Hello, I’m Angela Bargen and this is my website. I’ve always been drawn to wild places and adventure. As long as I can remember, I’ve searched for quiet places in the wilderness where I could hear the wind in the trees or a creek splashing down rocks. I’ve explored forests, valleys, rivers, just curious about what’s around the next bend in the trail or over the next hill.
As a child, I discovered backpacking on a family hike when we strolled into a backcountry campsite. I couldn’t figure out how the camper got all her stuff there until she told me, “It all fits in my backpack.” My world expanded and suddenly my dream adventures became multi-day expeditions.
I was able to try backpacking before my first son was born. I loved it and wanted more but being a mom took priority. I managed to get out for a week or two most years as my two sons grew up.
As my kids got older, we learned to ski at Lake Louise, only a couple of hours away from home in Calgary. We also hiked together and even took on some summits, climbing Mount Lady McDonald and one year, we climbed Heart Mountain on Mother’s Day.
As my kids grew up, I turned my attention to satisfying my longing for mountain adventure. I signed up for a guided adventure called “Yoho Peaks” with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. I was very fortunate to climb four mountains in two days with legendary mountain guide Barry Blanchard. When I asked Barry what my next steps should be, he suggested I learn some rock climbing skills.
I signed up for the next Yamnuska Intro to Outdoor Rock session. From the first time I put my hands on the rock, I was hooked. I also learned ice climbing through a Yamnuska Course and I hired the instructor as a private guide to help me improve my ice climbing skills and take me up some challenging and classic climbs such Professor Falls, The Sorcerer, Carlsburg Column and Louise Falls. We did some alpine climbing as well in the Bugaboos which was amazing.
I felt very grateful to be able to experience these fantastic adventures with a mountain guide. This allowed me to climb routes I would never have been able to do on my own. I learned a lot about climbing, the systems that make it safer and general hazard assessment.
The next step for me was to learn how to do it on my own. I wanted to learn and experience the risk management and decision-making essential for safe and fun mountain adventure.
When my husband and I met about seven years ago, we both wanted to spend more time in the mountains and improve our skills. We started climbing, skiing and mountain biking together and we learned together. We now climb rock and ice multi-pitch routes, we backpack, scramble up mountains and ski the backcountry far from ski hills.
The adventures I describe on this website, are adventures that he and I have shared. We continue to learn and expand our skills as we keep exploring and living the Adventure Life.
Adventure Life 