HELMCKEN FALLS — An ice-climbing team using advanced equipment has made the first ascent of the Helmcken Falls grotto.

The U.K.'s Tim Emmett and Slovenian Klem Preml, accompanied by a party of climbers from the U.S. and Canmore, Alta., climbed the 150-metre rock wall Monday next to the well-known cataract in Wells Gray Provincial Park near Clearwater. The ascent marked successful completion of a 12-day trip and three years of preparation.

Helmcken Falls are three times the height of Niagara Falls. Will Gadd, the Canmore ice climber who pioneered climbing the Helmcken spray ice last year with E.J. Plimley, describes it as the most difficult in the world.

"It's a pretty unique climb," Emmett said Wednesday before making another descent over the canyon lip to test an alternative route. Emmett is an extreme athlete known for his climbing, jumping, surfing and skiing exploits.

"They've worked jolly hard for it," said Linda Nelson, co-owner of Helmcken Falls Lodge, where the climbing party has been staying near the entrance to the park.

The challenge represents the pinnacle of a relatively new hybrid sport known as mixed climbing, a combination of rock climbing and ice climbing, which has come into its own as a sport over the past 30 years.

What makes Helmcken especially difficult is that it is much different from the frozen falls most ice climbers scale. Helmcken never freezes over, so the ascent has to be made via the concave-shaped grotto wall. This means the climber is suspended from overhang 150 metres above the canyon floor, surrounded by a thicket of 10-metre high brinicles, also known as ice stalactites. First, though, he has to find existing climbing bolts using a metal detector. The constant spray adds a further chill, turning climbers into popsicles.

On Wednesday, Emmett could be seen from the viewing platform, swinging Spider-Man-like from the wall through a veil of falls mist.

The rest of the party was half concealed behind the fall, perched at the top of the massive ice cone that forms at the base of the falls. One wrong step would send someone shooting down into the cone and under the ice of the Murtle River to almost certain death.

On the opposite side of the falls, nearer the viewing platform, a giant cavern of ice formation could be seen. The ice cone alone can reach the height of Niagara Falls in midwinter.

On this latest climb, the group was shooting a film to promote the feat and a new line of Mountain Hard Wear specialized equipment designed for mixed climbing. They've produced photographed awe-inspiring images of the cathedral-like interior of the grotto, which extends 50 metres back behind the falls and is concealed from view. Ice Revolution, a short film by Gadd and Emmett on the Helmcken project, was screened at last season's Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Helmcken is considered one of two of B.C.'s premier waterfalls along with Takakaw Falls. The roar of the falls thunders like a freight train before a visitor even arrives at the canyon lookout.

Two students in the TRU adventure tourism school were skiing overnight to King Hut and among the few visitors in the park. When told of the climb just up the road, Josianne Priggs and Kelsie Maas couldn't resist the short drive to take in the spectacle.

Emmett said last year's Helmcken climb was incorrectly reported in the international press as the first summit of the falls.

Andrew Nelson, co-owner of the lodge, said the group's exploits have added to the falls' international fame.

A video about the Helmcken project from last year can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdmQUM9e0Ds