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!

Mt Brazeau ski attempt 2013

Sat/Sun Apr 20th/21st - Mt Brazeau attempt

Synopsis: A spectacular area that doesn't appear to be frequently visited. A long way in makes for a big first day.

Humbled in the mountains once again. The forecast called for spring conditions with scattered flurries Saturday and partly cloudy on Sunday. Given most of the guidebooks talk of a 3 day trip we knew it was going to be 2 full days, however our thinking was descent would be much quicker on skis.

James and I met at the Rampart Creek Hostel, great digs and not very busy this time of year. Up at 5 and out the door at 6 was the plan. In reality we took the time for a great breakfast - meusli with warmed milk and cafe mocha's - feeling modestly decadent. The drive to the parking spot beside the Sunwapta Warden's station on highway 93 took 45 minutes, along the way we passed Beauty Creek Hostel which would have cut some time off the morning commute.

We geared up in light wet snow and modest visibility and left the car at 7:30 am, my watch showed an elevation of 1555 metres. It had definitely been warm however we were lucky enough to have a mostly supportive crust.

We started off working our way up Poboktan summer trail which follows much of the creek. We were lucky enough to have tracks to follow for the first couple of hours from folks doing the 6 pass route.

After 1 1/2 hours we were starting to look for the turn onto Poligne Creek towards Maligne pass, I had a bit of a laugh when it was obviously signed. Route finding skills not needed quite yet.

Pretty cruisey so far. The tracks continued up towards Maligne Pass and, as Chic Scott mentions, the climbing begins in earnest. We were happy to still have easy travelling conditions and the sun actually started to make an appearance.

We blew by the turnoff up to Coronet Glacier, however James's mountain sense (and handy GPS) kicked it and we quickly backtracked and started breaking trail to the north. At this stage we were just under 4 hours of travel and 345 metres of elevation gained. Likely we could have turned earlier but we followed a pretty obvious drainage (photo taken on the way out).

Even though we didn't have the benefit of tracks, a supportive crust and very little ski penetration kept travel pretty easy and we quickly found ourselves in a small box canyon which we climbed out of on climbers right. The sound of water rushing under the snow kept us focused (once again photo taken on descent).

From the top of the box canyon I lead us on a bit of a wandering route through the trees to climbers right. On descent we found the route much more straight forward to just get back on or beside the creek. In fairly quick order we broke through the forest so see the route up to Coronet Glacier. Lunch was at 1 pm and 2055m taking refuge from the wind behind a large rock that wasn't being particularly effective.

While eating there were a couple of waves of wind and blowing snow, funny enough the closest experience I've had to it was sandstorms in the desert. At this point we were at the 6 hour mark and I had steeled myself for a 10 hour day so after a quick bite we shouldered the pigs and carried on, James seemed to be doing fine.

As is often the case this time of day, things seemed to slow down a bit. It was definitely longer to the turn east onto  Coronet Glacier than it appeared.  We took a line to climbers right attempting not to drop into the valley.  It worked but I wouldn't want to be up there if avy hazard was high.

We finally rounded the corner and wound our way through some moraines before dropping down and gaining the glacier proper. The wind did start to pick up and cloud cover increased.

We put the rope on at the glacier toe at 3:30 pm and by then had made our way up to 2340m.  At that point it looked like an hour to the top, however Coronet Glacier was a gift that just kept giving.

James lead the vast majority of the way up the glacier and it was a slow grind, taking a full 3 hours to get to the top. Lot's of false summits and elevation gain. To add to it the weather started to close in and the wind, although mostly at our back, became a factor.

Shortly after this photo, the weather closed in and got a little ugly. I was under the incorrect assumption that we needed to descend and then turn north to gain the Brazeau Glacier. We ended up pretty much exhausted (speaking for only myself of course) with viz coming and going on terrain that was steepening and just didn't feel right. We backed off and could just catch the rocks from Mt Henry Macleod above us so backtracked directly into the wind up to a somewhat sheltered spot close by. 

By the time we picked the spot we both had some frostbite going and were pretty knackered, it ended up being a 1500 metre 11 hour day. A quick platform got dug out, the tent erected and gear sorted, slowly. I knew I wasn't doing well when it took me 15 solid minutes to get my harness off! With the tent up and sleeping bags installed we both jumped in and shivered pretty violently as the tent bounced around in the wind. Funny thing, we both fell asleep and woke up at 10 pm wondering why it was dark!

After some quick rehydration and nosh we tucked back in and got up at 8 am, just 10 minutes before the sun hit the tent. We later heard that it was -16 at big bend 700 metres lower so it was definitely a cool night. I thanked my lucky stars I left the -3 bag in the car and took the warm one! 

Given where we were at it was a pretty simple decision to bail. We originally were thinking of going down to the lunch spot for breakfast however in the sun it was warm enough to cook while breaking camp. With the blue sky and valley cloud the views were fantastic! 

Fortunately the wind was minimal. Looking back the view of Brazeau, in the middle with the sun, was staggering. There was much discussion of coming back for a 4 day trip and doing the Macleod, Valad, Brazeau traverse one day and running around to Warren, on the left, the next. 

Making it back to the lunch spot only took two hours, including skinning back up after the glacier snout. 

The remainder of the trip out was quicker than expected. There was a fair amount of up and down, especially after we hit the Poigne Creek trail, however we made it without putting the skins back on. There were what looked like lynx tracks following our old ski tracks for several kilometers on the way out.

