Arco, Italy. Oh... and did I mention Ferrari Spumante? Italy - Installment 2 of 3.

After two glorious weeks in Castelbianco, throwing ourselves at steep sport climbs with abandon, it was time to move on. Some projects were put to bed, others, like on all good climbing trips, must be revisited in the future for the redpoint. We piled ourselves and our gear into our teeny Chevy Spark rental, we called her Sparky, and began driving across Northern Italy to Arco. We stopped periodically at gas stations along the Autostrade (freeway), not to fill up on gas, but for another necessary, aromatic and delicious type of refuelling... coffee! Each gas station was equipped with an espresso bar where you could grab a damn tasty cappucinno, macchiato or espresso for a few euros. No paper cups at these joints, just spotless white porcelain to hold the deliciously fresh concoction for the few moments between production and consumption.

Staying caffeinated and alert was important because driving in Italy is slightly terrifying. Even with Sparky's pedal to the metal 140 km/h was about our max on flats or downhills, but other drivers would make us feel like we were standing still as car after car passed us going 200 km/h. The road traveled through more frequent tunnels than I have ever experienced, meaning our eyes were constantly adjusting to light and dark.

We finally arrived in Arco late at night, and an enthusiastic and friendly young Italian man named Mateo met us and escorted us up one of the steepest hills I have ever driven. Our destination was a four-apartment villa situated on a hill above Arco and Lago (Lake) Garda. The villa was surrounded by vines which Mateo explained were of the Ferrari Spumante variety, a specialty of the Trento region. I could hardly believe our luck... not only were we staying in a comfy villa, far from the tourist-ridden streets of Arco, but we were surrounded by a grapes with the world's most fun-to-say name. We took advantage of our upscale accommodation, and our friend Dylan Taylor, an American expat photographer and mountain guide living in Chamonix joined us for the week.

The villa and of course, the Ferrari Spumante. Dylan Taylor photo.

Is this really us? With our afternoon antipasti and wine you could almost mistake us for 'normal' people on a Euro-holiday. Dylan Taylor photo.

But "normal" people probably don't buy the 1 Euro bottle of wine, just to see what happens...
Dylan Taylor photo.

"Maybe if I let it breathe a bit it will become drinkable..." - rest assured that bottle was NOT poured down the drain. Dylan Taylor photo.

Oh yeah, I forgot, there was some climbing done on our rest days from eating, drinking wine and lounging in our private vinyard. Oh yeah, and then there was swimming in the numerous lakes in the surrounding countryside. Some of the climbing we did in Arco was actually really good. And just being somewhere with so much climbing history was fun. Since 1987 Arco has hosted the Rock Master climbing comp, and a few minutes walk from downtown Arco is the giant artifical wall where this competition is held. The town is surrounded by single and multipitch climbing, including up to 12 pitch climbs on Mt. Colodri, which is literally a 5 minute walk from your morning cappuccino or afternoon gelato. We climbed Zanzara, a fantastic 12 pitch 7a+ on Mt. Colodri. A variety of climbing styles, sustained and technical pitches and fairly minimal polishing made this one of the most classic and memorable climbs of our entire Italy trip. Even the descent is classic, a via ferrata popular with tourists winds its way down from the summit ridge, which has both a castle and a giant lit-up cross, along steep ledges back to town.

Climbing on Zanzara. Dylan Taylor photos.

Looking down on Arco from partway up Mt. Colodri. Dylan Taylor photo.

The single-pitch climbing in Arco was also really good, but much of it was on sunny walls and while we were there temperatures were spiking above 30 C. The popular and stacked crag Massone was also the most polished rock I have ever climbed, making it difficult to relax and enjoy the movement on the gently overhanging flow features. We did do some amazing pitches, and if I found myself back in Arco I'd hope for some cooler temps to have a few more burns on the amazing 7c tufa climb called Abissi.

After just over a week in Arco it was time to move on up and out of the heat. Next installment: Dolomites!

Ferrari Spumante and other stories from the land that 'booted' me back into climbing shape - Installment 1 of 3

I recently returned from a month of climbing in Italy with my husband Evan. It was our annual 'lose-ski-legs-drink-cheap-wine-pull-steep-limestone" pilgrimage to Europe, and as a vacation destination, Italy did not disappoint. To keep this from being a mega-post of unwieldy proportions, I am breaking it up into three installments I will post in the next few weeks.

