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru. I was looking for another peak to climb, because my friend Jim Stanley was coming down to hang out. We decided to head into the Huantsan valley, as it is lined with small peaks. After two days of reconnaissance, we chose this peak, as it was Jim's first time at altitude, and it looked interesting.

 We left base at midnight, bivied at the start of the snowline from four to six in the morning, then continued up the snow face and made our way onto the ridge. Deep snow slowed us down, but by noon, we managed to make it to the ridge, which joins up with the normal route. It was a great climb, not so difficult, but it had great views of Huantsan (6,395), and an interesting peak called Ranralpalca (6,162), which I hope to climb next summer.

What is the general attitude toward mountaineering in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru?

The folks that live in Cordillera Blanca look favorably towards climbing as it brings a lot of income to donkey drivers and local taxis and hotels in Huaraz. The town and these villages really enjoy many of the climbers and trekkers and the region depends on this type of tourism. They are very glad things are improving in recent years because, from 1988 until 1994, tourism was down due to terrorism that plagued this region.

Is there a lot of good first ascent potential down there?

Yes, lots of potential, not only for extreme routes, but also for easy and intermediate rock climbing and mountaineering. Having worked throughout Peru, I have seen many ranges that need to be explored. We worked in an area east of Cusco and northwest of Lake Titicaca and the peaks were all granite spires with several hundred-meter ice faces and chutes, and maybe only five percent or less had been climbed. Access to a basecamp was only a half hour by taxi and the number of unclimbed peaks go on and on. Over the five seasons of working there, we must have climbed 30 to 40 new routes on peaks up to 5,200 meters.

How does the climbing life differ from Peru to Ontario?

Where else can you go to a disco until five in the morning, catch a taxi after breakfast at seven, and be scrambling on a 5,400 meter mountain by ten. And, if the weather is good, you can make the top in four hours. Then you go back down and the same taxi returns to pick you up. You're home by 8 p.m., having supper and getting ready for another night of fun at El Tambo. Seriously though, the pace of life in South America is incredible. There are a lot of visiting climbers with attitudes, but they can be found anywhere else, too. Most climbers are friendly and informative and it's easy to find a partner for any level of climbing.

What are your plans for next summer in Peru?

I'm hoping to head to Peru in late May. At the present, I am organizing an adventure trip for clients for late June or early July. We will be visiting some villages, and trekking and climbing. I hope to do some harder routes in the Cordillera Blanca, such as Ranralpalca and Santa Cruz, explore some remote ranges, as well as do a lot of paragliding.

Tell me about what's going to happen in Agawa this winter.

As you know, the new Agawa ice map is out, and this should bring some interest to the area as there are lots of climbs and some first ascent possibilities listed. These first ascents are nothing like what has been done already. Not as aesthetically pleasing, but there are a good number left to do. They aren't long climbs, but someone might find them interesting.

Last year, there were maybe 50 climbers into the canyon (including the Ice Fest). I would say that number might triple this year. I hope climbers arm themselves with the Agawa Map Guide before going in. They should read the fine print regarding private property and river crossings. The Midwest ice climbing community will look bad if someone trespasses or falls through the ice and drowns.

Can you tell me anything about your secret ice areas up there on the North Shore of Superior?

Why does everyone ask me that same question? There are probably 60 or more new ice climbs to be done between Thunder Bay and Marathon. The problem is finding access points, and whether developing them will attract other climbers. Many of these climbs will take half a day to access.

How, when, and where is most of that exploration done?

Having my pilot license has helped immensely. I rented a plane back in the 1980s and flew around much of the hilly regions from the Minnesota border to Screiber. That's how we found the hidden climbs of Orient Bay, Kama Bay, and Paradice. We marked the locations on maps, and then began ground follow up. It's exciting hunting down new climbs until, of course, your snow machine breaks down, or you fall through the ice, or you can't find anyone to go with you because the approach is two to four hours!

Has your background in geology assisted you in finding and developing all the climbing areas in the past years?

