Day 14: Epilogue

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your front door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – LoTR Tolkien

Truly hard to believe we’ve come to the end of another Test Your Limits adventure. This was number 11!! Dale and I were just talking about how after the first adventure in 2006 we kind of thought wow one and done. Look at us now 11 TYL‘s later.

This has been a first in many ways for the TYL team. It’s the first time we’ve done a multisport adventure. That in itself required everyone to train in many different ways to be prepared to paddle, bike, and of course climb. In addition, there were lots of personal firsts on the trip like rock, climbing, down climbing, ropes, biners, and of course, awesomeness on crampon. To say nothing of rock holes (Dale/Suneet) that tried to swallow the team. So sorry Dave couldn’t join us for the full trip. Was super great to have him at the beginning, always appreciate his tremendous sense of humour and optimism.

As is always the case with a TYL adventure, there are many thanks that need to be given. I want to do a great big shout out to the team at Alpine Recreation who were amazing. Elke and Axel made the trip on the ground exceptional. Their ability to maneuver, change the plan, adapt to the changing weather and the team’s needs was remarkable. If ever you find yourself in NZ this is the team you want to spend your time with. They have many adventures to offer, the country is outrageously glorious and I can’t overstate how incredible Alpine Rec has been.

Yamnuska Mountain Adventure – well they’re family. This is the third time I’ve had the honour of climbing in a TYL trip with Barry Blanchard. You may not know this, he is truly a Canadian legend, an icon, a man with many first ascents to his name. But what’s amazing about him is his humility and respect, his ability to make each climb feel unique and remarkable (even if it’s like a cake walk for him!!!).

First time with Tim Riccci. Needless to say his tank is always full, he’s always go and always there. Although I listened to more Toto singing ‘Africa’ (mostly with the wrong lyrics) than I could ever want to. Every single time Tim came by me he would start singing the song …whether it was behind me paddling, or on the bikes or in the mountains. In fact yesterday when we arrived at the cars, he had the song on endless loop 😱. Tim was our master planner and responsible for the overall trip itinerary. The TYL team felt that this was an incredibly awesome adventure – three separate activities in one trip. Can’t wait to spend more time with the Yamnuska family. Heads up Canada, Yamnuska is the best.

Of course to my teammates, thanks for the laughs, the encouragement, the support and the teamwork. We nailed it. Dale continues to astound. 25 years post heart transplant. Forever grateful to his donor who made all these dreams come true. Many thanks to the team back home covering my practice and the division, allowing me to have the time off and to be way in the back country, off grid. Massive shout out to Anne, Sam, Augusta, Alanna for doing the blog (even with the crazy time change).

To those of you who have supported TYL over the years, please know that your gifts have made a difference in the lives of Canadians. We continue to support the mission of heart health and wellness, and don’t forget your life is worth one hour a day!! And remember – ‘not all who wander are lost.’