We began our trip in the Castelbianco region of Oltre-Finale, a collection of limestone crags in a lush, peaceful valley in the Liguria region of Italy. Around 1.5 hours from Nice, and a quick 20 minute drive from the Italian Riviera, Oltre-Finale offered great climbing in a variety of styles for us to get back in the groove after a long winter. Some of the best crags faced south, making them too hot for the late spring temps, but we found an all-day shade paradise called Erboristeria (translation - Herbalist) that had a few great warm-ups and enough 40m challenging pumpfests to keep us busy for much of our 2 weeks in Castelbianco.

The morning commute to Erboristeria included crossing this old stone bridge

Climbing at Erboristeria

Jeff Banks climbing at Erboristeria

For me, a great climbing trip has to engage all my senses, not just pump out my arms. I can do that curling soup cans in front of the TV at home! As soon as I arrived in Italy, I knew this climbing trip was not going to lack for sensory stimulus.

Our first trip to a supermarket revealed an amazing selection of excellent produce, cheese and wine. The gelato was to die for - flavourful and creamy. The pizza was a simple and delicious combo of thin chewy crust, tangy sauce, flavourful cheese. The coffee was strong and invigorating. Oh, am I still on taste?





Smell - the air in Castelbianco was consistently fragrant from the blossoms of numerous flowering trees, shrubs and plants.

Sight -medieval stone villages, fig and cherry trees laden with fruit, small scale agriculture and well-kept dwellings.


Touch - the feel of the warm, smooth, water sculpted limestone underfoot after a chilly dip in the river. According to Italian vending machines, touch is very important....




Sound - every morning at dawn melodious birdsong drifted into our apartment.

On one of our rest days we broke the golden rule: never climb on your rest day. We convinced ourselves that an easy 5.9 7 pitch traverse above the Mediterranean in the blazing sun couldn't possibly be anything but restful, so we drove down to Finale and rapped in to this truly amazing traverse. It was worth the aching toes and sweltering heat - it was really beautiful climbing on the white stone above the deep blue sea.


Exploring the old walled city of Finale also proved to be a great rest day activity. I fell in love with all the old bikes and scooters leaning against the stone walls of impossibly narrow alleys.

The scooter in front is called "BETA"

Coming soon: installment #2 of Italy trip blog about our time in Arco.

A Reluctant Arrivederci to Winter

A friend told me recently, “all good things come to an end”. Being a fun-seeking, hedonistic person I dedicate most of my time and energy to ensuring that my life is chock full of good things all the time, thus if one ends, another quickly takes its place. In the case of winter 2010/11 it seemed like a great thing that really never would end. In fact, I am being dragged away from freshly powder dusted steep skiing in the coast range by a pre-planned climbing vacation to Italy. Sob story right? Your heart is just breaking for me right now, I know it.

But seriously, what a winter! Before I can feel good about entirely switching seasons, I feel compelled to pay homage to what was a truly amazing winter in terms of snow quality, mostly good stability (at least where I spent my winter), and great days in the mountains with friends and clients alike. This post is a series of images, beginning with the end of the Valhalla Mountain Touring season in late March and ending with my last day on skis for this winter.

Last day at Valhalla Mountain Touring – Solo skiing sunshiney pow with my furry pal Benny and good tunes. Although it feels wrong to wrap up with dry snow on the ground, it’s always a relief to complete another safe season and move on to other ski venues.

First stop after leaving VMT was a quick hit at Rogers Pass to ski for a day with friends training for their AMGA Ski Guide Exam. We skied some great runs off Cheops in fantastic snow AND both friends subsequently passed their exam, bringing them coveted IFMGA status.

Peter and Silas emulating Euro ski guides in every way including fashion. I think their pants could have been a bit tighter to really capture the look though...

Silas raps in to the STS Couloir on Cheops

Peter keeping a serious eye on the anchor as Silas raps in

Apparently the anchor is bomb-squad because it held me and my end-of-season quads in overhanging terrain. Silas Rossi photo.

Part way down the STS couloirs. Great line, great snow, great views.... great BIG hands. Are my hands really that huge? Silas Rossi photo.

After Rogers Pass it was time to head home to Squamish and some Coast Mountain fun. First stop on the coast was the Aussie Couloir on Mt. Joffre with Cece Mortenson and Andrew Rennie.