Not really here in Canada, but in Peru my job took me to some rather remote areas where I was able to combine my climbing skills with the geological exploration. I was able to get many first ascents, only because there was the potential for a mineral deposit on the side of a cliff, or near the summit of some remote 5,000-meter peak.

What is geologically unique about the Orient Bay and Superior region that creates all that amazing ice?

Unlike porous rock such as sandstone, the granite and diabase of the Lake Superior basin will not allow water to seep into them. Therefore, the groundwater flows over the top of the cliffs and then down the walls. The creeks and drainage areas cannot carve gorges into the rock because it is too resistant, so the creeks run off the top of the cliff and cascade down the wall.

Out of all the ice you've climbed in Ontario, is there any route or any experience that stands out as one of the best or most memorable?

Probably the first ascent of Tempest at Orient Bay, because that started the development of the Orient Bay area. Also, the finishing touches on the Agawa development last year. It will be interesting to see what happens there and whether or not Agawa takes off as an ice climbing destination for Midwest climbers like Orient Bay has.

Tell me about some of the rough times you've had putting up all these routes. Any catastrophes, big falls, or failures that you can now look back on and laugh about?

The hardest thing was finding partners to do many of these climbs. It takes a lot of time to develop new areas. Most climbers want to climb. They aren't interested in cutting access trails or walking for hours hunting down new climbs.

No big falls except for the climb "Flying Circus" at Agawa. During the first climb of the year, I stopped a meter from the top of the pillar for a photo, lost my balance, and went cruising all the way to the bottom, bouncing off the apron. No injuries, but the other climbers found it quite entertaining.

What projects are you working on right now? I know you're doing another guidebook, and aren't you also putting a book of short stories together?

I am finishing off the Superior Ice Guide. It will cover the areas that are found from the Pigeon River to Sault Ste. Marie. Also, there is a new rock guide being researched for the Thunder Bay area, and this is taking up a lot of time too. As far as short stories, I am writing up some of my most dramatic adventures in my career, such as our terrorist attack in the Huayhuash of Peru in 1988 and my close encounter with death in India from falling off a moving bus and hitting the pavement at 60 miles per hour. I'm hoping this will be completed by the spring.

Are you getting into other sports like paragliding and trekking, or is climbing still your main gig?

That bus accident in 1984 caused me to have nerve damage to my left shoulder and that put an end to serious rock climbing. That is why I like ice climbing so much more -- I can hang off my strong right arm and place screws with my left. Also, that is the reason I use snargs on steep climbs. I will probably keep ice climbing until I run out of new routes to do. But I also enjoy teaching courses and guiding.

As far as paragliding, it is the next best thing to being a "vulture" and feeding on dead climbers. You can fly off any ridge, go into the clouds, climb peaks, and fly off, too. And no one to stand in and belay for hours. I have over 450 flights and 250 hours and hope to start teaching this sport soon in Thunder Bay. We now fly off the ski hills in Thunder Bay. I plan on soaring the cliffs of Kama Bay, Paradice, and Ice Station Superior, as these cliffs are long and up to 200 meters high!

As for trekking and climbing, I would like to run more adventure trips to Peru for clients from the Midwest. Trips with trekking, climbing, paragliding, etc.

Tell me about your brushes with fame. You've been on numerous televised talk shows. What has been the most memorable and rewarding -- MTV Sports?

The MTV interview was a lot of fun, but the most rewarding ones are getting written up in well respected newspapers and magazines like Canadian Geographic (November/December, 1993) and Lake Superior Magazine twice in three years (March 1996 and January 2000). I feel very honored about that because they are non-climbing magazines of high profile and give non-climbers the sense of adventure.

I have done maybe 10 to 15 serious documentaries, and the ones I find most rewarding are the ones that try to find out why someone like me would spend so much time developing ice climbing areas.

The most memorable was back in '96 when I received a call from Warner Brothers Studios. They wanted to shoot the final fight scene for the movie "Batman and Robin" on an ice climb. They sent a site location scout up here and they were going to use one of the climbs in the area. A few of the ice climbers in Thunder Bay would have been stunt men in this movie. It fell apart at the last minute due to "politics," and they decided to produce the final conflict in a Hollywood studio.

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