Tuesday, December 11, 2007
French Kiss - Dec 2
The walk into the climbs was a dream compared to our previous two weekends of ice climbing - only 15 minutes! We arrived at the base in no time. Brad and I headed to the left most side of the amphitheatre to climb French Kiss, while Jollin & Claudia stuck right on the main Quick & Dirty route. The climbs were very, very wet, In fact, at times it was like standing in the shower as everytime I looked up I got water in my eyes. My gloves were squishy soaked by the end of the route, and the rest of me was equally wet. The lead was fun and varied, although I dropped a tool ahlfway up and had to come down to retrieve it.
After I descended, we pulled the ropes so that Brad could lead the route. This was his most challenging lead on ice to date, and after a case of the Screaming Barfies he reached the top.
We never had a chance to switch routes with Jollin & Claudia, as everyone was wet and ready to go. Another day!
Wall Lake - Nov 16-17
Brad, Jarred, and I left the car on Friday night with our ice climbing and overnight gear in our packs. We hoped to spend the weekend in the Wall Lake area exploring various smears. Mother Nature had other plans for us. Right from the get-go, things were troubled. As we walked down the now closed Akamina Parkway, it started to rain. The rain continued as we climbed the Akamina pass trail out of the National Park and into BC. This was not our only barrier, as violent winds earlier in the week had blown down many large trees over the trail. After hiking for 2 hours and hurdling 30-40 trees, we arrived on the shores of Wall Lake. We set up the tent and settled in for the night.
In the morning, we woke up and packed up our ice gear with high hopes. It didn't last long though - on our way over to the climbs we heard a loud noise that was unmistakeably the sound of an avalanche roaring over our climbing path. That sound, coupled with the likelihood of encountering unconsolidated mush ice encouraged us to turn around. We abandoned hopes of ice climbing and went back to pack up our tent and sleeping bags.
On our hike out, we ran into Scott and Willis. They continued on to the lake to have a look at the ice, but it wasn't long before they joined us at the Kilmorey for a beer. You can't win them all, eh?
Black and Blue
Crowsnest Mountain
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Mount Blakiston
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Mount Assiniboine
June 23 – 24, 2007
As I was away for most of the spring, and would soon be leaving for the entire summer, it was important to squeeze in another awesome trip before it was too late. This was my last available weekend to spend with Brad before heading to work at the cadet camp, and initially our plan was to climb a multi-pitch route or two on Kid Goat near Canmore. However, after our great weekend at Cracker Lake the week before we both agreed that another weekend of backpacking would be ideal. After that decision was made, picking an objective was easy. Both of us really wanted to see Mount Assiniboine because we’d frequently read about its stunning beauty. Mount Assiniboine is considered the “Queen” of the Southern Rockies because it towers over all of the other peaks around it. It also has a symmetrical pyramid shape, drawing comparisons with the famed Matterhorn in Europe. That was enough to motivate us to make the 50km+ round trip in two days.
The trip started late on Friday afternoon, as Brad had to work and I had to finish up a final for my spring classes. We drove to Calgary, and after an obligatory stop at MEC, we were headed towards the mountains. We took two vehicles as I would be leaving straight for camp following the weekend. After parking my car at the library in Canmore, we drove out of town on the windy and bumpy Spray Lakes Road. Our drive out to the trailhead at Mount Shark, while dusty, was also filled with animal sightings. Because it was nearly nine and the sun was going down, all of the animals were out and about. We saw rabbits, elk, and deer. We also almost hit a young black bear as it came barrelling out of the trees and across the road. In order to get the driving out of the way, we decided to set up camp right at the trailhead. And while this was probably not allowed, I figured that we would start the day early enough to avoid getting caught. We parked the truck, brushed the dust off our packs, and set up the tent. Within twenty minutes, we were comfortably resting in our sleeping bags.
