Sunday July 8th, 2018 Little Sister (Hope), Canmore 2694 metres
Synopsis: I didn't given Little Sister stars because..., well if you want to climb it it has very little to do with stars. It is a good day; a long approach some with a view, some surprising good rock quality on the technical sections, some Rockies style scrambling and an airy ridge.
Steve and I had planned on giving it a shot last year but neither of us forced a date and it didn't happen. This year Steve got on it, a weather window opened up and game on!
We left the truck at 5:20 am and headed up the east entrance to the Highline trail in Canmore, headed up for a bit and jogged left to gain another trail leading upwards following Gaia GPS. The trail is pretty good going, with a bit of dead fall hopping if you can keep to it as the trail fades in and out. Some orange and blue flagging helps considerably. I've got a gpx track if that I'd be happy to share if its at all helpful.
About 2/3 of the way up you break out of the forest and although still fair ways to go the views open up and little sister comes into view. As you break out a bit of a feature comes up that can be passed either right or left, right is a bit easier.
The entire climb does come into view and we took a moment to reconcile the summit post beta with what we were looking at, it was great and unusual to get a look at the complete route on approach. Once out of the forest it's actually a great hike!
In the end we took 2:50 hours to gain the 860 metres to the bottom of the roped up climbing. We ditched ski poles and some extra water just before the ridge gets a bit interesting and scrambled up to the start of the roped climbing. Once there we geared up and started the technical climbing at 8:45 am.
Steve had gear on so he took first lead. We had a double set of cams, single set of nuts and pitons and hammer, 12 draws and a 60 metre rope (the latter working just fine). Ended up being too much as we used mostly smaller/medium cams and frankly there wasn't that much gear. The first three pitches are pretty obvious, straight up the chimney on the right of the face in the photo above.
The first pitch went fairly easily, we looked at the alternative to the left however it looked like a sea of easier rock with absolutely no gear so we dove in the chimney. I took the second lead which was likely the technical crux. Great, old school 5.6 chimney climbing, more like a bar room brawl than climbing and great fun with not a lot of gear. As per summit post, I clipped a two pin rap anchor on the way up and belayed from the 3rd anchor which consisted of a pin and a slung horn. The technical pitches, especially lower down, were actually pretty good rock. We collected some old tat which had mostly fallen out, I assume as boulders moved around over the winter. The tat on route was in good shape, we banged on the pitons along the way however they were all good.
Steve came up and took the third pitch, not terribly long and slung a block to bring me up and to rap off of later. From there we scrambled up and quickly there was an obvious traverse left that lead to the bottom of a large bowl with a bit of a cairn.
Steve lead up this pitch, a little more than 30 metres with some interesting moves down lower then got more straight forward. It ends at a large balcony with 10' boulders where we slug another block to belay from and rap on the way down.
From there it was a pretty beat in path going across and down, easier than it initial looks. Just left of the waterfall and next to some lingering snow I started up. Straight forward climbing, it initially looked like no gear so I pounded in a piton however there were some good gear placements further up.
As mentioned in the summit post beta the station is up on the left and a bit awkward, obviously placed with the rap in mind. I belayed Steve up and given the terrain he elected to carry on further with the rope. He didn't find the next belay mentioned so bashed in a couple of pitons for a station. I followed and we ditched the rope and started scrambling, 12:30 pm and so far so good.
We basically caught the rib just to our right, stayed out of gully's and onto somewhat better rock on the ridge leading to summit ridge. This section went surprising quickly, although we stopped and left the rack and rope which turned out to be a bit of an error.
In fairly short order we made the ridge, and started to get some great exposure on variable rock. Even ran into an au cheval (at least for us) which kept things spicy. At 1:30 pm we ran into a bit of a gendarme along the ridge which stopped me in my tracks.
A few old school 5.6 moves, nothing drastic but with nothing but air below. The thought of down climbing it didn't exactly fill me with joy. After a bit of consideration I sat, ate my lunch and enjoyed the view as Steve carried on.
When he got to the top of this feature Steve found a two pin anchor and had some sketchy down climbing on the other side. It looked set up for a belay up and a rap down with the rope left in place to regain the feature. Steve made the summit at roughly 2 pm with a few exposed moves along the way, the next time he saw him he had his rock shoes on. He made it back to my alcove/lunch spot at 2:15 and we retraced our steps.
The way back was pretty straight forward, although we had invested in more than a few looks backwards as we made our way up. We picked up our gear along the way and made the top of the first rap at 3:30 pm.
First two raps were a little awkward however it was straight forward after that. Total of 7 raps (we did some lowering as someone forgot their belay device). The two of us were down off the technical climbing at 5:00.
After a bit of food and a gear sort headed out, followed our up track and hit the car at 7:20 pm. Pretty much bang on 14 hours. With the exception of the forested part of the approach, we never lost site of our houses in Canmore!
Sunday August 6th - Sunday 13th, 2017 Fairy Meadows
Synopsis: 4 1/2 stars out of 5. A beautiful area, we didn't get up high however had a blast exploring some adventurous rock.
This was an ACC Calgary Section camp run by George and Clare, with camp located on a moraine about 20 minutes from the Bill Putnam hut towards Friendship Col at roughly 2200 metres. I hadn't been in the area since a GMC in 2000 so was stoked to get back to the area.
Sunday consisted of all of the usual helicopter hurrying up and waiting. We did have time to get a bit organized around camp and scrambled up the knob to have a look at Granite Glacier and collect snow for the cooler.
