Climbing in the rain presents obvious challenges as slippery rocks can lead to falls but when rainfall funnels into temporary streams on sheer rock walls, the situation can go from challenging to critical.
The following video was taken inside Alberta, Canada’s Jasper National Park where a pair of climbers scaling a rock wall during a torrential rainstorm had a dark moment of realization that they may have made a poor decision before embarking on their ascent.
The pair bailed on the climb and safely made it to the ground. Not accepting the defeat, they wait for a clear day with absolutely no rain in the forecast for their second attempt. Unfortunately mother nature delivered again rain but this time it was light enough not create temporary waterfalls and they finally competed their objective after nearly 14 hours:
“On our first attempt, we got waterfalled off this route. On our second attempt, we chose a clear day with absolutely no rain in the forecast. Sure enough, it rained on us anyways. Three times. This time, however, there were no torrential waterfalls – the rain was light enough that we were able to wait for the rock to dry and continue on to finish the route, though it took us nearly 14 hours.”