In order to get a good start on the 25+kms that we had to cover, we got up early. After a hurried breakfast and a double check of our packs, we were walking. The quickest and most popular way into Mount Assiniboine begins at the Mount Shark cross country ski trails, heading due west into Banff National Park. Continuing west, you’ll then head over Assiniboine Pass, and cross the border into B.C. and Mount Assiniboine Porvincial Park. For the first leg of the trip, the trail was wide and mostly flat. We cruised through the first 13 kms in 2.5 hrs, and found ourselves at the Bryant Creek warden cabin. This also marked the spot where the trail left the trees into an open alpine meadow. The views in this valley were stunning, and for the next 7 kms we were treated to huge limestone faces, delicate wildflowers and cascading waterfalls. The trail also became more interesting, as many parts had turned into mini creeks due to the melting snow pack. Luckily, detour trails had already been blazed, so we managed to get through without any wet boots. Soon enough, we began the climb up and over Assiniboine Pass. We gained about 300m in elevation over three kilometres as the trail wound its way up the hillside. Before we knew it, we had reached the top. We broke for a quick lunch at the summit before continuing on. From here, we had about 4 kms of downhill travel to arrive at the base of Lake Magog, where we would spend the night. Because we were now at a fairly high altitude (2100m), and it was still early in the season, there was quite a bit of snow left up top. It didn’t present too much of a problem, but on more than a few instances, we sunk up to our knees after a poorly placed step. So far, Mount Assiniboine had been elusive. But as we came down and around the final corner, we saw our first view of her. The peak was more impressive than I had imagined it would be. Above Lake Magog, a glacier hung in a meadow. Immediately to its left, Mount Assiniboine rose out of the ice as an equilateral and imposing pyramid. The peak still had a fair amount of snow on it, and the contrast between the white snow and dark rock only added to its stature.
At 1:45 we arrived at Mount Assiniboine Lodge, 5 hours and 45 minutes after setting out. We were treated by the staff to warm, fresh cookies, which was an awesome way to finish a long hike! After hearing that our intended campground was under knee-deep slush, we opted to stay in the Naiset Huts for the evening. These unfinished, rackety shacks didn’t appeal to the high end tourists at the lodge, but they were a luxury to us. Within a few minutes, we were stretched out in the sun on our “porch”, reading magazines and eating cookies. Later, we also opted to go for camper’s tea at the lodge From it’s deck, we enjoyed hot tea, fresh loaves, and great late afternoon views of Assiniboine. After a long walk around Lake Magog, we headed back to cook supper. Brad made a delicious cous cous concoction for dinner, and we sat in the cook shack and visited with an Australian couple who we’d met at the campsite. There stories were interesting, as they’d travelled nearly everywhere – including nine months spent in Africa living out of a Land Rover. By the time we’d eaten and cleaned up, we were ready for bed.
In the morning we were up early again, and quickly prepped for the hike back out. We hit the trail at around 7:30, and were soon up and over Assiniboine Pass and back into Alberta. The hike out went quickly, but towards the end our pace began to drag a little. My feet were blistered and sore from the distance travelled, and the last 5 kms was especially tedious. We arrived at the trailhead around 2PM, making the return trip in 5.5 hrs.
While the trail was flat and gentle most of the time, the distance we had travelled over two days had taken its toll on our bodies. We climbed into the truck tired and aching, but also satisfied at having accomplished another one of the goals on our hit list. A successful weekend all around!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Cracker Lake!
Glacier National Park, Montana
Brad & I at Cracker Lake
It had been a little while since we'd gotten out for some backcountry adventure, and as summer drew closer the number of weekends available for a trip became fewer. Since we'd never been there, Brad and I decided to head to Glacier National Park for the weekend.We left town on Friday night, and just under two hours later we were setting up camp at the Many Glacier campground. This weekend would be the first time trying out my new tent and Brad's new sleeping bag and pot set- new gear is always fun! Because the border guards had confiscated our salami and we hadn't planned for anything else, we went shopping for supper. A half hour and a weird conversation with a clerk later, we were frying up hot dogs. A culinary delight.We took a short walk (4km) up the Swiftcurrent Pass valley after supper, and happened upon a moose at Fishercap Lake. It didn't seem too concerned with us watching it muck around in the water for a few minutes. We continued on, and managed to snap quite a few nice photos. Photos were important to us this weekend because of the lack of summer pictures in our collection. Believe me, we took lots! Soon enough, we tucked into the tent for the evening to read guidebooks and go to sleep.