Monday climbed the 5.6 routes on Gog and Magog. Gail and I left camp at 7:45, arrived at Gog and Magog just after 9. Gog was one was of the best pitches of climbing we experienced all week, having said that go to the top and don't stop at a 3 pin anchor on the shoulder. Magog is worth doing for the free hanging rappel, lot's of loose rock midway as you corkscrew around the mountain and we did it in two pitches to reduce rope drag. Just after noon we were off Magog and headed to the North Ridge of Pythias, which sounded like an interesting objective following the left hand ridge below.
We crossed the glacier and arrived at the base of the 3 obvious steps at 12:30 pm and 2540 metres. The two of us scrambled up and ducked left at the first step. After some futzing around roped up (60 metre rope and used it 30 metres doubled) and in one short pitch made the ridge on top of the first pitch.
The second step took 3 or 4 very moderate pitches, some of it a bit mossy with signs of travel. Dodged right to top out and along another fine ridge, I still wonder if there was a more aesthetic line but it went.
2 short pitches and were on top of the 3rd step. Some of the best rock on the route was on the scramble to the ridgeline of Pythias where we went back to boots and scrambled a short bit to the summit. We made the summit just after 5 pm at 2760 metres and were back to camp through friendship col at 7. It did prove to be an interesting objective with the usual route finding challenges, loose rock and yes, some steep moss and grass.
On Tuesday, Gail and I attempted the Black Rib on Quadrant. After an hour and a half approach, we started in the middle of the rib just left of a large gully in black terrain. It seemed to make sense to start, however after 2 1/2 pitches we realized that we were off route and after a bit of a whipper on my part (actually more like a slitherer) we bailed. Pain is a great instructor.
Given the day was only half over, we elected to go around and do the ridge on Quadrant, as much for some fun as to scope the rappel line. Solid rock, great fun if a bit short after a longish approach.
We put the rope on for the crack at the top, otherwise scrambled. A bit of fiddle farty lining up the raps. On top at 1:30 pm and back to the col at 2:10. Back to camp to lick our wounds (me mostly) at 4:30.
My favourite objective of the trip, Gibralter, was our plan for Wednesday. We left camp at 7:30 am and made it to the base of the route at 10:30 after negotiating Gothic Glacier. Some large cracks in the glacier earlier on, then basically bee lined for the mountain. We choose to attempt it using the near side crack and arrived to a small bergschrund that was easily crossed and a bit of a moat.
I scored the first lead and it was a bit of a doozy. Started grotty with loose blocks followed by a gully that was close to the edge of my modest skills, fortunately with good gear. The pitched ended with a squeeze chimney and a belay ledge with an old station to the left complete with moss grown over webbing.
The next pitch was a short one and took us up to a BBQ ledge, where we hung out and had lunch. The next section looked like it would go, however the route deeks right and escapes through a hole in the rock back to the North side. Great fun with a few exposed moves on the North Side.
We then built an anchor and the following pitch was one of the most fun pitches I've lead. Solid rock with great positions, including an eau cheval and definitely funky moves onto a flake with a lot of air beneath. I used a rap station just after to belay and Gail who the final 5.5 off width to the summit.
We summitted at 2:45 pm roughly 2900 metres. We then rapped down the route down the face with a more direct line, it helped to have some beta from the guys that climbed it the day before. Having said that I did have to prussik back up to the 3rd anchor which was hidden in an alcove climbers right. We were back on the glacier at 4:30 pm and at camp just before 7.
On Thursday Gail and I decided to give the Black Rib on Quadrant another try, primarily because it was unfinished business and the other routes either sounded too difficult or too scrappy. Left camp at 8 am and hit the base of the route at 9:20 am. It turned out to be faster to approach on a beat in trail fair right and work our way to the base along the base of Quadrant.
Gail had the correct route pretty much sussed. It actually starts just left of the large gully on white granite. Gail took the first lead and bypassed the initial gendarme on the right. I then eased my way left to the right hand side of an obvious gully. Pitch 3 Gail attempted to bypass the gully to the left which didn't go. I then pounded straight up it on some grass, some loose rock and some good rock. The pitch ended in a horizontal squeeze chimney but working my way through it ended in a beautiful belay station laying on some grass with a view so no complaints.
Just up from there we came up to a feature that joined the main wall. I manage to miss the cave that lead to the 5.7 money pitch and we jumped on the crack just to the right. If definitely was the money pitch and Gail made short work of it.
I then took the 5th pitch which carried along for a bit and the emptied into a bowl which lead through easier ground to the ridge of Quandrant. We hit the ridge at 3:15 pm and 2646 metres.
We grabbed something to eat and changed into boots (how I wish I brought approach shoes). We then scrambled up fairly interesting 5.1 terrain to the main summit of Quadrant, which we arrived an hour later.
Great views, we carried along the ridge on pretty straight forward terrain and made it to the South Peak of Quadrant at 4:40 pm and then used the three raps to make it to the Col and back to camp at 8 pm. It felt good to have completed the route.
We ended the day with a swim in the lake below Quadrant. The unusually warm weather made for great swimming and not the usual quick in and out.
On Friday we were both pretty bagged and tired of dragging around a rope. We basically did the Quadrant col to Friendship col traverse which was a nice scramble and took us back to the top of Pythias. Taking our time it was a 7 hour day and we made it back with lots of time for the week end party.
All in, it was a week well spent. It would be good to get to the bigger peaks but lots of adventure with the rock shoes on.