Cece skins up next to the Matier Icefall

Endless bootpack up the Aussie Couloir. Luckily for us there were literally 7 people in front of us to stomp in the bootpack. Unfortunately they also skied all the snow off the run too... but let's face it, the bootpacking is really the best part.

Andrew on the upper section of the Aussie Couloir

Three climbers on the cloud-shrouded ridge of Matier as viewed from Joffre.

Cece and Andrew getting ready to drop into the licheny-rock lined entry to Heartstrings on Mt. Taylor, our bonus lap after skiing the Aussie Couloir.

The next mission was also on the Duffy Lake Rd. with Cece. Because the weather was looking iffy we decided to bring Benny, who was going into powder withdrawal after a few weeks absence from Valhalla Mountain Touring where he porpoises the pow daily. It's always tough on the coastal ski days to leave him at home, but since many of the tours involve time on glaciers I just can't justify risking him wandering into a crevasse. Benny pretty much always listens to commands.... unless there are other dogs, rabbits, pine martens, wolverine, goats, food or animal tracks of any kind within sniffing distance, not that you would ever encounter ANY of these things on a ski tour. I do find it pretty funny that I choose objectives with his safety in mind, and then he proceeds to straight-line everything even if there are 20' cliffs. He also likes to dig out his resting spots right on the edge of cornices... best vista point for scouting rabbits I guess. Yup, he's kind of the client from hell, but he just LOVES to play in the snow, gives unconditional love, and he's really, really cute so I just can't resist bringing him most of the time.

Howling winds on Mt. Slalok and the Matier Glacier

Cece and Benny leaving their distinctive signatures in the valley after a sweet run on Joffre’s North Shoulder.

Cece and Benny celebrating on the tippy-top of Mt. Chief Pascal.

Cece and I enjoying each other’s company AND enjoying our tunes out on the slopes. I feel so fortunate to belong to a community where finding motivated partners who are willing to get up at 4:30AM to play in the mountains OR stay out till 4:30AM dancing is not usually much of a challenge. Cece and I may have done both in the same day together once this winter...

Finally after two weeks of waiting I got a day off work that the weather was good enough to ski the north face of Slalok. Accompanied by Katy Holm (not to be confused with the married to Tom Cruise Katie Holmes... this Katy is way cooler) it was an amazing day with face shots the whole way down the huge run.

North Face of Slalok. Yummy.

Katy skinning up the ridge on Slalok, with Joffre’s numerous couloirs in the background.

Katy partway down Slalok

Next two-planked outing was a rare day of skiing the lifts at Blackcomb and Whistler with my Dad. He has spent the last few winters in warm, snowless places so despite countless past ski adventures and misadventures, we haven’t gotten out together in a long time. While riding the chairlift up he told me about the first time I tried skiing. I was around 3 and he strapped tiny plastic skis on me and slid me down the pile made by snow sliding off our metal roof. Apparently l giggled like crazy. It’s nice to know that 27 years later skiing still has that effect on me.

My Dad. I hope I'm still shredding like him when I'm almost 60!

At the Peak Chair in Whistler, a strange spring phenomenon was witnessed....

Hey, quack here often?
I guess the lifties are getting bored by this time of year...

Next up in the family fun department was a visit from my Mum for a few days. We embarked on the Spearhead Traverse which she easily rocked in a 9 hour day. Her remarkable endurance never ceases to amaze me.

My Mother rocking the cotton tee on the Spearhead Traverse. If it's Patagonia Organic Cotton, is it still death cloth?

Note the cowboy in the background. I hired him to carry and serve our picnic complete with wine. Actually I didn't, but that would have been a great idea. There's always next time!

My last day on skis for the season was pretty special because it involved guiding three teenage rippers on their first day of backcountry skiing. We ventured into the Blackcomb slackcountry and did some basic avi training, talked about mountain travel and skied some cool runs.

First skin up: big smiles, fresh legs, "backcountry skiing is awesome!"

Second skin up... the boys were whistling a slightly different tune.

Well winter 10/11, I guess that’s it for us. Our time together is really over. Thanks for the deep turns, the steep turns, the stormy skies, the bluebird days, the shot-ski sessions and dance parties and thanks especially for the opportunity to enjoy time in the beautiful mountains with great co-workers, guests and friends.