Takakkaw Falls 2013

Sat June 29th - Takakkaw Falls 5.7

Synopsis: 4 out of 5 stars.  A great day out, especially if done from the Tak Falls campground.  Not a lot of climbing at the grade but the rock is good when it is and the cave is a riot!

It was a bit of a siege as Brian, Shannon, Andrew, Brenda, Deanna and I all camped at Tak Falls for the night and hit the climb en mass in two ropes of 3. In spite of camping at the base we didn't make it to the end of the path until 9 am and by the time we scrambled up to the base of the route and geared up it was close to 10.

I won the rock paper scissors and headed up the rock at the right hand side of the bench at the top of the scree pile. There was a visible bolt 3 metres up that was a clue. While gearing up a goat stuck it's head out just to the left of us, as we watched several others came around to check out the two legged climbers. They likely got a real kick out of the ropes and gear.

I put the first two pitches together easily with 60 metre ropes. The second pitch had some real climbing and clean rock - all bolted, no gear required. Once Deanna and Brenda were up we headed along the traverse using running belays on the bolts and stations so we could all move at once.

Once around a corner I could see the so called 4th belay station on a traverse up and right. Some kind soul had flagged it with surveyors tape, making it easy to spot.

Once there I misread the map, congratulated everyone on making it up 5 pitches in 1 1/2 hours and headed straight up. I was partially sucked in by a stuck nut however it was soon obvious I was off route. I mistakenly thought I was to the right of the correct line and carried on looking for a place to go left.

Right about then Brian, who had climbed the route before, arrived at the station and pointed right. One quick look high and right into the large left facing corner and I could see a station. Crap, lost pole position and left a piece of gear to the rock climbing gods. I down climbed and we figured out that I was actually at an intermediate anchor had done 4 1/2 pitches in 2 hours. At that rate I was worried we didn't have overnight gear with us!

Having said that our route finding concerns were at an end as team B had managed to leap frog us and we were now following. Another 1/2 pitch of traversing and we finally got to the real climbing. The first two pitches up the left facing corner could have been combined, hindsight is wonderful, and contained some entertaining climbing.

It was great to pop out at the top of pitch 6 and have the falls immediately to our right. Quite a sight, needless to say hearing was a bit impaired.

Pitch 7 was the crux pitch however well bolted and you could actually go around the hardest bit. Great fun, in the whole climb I think I placed 6 pieces of gear from medium nuts to a blue metolius cam.

The next two pitches we combined up to the cave, a little scrappy and run out however the position is spectacular. We arrived at the cave at 1:30 pm and stopped for a snack at the entrance. Given the size of our group and the weather that seemed to be moving in we left our gear at the cave opening and crawled through with cameras for a look see.

The cave is fairly long and dark in the middle, headlamps and gloves really helped. At one point in the middle I had to crawl on my belly, however it opens up to a crawl further on. Spectacular views of the falls at the end of the cave.

You can carry on for one pitch and walk around on top, however as mentioned we headed down. We crawled back to our gear and started rapping at 2:30. Rappelling with a group of 6 is a long affair however we managed to get down without incident. 

We made it down the corner in 3 raps and then retraced the traverse using running belays.  Then rappelled the final gully to the climbers left from the anchors at the top of pitch 2 however the party behind us went straight down the face from an intermediate anchor just before and benefited from less rock fall.

That's it, we arrived at the parking lot at 6 pm just before a great storm moved in. After hanging out in the back of Deanna's CRV for 45 minutes it passed and the we enjoyed a sunny evening at the campsite.

Great day out!

Sorcerer 2013

Sat Mar 30th - Sat Apr 6th Sorcerer Lodge, Selkirk Mountains, B.C.

Synopsis: 4 1/2 stars out of 5, probably my favourite back country ski lodge with fantastic alpine terrain and a well thought out lodge.

One of the nice things about Sorcerer is that you helicopter in first thing in the morning with a low chance of getting stymied. True to form, the first group was off the ground before 9 am and we were all up by 11.

I was lucky enough to ride shotgun on the first flight in, fantastic views and got in early enough to get some beta from Kelly and Robson who were guiding the previous week. Very spring like conditions and great stability were the order of the day, great to confirm.

We were fortunate enough to have Dave as our custodian, very knowledgeable and generally easy to be around. He gave us a quick brief and then out for some beacon refreshment.

We were keen on getting out so the entire group headed out at 2 pm thinking of White Russian. Once up, Critical Thursday and Black Russian looked good and was closer so we broke into two groups, one on each.

The pow wasn't epic but hero so we ripped one 750 metre run and were back at 5:30 in time for Konrad's appies. The avy hazard was good, good, good and just above zero. Avalanche concerns focused around south facing slopes and cornice failures - quite an improvement from our last visit!

Sorcerer being Sorcerer we were reminded that the last thing you do most days is to climb back up the moraine to the hut! Having said that it isn't anything to complain about, even with tired legs.

After an evening filled with Konrad's culinary delights and a good nights sleep we awoke to another blue sky day. Martin, Andrew, Brenda, Jim, Mike and I decided to attempt Iconoclast. We were out the door at 8 am and heard that the heinous traverse had tracks and just might go.

