Redlight District and Three Marmots

These videos come from my favorite place in the world, the Durrand Glacier chalet near Revelstoke, British Columbia. Except that I only go there in summer, and I hike, I don't climb.

The "Marmots" are the owners' two girls and probably a cousin. They are 18, 15 or 16, and 14 if the cousin is who I think she is, but I could be wrong about the last one. They've been skiing since they were two.

Just thought I'd share.

 

The eldest daughter told me last summer that "the world's best climber" visited them once to climb with her dad, who is a certified mountain guide, and that the route was so difficult that her dad could not lead. He could climb it, but only as the following climber.

I imagine this is the guy she was talking about. I don't know how it is decided who is "the best" climber, or whether she meant the statement literally or figuratively. She might have meant it the same way you might say "We went to the best restaurant last night," meaning that it was exceptionally good, without literally meaning that there was literally no better restaurant in the entire world. Or maybe this guy is the acknowledged best. I don't know. I know nothing about climbing.

If you rate scrambles from 1 (where you just have to grab something with your hands occasionally) to 10 (where you almost but not quite need ropes and gear) then I can probably do a level 4 scramble. But given my druthers I'd prefer not to have to use my hands at all. Walking up and down nice, well-maintained trails is what I enjoy. Unfortunately, a certain amount of scrambling is necessary to hike in the best places.