When morning came, I headed to the ranger station to see about a backcountry camping permit for the evening. Our original plan was to hike to Poia Lake, set up camp, and then day hike from there. However, that campground was full and we got a permit for Cracker Lake instead. It was no loss as we'd heard it was beautiful. After some delays at the ranger station, and having to suffer through a 15 minute backcountry awareness video, we headed to the trailhead. We were hiking by 10am.
The hike into Cracker Lake is a 6 mile (9.7ish kms) trip. It was a pretty hike that started in the trees before heading up into the alpine. There was one set of switchbacks on the trail, but no real crazy elavation gain (300 m). Along the way, we met a nice park ranger who was out investigating reports of a grizzly sighting. She didn't find what she was looking for, but we found answers to a lot of our questions about the park! As we hiked on, clouds rolled in and it started to lightly rain. We kept a good pace and arrived at Cracker Lake in 2.5 hrs. We didn't see any wildlife along the way, but there were fresh digging marks from bears along the trail that made us nervous at times.
As we set up camp, the skies really opened up. We ate a hurried lunch in the tent, and when the rain subsided we headed out to explore the area. Cracker Lake is the colour of "Blue Raspberry KoolAid" - typical of glacial fed mountain lakes. It is framed on all sides by steep mountains, and is cordoned off by Mt.Siyeh and the Siyeh Glacier from the rear. We hiked out towards the glacier to explore for the afternoon. We climbed over the gravel moraines, up a snow slope and then down onto Siyeh Glacier. There's not much ice left here, and the glacier is more akin to a residual snow field. We played around for a few hours on the hillside, visiting a waterfalls and taking pictures. Brad was also determined to find a mountain goat that would "apprentice" him, but aside from fur stuck on branches we had no luck. Around 5 o clock we headed back to camp, but along the way stopped in to visit an old mine site. It must have been a lot of work to dig that out so far away from civilization!
We made ourselves some supper, and sipped red wine from the "tetra pak" style box wine we'd bought the day earlier. We had no cups, so we had to drink right from the wine juice box. Classy. Since we'd neglected to bring any reading material, the only thing to do was to sit around and admire the view. It was not a bad thing to be stuck doing.
It started to rain again, so we headed to the tent to get ready for bed. After looking through the day's pictures, we drifted in and out of sleep. During the night a major storm rolled in, and on several occassions hard rains woke us. Thankfully, the tent was of sound construction and kept us bone dry (yeah!). However, when we woke up in the morning the winds had picked up and were threatening to collapse the tent walls. The weather was crazy, with gale force winds driving snow parallel to the ground. We packed up hurriedly and carefully, and didn't bother trying to light the stove for oatmeal. It was at this time that Brad discovered that the campground's resident marmot had visited us during the night and chewed on the padding of his pack. Luckily the damage wasn't too severe, or we'd have had marmot for breakfast instead!
The weather eased as we hiked out, but it still rained steadily the whole way. We were back at the car 2hrs and 15 mins after setting out from Cracker Lake. Everything was pretty wet, but luckily we'd stayed pretty dry because of our hardshells and gaiters. All in all, while the weather wasn't ideal for some it was perfect for us. It didn't get in the way of the weekend, and allowed us to test the limits of some of our gear. Smiles and success all around!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Red Rocks Trip
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Rocky Mountain Road Trip III
This year, Kelly, Jarred, Brad, and I had plans to head Yoho National Park. This park is a winter mecca that none of us had really spent a significant amount of time in. Our initial plan was to head west to Fernie for a night, then up the Radium highway to Yoho for several days. We hoped to get in a number of solid days ice climbing, and maybe a ski tour or two. Here's the summary of how the trip went .....
