We often get so focused on the next step that we forget to appreciate where we are
On the side of a cliff above Banff, my whole mind was on the next rung. The view had been there the whole time.
Somewhere on the side of a cliff on Mount Norquay, clipped to a steel cable with the Bow Valley a long way down below, I noticed my whole mind was on the rock in front of me, the next rung, the next handhold. When I let myself stop, and turn around, the view was already there, and had been the whole time.
I have been visiting Banff basically since I was born. It is one of my favourite places in the world, and I have been lucky to spend time there with close family and friends over the years. I have rock climbed in the Rockies before, and the Via Ferrata on Norquay had been on my list for a while. You get to climb the tall cliffs at the top, looking out over the mountain valley and the town of Banff below.
What we signed up for
Via Ferrata is Italian for “iron road.” It is a guided climbing experience that bridges the gap between hiking and rock climbing. You scale steep alpine cliffs using fixed steel cables, iron rungs, ladders, and suspension bridges, clipped the whole time into a safety harness. The routes have narrow ledges, wire suspension bridges, and vertical ladder climbs high above the valley floor.
We took on the Ridgewalker course, about 4 hours. I had my 2 boys and 1 of their girlfriends along with me, and I am not sure they entirely understood what I had signed them up for. They knew there was a suspension bridge involved. They had not given it much thought past that.
This changed on the side of the cliffs. Our guide mentioned a base jumper he knows who has been considering those same spots to jump from. Nothing puts the height into perspective quite like that. There we were, standing on ledges most people only ever look up at.
The part I keep coming back to
For me this kind of mountain adventure is freeing in a way little else is. Your only job is the rock in front of you. There is no room for anything else. And then, when you allow yourself a moment and turn around, the Rockies are just sitting there, majestic, the way they have been for millions of years.
That might be the hidden point in all of this. We get so locked on the next step forward that we forget to pause and appreciate where we already are. Not where we are headed. Where we are right now, and how beautiful it already is.
Standing on the edge, looking straight down the cliff face, trusting the gear, letting myself take it in, that is an empowering feeling. And when we summitted, we were met with views across the backside of Norquay that you will only ever see if you make the climb. There is no road and no easy path. You earn it.
The best part was arriving there as a team. Some had doubted, out loud, whether they would make it (or ever do it again). And there we all were, together, taking in some of the best that nature has to offer.
We have pictures to capture the experience, and the pictures are great. It is the feelings that came with memories that can not be traded for anything.
So here is the one I am sitting with, and I would put it to you too: when did you last let yourself stop, turn around, and take in how far you have already come?