We were fortunate that it did freeze well as the track was still crusty with no real isothermal snow. The one grass patch at the end grew a bit however.

In the end it was just under 5 hours out and we celebrated with beer and chips in the parking lot. Tingly fingers for a couple of days and a funny looking toe were the only casualties. 

As I said humbled in the mountains again, but I'll be back! Beautiful area and my sense is it is a bit easier doing it on skis.

Good Luck & Bad Dreams 2013

Sunday March 24th, 2013 Good Luck & Bad Dreams WI4, David Thompson Country

Synopsis: 4 stars out of 5, a great pitch of ice up top and if the column low down is in it would be fantastic!

Geoff and I got spanked the day before on Elliot Left Hand, the deep snow took us 2 hours for the approach and after climbing the first fun pitch realised that there was a lot of new snow higher up and it had avalanched in a previous cycle and covered the chains. We spent quite a bit of time digging, managed to get wet feet and struggled on the descent.

Our goal for day two was to find something with a trail into it and spend more time climbing. We heard that two parties were on Good Luck & Bad Dreams the day before, one bypassed the initial curtain and one climbed through so we thought we'd give it a try.

Given we had a bit of a party the night before at Shunda Creek Hostel the day didn't start too early and we left the climbers parking lot just before 11. Sure enough there was a beaten path in and we were standing below the curtain in a little under an hour.

The day started out -10C but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was definitely getting warmer. I checked out the pillar and thought it looked a little spooky, especially given it was in full on sun and detached from pretty high up. We checked out routes around this bit and settled on following Eric and Craig's trail up and to the left from the day before.

Once up in the trees it got a little sketchy with some consequences so we put on the crampons and pulled out the tools. After that it was fine and we were soon standing below the upper pitch.

Just a beautiful place to be on a blue bird day with fresh snow and great views in all directions.

The top pitch of ice was excellent, given the fiddle farting it was 1:15 pm by the time I set off and we were out of the sun. The ice wasn't plastic but it was pretty close. I was happy with the lead and focused on staying relaxed, keeping the heels down and enjoying the climbing!

Once at the top there were two fresh abalakov's already in place and Geoff gave it a crack. Rapping off was a pretty quick affair as there were bolts and rap rings set up at the bottom of this pitch.

From that anchor 60 metre ropes were just tickling the snow at the bottom so we were out in two raps.

All in all a pretty short day, we were just under 5 hours car to car. As mentioned, the top pitch was stellar and if the curtain was in it would make for an excellent day!

French/Haig/Robertson 2013

Saturday March 16th, 2013 French/Haig/Robertson Circuit

Synopsis: 3.5 stars out of 5, a great day out traversing 3 glaciers with the potential for a great ski out.

David was good enough to make room in an Edmonton ACC section trip for me and we all met at Beamer's in Canmore early on. Having said that the avalanche hazard was upside down with high, considerable, considerable something I hadn't seen before. The high below treeline and notes talking about isothermic slides didn't seem to jive with a weather forecast calling for -8 early morning however sunny and a high of +3 did cause concern. I was pretty convinced we weren't going anywhere and didn't even bring a camera, thanks to David and Paul for the photo's.

After some discussion at Beamer's in Canmore  we agreed to head to the parking lot up spray lakes road for a look, given the options in the area. En route the snow banks grew larger as we approached and the temperature stayed just below zero with heavy overcast.

All 8 of us left the cars at 9:15 am and gingerly made our way towards the French glacier. Everything was stuck together pretty solid with a hard overnight freeze which made for fast travel. The sun made a few brief appearances however it looked like we weren't going to get the solar effect that was called for and we all gradually got more comfortable with the snow pack. The group stopped for a brief snack at 11 am and as we gained elevation one could start to feel the layers of sun crust and the faceted snow beneath but things stayed stuck together. 

We took a moment to don our harnesses before gaining the French glacier itself however given the hard shell didn't bother with a rope. Frank and Marc chose to descend the French col rather than continue on which brought our group down to a more manageable half dozen. The climb up to the col was aided by the tracks from the party in front and as it neared the clouds parted and it made for a neat moment.

We reached the French col at 1:15 pm having gained roughly 800 metres of pretty easy going. However the fun was about to start. We could see the group of 5 ahead of us and caught up as we contoured around on the Haig glacier.

We caught up to the party ahead and passed them as we headed up to the col. Unfortunately about then the visibility was drastically reduced with strong wind and snow. The snow pack got pretty thin around the rocks and we decided to put the skis on the packs and kick steps upwards.

Kevin, David and Paul did most of the trail blazing and eventually the clouds parted enough for us to see we were actually a little to the climbers left and above the col. We all managed to make our way to the Robertson col at 2:15 pm and had a quick snack to celebrate.  The wind was strong enough hanging out wasn't any fun so we went over and down.

The ski quality was a lot better than I expected with the blowing snow.  No real slabs, just a little heavy in spots but nothing at all to complain about.  All 6 of us had great runs down and finally ended up in the flats.

My now it was snowing pretty heavily although still below freezing. From there we basically put our heads down and plowed through for 1 1/2 hours to the parking lot.

All in all a great day out, especially given the low expectations.  It was just over 9 hours and 1150 metres of elevation gain by my watch. Thanks to David, Paul, Kevin, Katharine, Kristina, Marc and Frank for a great day out! Needless to say we convened at the Rose and Crown to celebrate.