(ON) Ice Climbing Community Weekend Jan 2025

Event Details

This event will be held on the traditional territories of the Omàmìwininìwag (Algonquin) and Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ peoples. We are grateful to recreate on this land.

We are ice climbing for our third year in Ontario this January!  This year’s winter climbing trip will be held in collaboration with Alpine Club of Canada’s (ACC) Toronto chapter as well as Climb Smart Shop and is for BIPOC climbers to go ice and mixed climbing in a community-centered and supportive environment. Join us for a day of top roping moderate ice and mixed routes at Diamond Lake (weather permitting). All ice climbing skill levels are welcome.

What to Expect:

This is not a guided trip. ACC Toronto will be bringing more experienced climbers who will provide guidance and mentorship when it comes to ice climbing, but there will be no formal instructors or guides. Preparation for this event is key. Please make sure you have read through the description thoroughly, have appropriate clothing and the mindset to stay warm and positive in the cold. We ask that you make sure that you are able to join before applying or email us if you are no longer available as the space is very limited. At the same time, we encourage you to try something new. Here’s what the weekend looks like:

Optional: Friday Jan 17th

Lesson on how to belay at Boulderz climbing gym with Climb Smart Shop at their Etobicoke location (80 The East Mall Unit 9 Etobicoke, Ontario). This lesson would be geared towards learning how to belay using an ATC but can also be a belay lesson on using a gri gri for those that need it. Please specify in your application if you would need this lesson! Currently we estimate it will be $30 + tax /pp, for a lesson + two week membership.

Friday January 24th:

Diamond Lake is around 4 hours north of Toronto, for that reason we recommend participants drive up on Friday night and stay at Arlington GastHaus where organizers and ACC folks will be staying. Single beds in the dormitory are $40/night tax included (this is not included in the cost of this event). 

Saturday:

• 8:30am: Prep for the day: Breakfast, pack gear, food, and water. Dress warmly and layer up (more details below).
• 9:30am: Leave Arlington
• 10am: Arrive at Diamond Lake.
• 10am – 3pm ACC Toronto folks will set up anchors and top ropes and provide demonstrations and advice on ice climbing techniques, and we will spend the day climbing here. 
• It is advised to pack lunch, snacks, and water for the day of climbing.
• 3pm – 4pm: Pack up anchors, ropes, and all gear 
• 4pm onwards: free time (dinner, drive home etc).

Please note: Due to the specifics of the weather conditions required, the event may become mixed conditions climbing rather than ice climbing if there is no ice available.  Location may change depending on conditions of the ice and lake crossing.

Sunday:

Option to stay and continue climbing with some ACC folks. This will not be a formally organized component of the weekend. If you stay you will be responsible for returning any gear you borrow to Climb Smart Shop upon your return to Toronto.

Very Important Information:

This trip sits between A/B classification as per ACC Toronto guidelines:
A Trips:

• Trip is suitable for beginner outdoor climbers. Participants are not required to lead, but must have belaying skills. Mostly single pitch trad or sport routes with an easy approach. Equipment requirements include harness, helmet, rock shoes and at least one locking carabiner.

B Trips

• Trip is suited to outdoor climbers with experience following or leading mostly single pitch trad or sport climbs. Participants must be able to belay a leader, clean gear, follow a route, have rope management skills and knowledge of anchors. Equipment requirements include harness, helmet, rock shoes, two locking carabiners and a belay device. The approach may be longer and climbs more difficult to get to.
• Be aware of any hazards with regards to each activity. Participants must be proficient at top rope belaying.

Trip Hazards:
Falls and Belaying
Rockfall and Icefall
General Hazards
Terrain

Review trip hazards on the ACC Toronto website and contact trip leaders [email protected] and [email protected] for more details you have questions. All participants must have a Colour the Trails waiver and ACC waiver to participate. CTT waiver will need to be signed in advance and ACC waiver signed in person.

Gear: 

Climb Smart Shop is providing the following gear:

• Helmet
• Ice tools
• Boots
• Technical crampons
• Harnesses
• Belay devices (ATC and/or gri gri)

ACC is providing:

• Ropes
• Locking carabiners
• Anchor equipment

What to Bring:

Participants will be expected to bring their own cold weather gear/clothing

Outer Layers:

• A warm, insulated jacket for belaying.
• A lighter insulated jacket for climbing (ideally waterproof, hardshell/Goretex).
• At least two pairs of winter gloves or mitts (as they may get wet). One pair can be mitts. If it’s milder, you can use one thinner pair of gloves (like garden gloves or “work gloves”). If you get cold easily, consider chemical hand-warming packets.
• Toque without pom poms or Balaclava (to wear under the helmet) – essential.

Inner Layers:

• Quick-dry clothing (polyester, nylon or wool)
• Warm layers (i.e. wool/fleece sweater)

You will be doing a lot of moving (cardio) then stopping so layering is key. Aim for a minimum of 3 layers from long underwear to wool sweater to jacket to take on and off.

Footwear:

• Hiking or ski boots ( in case of sizing issues with available ice climbing boots)
• “Ski” socks are the best, bulky wool socks bunch up and actually make your feet colder
• Spare pair of wool or ski socks
• optional :  snowshoes can help keep boots dry for lake crossing
• Optional:  gaiters can help protect your pants from crampons

Food:
Plenty of rich nutritious food! You will burn lots of calories just to stay warm. An insulated Thermos (or even two!) of your favorite hot beverage or soup is STRONGLY recommended. You likely won’t be motivated to drink icy, cold water. Hot drinks will help keep you warm and happy!!! There is a communal kitchen at the hostel where you can store food and meal prep in the morning!

Cost: 

$150 + tax ($169.50). Your ticket supports CTT creating more affordable, community minded/focused events year round. 

We have not included accommodation in the cost of this event as some folks may wish to stay elsewhere, drive up the morning of (although we do not advise this as this would be extremely tiring to then climb for the day) or stay for both Friday and Saturday night. Once the participant list is confirmed we can all discuss our accommodation booking plans.

Application:

You can apply to be a part of the trip at this link.

Please note as these events can have a lot of applicants we ask that you write a thoughtful application and highlight your investment in being a part of the CTT/climbing community. We ask that you do not treat our work like a discount service! Applications will close on Jan 14th and selections will be announced on a rolling basis via email until Jan 16th. We love our allies, but due to very limited space, only BIPOC 18+ are invited to apply. You must be able to handle a moderate activity level, and you must have belaying experience to attend the event (we will have an optional belay lesson on Jan 17th at Boulderz Etobicoke – see above).

Colour the Trails Policies

All policies are agreed to upon receipt of payment. Please pay special attention to the following:

Cancellation Policy for Multi-day Adventure, Summits, Retreats, or Partnered Events

This policy applies to larger events, including summits, partnered events, and multi-day overnight events, where attendance planning and logistics are especially crucial. These events take us months to plan and execute. We understand that unexpected situations may arise that require event cancellations, but we want to ensure the smooth and fair execution. 

• Cancellations made less than 20 days of the event will not be eligible for a refund unless we manage to fill in the spot.
• Penalty: A six months ineligibility to attend future events. We leave a right to cancel any registration of the person under penalty in this time frame. After the six month ineligibility period has elapsed, participants can once again sign up for future events without any restrictions.

Content Creation Statement

We ask to respect our work and to not create content to promote any other brands or organizations using footage or images taken during our events. Our team is putting a lot of energy and time into creating community spaces with little support and unrelated organizations should not benefit from our hard labour. You are encouraged to share about Colour the Trails work as it shows the welcoming and safe space we are creating and word of mouth helps our community to grow!