After all the preparation, the new boots, the salt adjustments, the cold adaptation, I was ready to go for the summit of M2 today, also known as Mount Royal, a towering 233 meter pyramid of rock and snow. Accessible only by a road or a sidewalk, it is the remotest of places in Montreal. I set off before lunch and decided to walk the whole way, if I was going to feel a sense of accomplishment I would not rely on the bus, that is for casual mountain climbers. I walked briskly careful to wear my COVID mask and avoid walking past people who were not wearing masks. Other than the virus, the sidewalk was very hazardous, a hard flat concrete surface you wouldn't want to fall down on it. As I slowly ascended upwards, perhaps 50 meters over sea level by now, I reached the precipices of the climb. The highway underpass. I stopped to make this painting with a stiff cold wind but a nice sunny sky. Then I turned left an headed onward and upwards.
Forest Hill Overpass, near Mount Royal, 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021 (No. 2552)
As I plodded up the sidewalk on Remembrance Road, the cemetery was clearly visible- hundreds on hundreds of tombstones. This was a stark reminder of the dangers of climbing M2, they knew the risks, and they went ahead with it anyways. Expert climbers call it summit fever, when you sense the summit and already have your life invested, you just go for it. Maybe it was more like cabin fever, I wanted to get out of my condo. From the sidewalk I made the dangerous traverse across the parking lot. An elderly couple was trying to get across but they didn't see the path, I waved to them and they followed. Maybe I saved some lives today. In the parking lot I saw this sheer vertical wall of rock and snow, probably 5 meters high or even 7 meters. I didn't try to scale it today, instead I made a reconnaissance paintings to study the rock formations and possible climbing route.
Snowy Rock Face Mount Royal, 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021 (No. 2553a)
As I reached the south summit, still a long walk to the true summit, I saw hundreds of people having fun on the skating rink, skiing, walking, laughing, and with children and infants too. Clearly M2 has become commercialized, and these naive people seem oblivious to the dangers of high altitude alpine climbing. At around 200 meters, the oxygen is only 99.98% of sea level oxygen, making it technically harder to breath. I was strong though and didn't even notice the thin air. Following a snowshoe trail I found this scene looking south towards the river and Samuel de Champlain bridge. A bitter wind howled through the forest and I knew it was time to head home despite the fact that I had not made it to the true summit of M2. Many accidents in the mountain occur on descent, so I carefully headed back retracing my steps through the deep snow, and lived to climb (and paint) again.
Champlain bridge from M2, 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021 (No. 2554)
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