Saturday, February 17
Travel and Eating
I was tied up all day with a Cadet shooting competition, so we couldn't leave until that evening. When I got home, we got busy loading up vehicles and doing last minute checks to make sure we had everything we needed. There was no way we were going to fit all four of us (plus gear) in one vehicle, so Kelly and Jarred paired up in Jarred's vehicle, and Brad and I loaded up into mine (equipped with Brad's satellite radio, oh yeah!). After running some last minute checks and errands, we hit the road. We got to Fernie around 9PM, and Lezlie and Adam were there waiting for us. I work with Lezlie at the store, and this was the first chance I had to make it out to their Fernie "ski apartment". After Lezlie had stuffed us all with rounds of chili, buns, and desert we headed over to her friend's "cabin" to spend the night. The "cabin" was an incredible log home with multiple bedrooms and a hot tub. After some more cookies and conversation, we finally went to bed at 1:00 AM. It was such a treat to stay there.....
Sunday, February 18
Fernie and the Yoho trek
After sleeping in, we woke up to snow in Fernie. The snow was REALLY coming down in heavy blobs, and it was a really beautiful sight. We went back over to Lezlie and Adam's and Lezlie cooked a feast of a breakfast for us. Our original plan for Sunday was to leave early and climb some ice near a hot springs on the way up to Yoho. However, due to our late start and Lezlie's great cooking we were moving a bit slower than planned. Also, Kelly and Jarred were more than happy to spend week eating cookies on Lezlie's couch, so convincing them to leave took a couple of hours. We finally got out the door at around 2 PM, and were on our way up to Yoho! The first 30 minutes of the drive were stormy, but we had clear skies and roads the rest of the way.
When we finally got to Yoho National Park, we had difficulties finding the campground we were supposed to stay at. This resulted in us several illegal U-turns on Hwy 1 and navigating some snow filled pullouts. Jarred's car got stuck in one of those pullouts, and now we had the "fun" task of trying to push him out onto the #1 while avoiding traffic. After a bit of digging, a stranger stopping to help us, and a ghost car pulling over to turn his emergency lights on for us we got Jarred un-stuck. After another couple of "shithooks" and squeezing in behind a semi blocking the road we arrived at the campground.
We set to work setting up our tents. Jarred and Kelly decided to set their tent up inside the picnic shelter on a bed of snow, while Brad and I dug a snow pit out beside the cookshelter to set our tent up in. After a bit of work, everyone settled into bed for our first night of camping on the trip.
Monday, February 19
Ice Climbing - Hamilton Falls WI3 III
This was our first day of ice climbing, and we were anxious to get going after 2 days of lethargy. After consulting the guide book at breakfast, we decided to climb Hamilton Falls near Emerald Lake. Apparently it is a popular tourist spot in the summer and was an short but interesting place to climb in the winter. After driving to the parking lot and gearing up, we headed out on what we thought was the trail to the falls. After travelling a couple hundred metres, we were corrected by a skiier we ran into. From there we followed an old trail through the trees to try and meet up with the area we were supposed to be in. While we used up lots of engery and time doing this, it was pretty scenic and snowy. After meeting up with the correct trail and skiing up, we were at the base of the falls in about 30 minutes.
This was a cool spot to climb, and I was very excited to lead it. After gearing up, I headed up the climb which was short but enjoyable. There was a tense moment though, as at one point I accidentally kicked a hole through the ice to expose a 2 foot gap and rushing water underneath. This is generally not good in ice climbing, and made me a little nervous. However, it was good for a laugh when I got to look at it again on the way down. After I had built an anchor in solid ice up top, Brad climbed up to join me. From here we rappelled down, and let Kelly and Jarred have a turn at climbing it.
We all climbed the route a couple of times in a couple of different ways and had some fun. We had the most fun laughing at Jarred as he groaned and complained about the "leg cramps" he was experiencing a mere 5 feet off the ground. After packing up, we descended the trail we came in on, which was a little tricky on telemark skis with a heavy pack. I fell lots, and was tripped up a few times by sharp switchbacks and trees over the trail. When we got back to the car, we took a walk near the lake and Emerald Lake lodge. It was really beautiful there, and it definately looked like a nice place to stay. After a short time, we headed back to camp and made supper. Everything takes longer in the outdoors, and even longer yet in the winter. Once we were done our "housekeeping" we crawled back in to our our crowded tents and warm sleeping bags.
