It was my third trip to the Canadian Rockies in as many years. Twice before, Yuki Fujita and I had attempted Polar Circus and had been thwarted by weather, avalanche conditions or just too many parties ahead of us. In March of 2001 I was not climbing with Yuki but was determined to make another serious attempt.

My my friend Makoto and I rode past the climb a couple of times going to the Weeping Wall and it's companion Wymper Wall. I took this picture one afternoon and kept sneaking looks at it every evening at the cabin.

The fever was rising. Conditions seemed good and I was really psyched to give it a try. Unfortunately Makoto had a problem with his ankle due to an ice climbing accident the previous winter, so I knew he would not be a good companion. I had hooked uyp with Dave Parker, a climber from Seattle who I had met through the White Mountain Report newsletter, and did a day's climbing at Johnson Canyon. That afternoon I broached the idea of Polar Circus. He jumped right aboard and we made plans for 2 days later.

The hunt was on.