The short answer is that it didn't, it was crusty hard and after scaring ourselves silly we skied down and took the long way up swiss col. Jim and Mike elected to ski down swiss col while the four of us carried on towards Iconoclast.

We made it around the corner and to the start of the climbing route, however ran out of day and turned around at 2:30. 

The four of us were committed to descending the heinous traverse but wanted enough daylight that we could go around if necessary. It wasn't an issue and we were home at 4, at least with some good turns on corn snow.

Monday dawned sunny again and hit temperatures of +6 C. Strong sunscreen and bandana's were the order of the day. We continued to have quick travel in the morning with little penetration and the whole group headed up Nordic West, a north facing slope that was surprising good.

After a few turns I took Deanna to the top of Escargot and then got some steeper turns down Wedding Bells.

Tuesday much of the same and even warmer. Most of the group opted for runs on perfect glacier however we were a little slack, getting out the door at 9:45 am.

The group was at the top just before noon and we had three runs of perfect snow. It wasn't deep but it was hero.

We called it a day and were back at the lodge at 3 after 1150 metres.

By Wednesday our high pressure system was starting to erode and it was cloudy and windy. Given the heat of the previous day our expectations were pretty low.

We were thinking of a run on the Kumbu icefall as there was a line from the previous week to follow so grabbed harness and rope. In the end the visibility just wasn't there so we skied White Russian.

At the top it was surprisingly good so we stuck around and did four laps working our way skiers left.

After yet another night of bafoonery, we awoke Thursday to overcast, some new snow and above zero temperatures. The group was getting pretty lethargic however Deanna, Paul, Louie, Damon and I headed out about 9:30 am for a trip up Escargot Glacier.

The light started off pretty flat however travel was straight forward. We made our way up to the Ventigo Lake outlook, which offered a little challenge boot packing the final small slope.

Once the wind picked up we headed down, ski quality was good but the light got pretty flat and the terrain isn't really steep enough get right silly.

We were back early enough for appies and a nap, oh the life!

Friday was our last day, always a bit melancholic. The weather still pretty clagged in and after some debate we elected to go back to Perfect. What better way to end a Perfect week?

Everyone came out to play, we were out the door at 9:45 and at the top at noon. The snow was good, the visibility came and went. 

A few of us hung it out and did 5 runs and it was a lot of fun. There were freshies to be had and it was nice to have a 1500 metre day and leave with sore legs. Last run of the day was with David, our intrepid custodian and it was good to rip it up!

That night Konrad pulled out all the stops, steaks for supper with lot's of liquid refreshments and the name game. I can't think of a better way to end a fantastic week.

Many thanks to Deanna, Martin, Damon, Brenda, Andrew, Jim, Mike, Norman, Paul, Louie, Konrad and Dave for a fantastic week!

Columbia Icefields 2013

Fri/Sat, May 17th/18th - Columbia Icefields

Synopsis: The Columbia Icefields are one of my favourite places to visit, big country and far from crowded.

This was an ACC Edmonton Section trip that David led with the goal of Twin's Tower and Kevin, Rob and myself tagged along. The weather forecast wasn't brilliant and we knew we would likely be working around some weather.

Friday at 8:30 am saw us starting up the road from the climbers parking lot. Not an alpine start however with lots of climbing and heavy packs we figured the daylight would outlast our legs.

It took about an hour to slog up and then down the coach road to the end, rope up and start up the Athabasca glacier. The night hadn't been particular cool, with temperatures in the parking lot of -2 C, and it was warming up quickly.

You gotta love the feeling of space once underway and with mostly sunny skies the views were fantastic! We hurried through the serac fall area on the way to the third icefall.

We were on top of the third icefall at 11:30 and turned the corner to join the Columbia Icefield itself. 500 metres were gained up to this point and a great view back was our award.

Once we turned the corner, headed north and joined the Columbia Icefield proper Mt Columbia came into view.

It was getting very warm, not helped by the elevation or carrying overnight packs so a couple of breaks were had enroute.

We made the call to set up camp just north of the Snowdome shoulder at 4 pm at an elevation of roughly 3200 metres. Great views of the North and South Twin.

After probing the immediate area for crevasses we dug out a couple of tent platforms and a bit of a kitchen. There wasn't much wind but you just don't know when it's going to pick up.

That evening it cleared off spectacularly and we hung out enjoying the view, the sunshine and the joys of melting snow for rehydration. Unfortunately, I went a little light on sunscreen and had a bit of a glow the next day.

Given how west we were there was daylight until 10 pm and when we woke at 5:30 am there was no need for headlamps. Unfortunately in the morning there was definitely a low pressure system from the west moving in.

After some lively discussion the decision was made to head out via the summit of snowdome. It wasn't the call I would have made but it's a team thing and I was happy to have an opportunity to be in such a great place.

We were packed up and out by 7:30 am and two hours later were standing on the hydrological apex of the summit of Mt Snowdome. Apparently this point feeds all the Pacific and Arctic Oceans as well as Hudson Bay.

After that it was a quick ski down to the coach road...

Followed by the usual huff up the moraine.

We were back at the cars just before noon. All in all a spectacular place to be!