Tuesday, February 20
Ice Climbing - Johnston Canyon
We slept in a little bit later than we'd hoped, and by the time we got the stove going and Kelly and Jarred shook out of their tent it was already mid morning. After breakfast and a stop in Lake Louise to fill up water bottles, we were on the road to Johnston's Canyon, a popular tourist trap in both winter and summer. We hit the parking lot at 12:30 and were informed by a tour guide that there were already 12 ice climbiers on the falls at the end of the canyon. Because it was so late and we were too lazy to go anywhere else we decided to press on.
After hiking in and discovering a throng of other climbers, we geared up and waited for some ice to open up. I led the pitch and set up an anchor beside some Brits who'd come over for an ice climbing holiday. We played around on that stretch of ice for a while, and when the more difficult ice to our left opened up we jumped on it for some easy WI4. Brad even attempted a traverse onto a hanging icicle near the top.
At around 4:30 we decided to pack up and head for home. The hike out went by quickly, and before we knew it we were back at camp and tucked into our sleeping bags for the evening.
Wednesday, February 21
Waterworks - near Field
After a few days of sleeping in, Brad and I decided we would get an early start on the day and let Kelly and Jarred catch up. Brad's cousin Danny was coming out from Calgary to try ice climbing for the first time, and he was leaving early to accomodate our start time. Unfortunately for him, the rental agency didn't open until 7:30, so he was a bit later getting out to Field. To kill time while waiting for him we did a driving tour of Field. A very small town, but pretty nice.
When Danny arrived we headed out to the Waterworks, a small seep of ice that would be our playground for the day. We would have liked to have tried something longer or harder, but with the avalanche hazard and the size of our party we opted for a simpler choice. Trailbreaking into the route was difficult as there was often snow past our hips. Brad broke trail most of the way, which was no small feat with a pack on. After about 45 minutes we reached the base of the route and got set up. In no time, Jarred and Kelly joined us, as it was quicker for them to follow our trail. I led the short WI3 pitch and established an anchor up top. Brad seconded up after me, and we traversed right to set up a second anchor. This second rope (Danny's) would hang over a small rock band....making for some fun top-roped mixed climbing. We rapped soon after, and spent the day playing around on both rock and ice. Brad also did his first lead on ice, yay!
Because the climbing was limited and pretty easy, we packed up early. Kelly and Jarred were headed home that night, so they wanted to get an earlier start on the driving. After they packed up and Danny left it was pretty quiet around the campsite with just Brad and I. That meant an 8:00 bedtime was possible, which was awesome for recovery!
Thursday, February 22
Paradise Valley Ski Tour - Lake Louise
We woke up early and went about making breakfast and striking camp. Today we'd be leaving Field and heading to Lake Louise to do a ski tour in the Paradise Valley area. We made good time in the morning, and were in Lake Louise by 8. After fueling up and a few phone calls, we headed to the trailhead to gear up.
The trail started out following the Moraine Lake road, which was groomed for the first few kilometres. After that, we turned off into the trees, and made several turns before ending up on the trail into Paradise Valley. This is a popular summer trail that takes visitors past Mt. Temple and into the Grand Sentinel. The views were supposed to be fantastic, but after we broke out of the trees we noticed that clouds had started to roll in. The views were still beautiful, but clouds obscured the peaks in the distance. We continued to follow the trail for some distance, until coming to a fork in the ski trails. The guidebook was incredibley vague, as per usual (one paragrpah of description for 20kms), so we weren't really sure of which way to go. We ended up going right, and picking the wrong trail. The trail we followed was someone's descent route, and we ended up climbing a very steep hillside up into an alpine meadow. We were a little unnerved at this point, as the avalanche conditions weren't great and we could feel the snowpack squeaking underneath us so we made the decision to retreat. After taking our skins off, we ripped some turns through the fresh powder in the trees. Naturally, Brad fared much better than I, but I still managed to make it down with both eyes and all four appendages. From there, we skiied back out to the car and called it a day.
Ice Climbing - The Junkyards
We got off to a bit of a late start, as it was nice to enjoy the comforts of hard shelter. We'd been living out of a tent for the past four days, so sleeping in and laundry were high on the priority list. After we had a make-up session with civilization, we headed to the Junkyards for some easy Ice Climbing.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Adventures in the Ghost Valley!
Left Gulley - Ice Climbing, Waterton
On Jan 28, Brad and I headed back to Waterton to do some ice climbing. This was my first time out this year, and his first time period. We were both very excited as we had shiny new gear that needed to be put to use and the weather was awesome! Once again, we left early in the morning to get on the ice before the sun had a chance to get at it. Our objective was the Left Gulley, an easy WI2 ice route that rambles on for 5 pitches on the south side of Mt. Crandell. After arriving and gearing up, we started our approach. The boys had been in here a couple of weekends prior and told us that the approach was 1.5 hours, but after doing some comparisons with info gathered from the internet, we concluded that they were in the wrong gulley. Our approach was pretty straightforward, and after 45 minutes of snow slogging, we arrived at the base of the first pitch of ice.
After putting our harnesses on and racking up, we reviewed some basics (you can never be too careful on the first climb!). Soon after that I was on my way up the first pitch. The climbing was easy, and the ice was super mushy due to the +10 temps the week before. It was so beautiful out, that I was relieved to find a spot in the shade to belay in after 60m of climbing. Usually it's the opposite in the winter, as we pray for sunny rest spots! I set up an anchor, and Brad climbed up.
Once Brad got to the top, we took some photos, packed our gear, and prepared for the descent. After 45 minutes of scrambling down some scree and rock bands we were back at the car (8 hrs, car to car). Another great day successfully and safely completed! Climbing the Left Gulley was tons of fun, and only got us more excited for the ice climbing to come later in the season!
Waterton Ski Touring
After an early morning departure and drive to Waterton, we geared up and left the car at around 10:00. The first bit of skiing was quite easy and flat, as it followed the unplowed road for several kilometres. We then turned onto the Akamina Pass trail and began a moderate climb for the next 2kms. At this point, the trail levelled off, and we hit the BC Border! From there we descended slightly for about a kilometre, before starting a 3km climb up to Wall Lake. For most of the way thus far we had followed fresh tracks, but once we turned towards Wall Lake we had to break trail through the fresh snow. The view from Wall Lake was awesome, with a ton of ice hanging off the headwall at the back of the lake. These routes form the "midnight" chain of routes (owing to the fact that they all have midnight in their names), and we'll definately be back to climb them someday! At Wall Lake, we stopped for lunch, which we ate with our skis on because the snow was so deep. At this point the weather started to turn a little nasty, and the wind picked up across the lake. This caused some of the trees we were standing under to make cracking and popping noises and we could see giant cracks in some of them. We were a little cold and sketched out, so we hightailed it out of there back down the trail.
A short time later, we arrived back at the trail junction, and instead of continuing back into Alberta, we turned off to head to Forum Lake. The ski up to Forum Lake is much steeper, and we had to switchback a fair amount to follow the trail up the hill. After about 2 km, we had gained Forum Ridge, and were supposed to be looking down on Forum Lake in a huge meadow. However, we had traversed too far right, following the trails of some other skiiers headed for telemark slopes. We started to bushwhack accross to the lake, but turned around because of the deteriorating weather situation (It had started to snow and get windier). After retracing our route for a bit, we were able to take the skins off our skis, and get in some great turns on the way down. The powder skiing through the trees was awesome!
In no time, we were back at the trail junction, and we skinned up to travel back across the pass into Alberta. Soon enough, we were able to take our skins off again and coast down the trail until hitting the Akamina Parkway. From there it was an easy ski back to the car. All in all, we were 6 hours car to car, skiied about 18kms, got some turns in, and visited (or came close to) 2 separate lakes. It was a highly successful day that we capped off with a beer and some seafood chowder at the Kilmorey Lodge. We'll be back for the ice climbing at Wall Lake, and have plans to sleep in a quinzee we found at the turnoff for Forum Lake.