Paul makes his way along the knife-edge. Incredible views all around.
Oh Mount Temple. I shake my fist so hard at you right now. They say the third time’s a charm; however, this is the third year that efforts for a Temple summit have been thwarted. It’s not that it’s an impossible climb, it’s just that I have promised two other nerds that we would reach the top together. Between a combination of weather obstacles and logistics between Paul, Dan and myself, conquering Mount Temple will wait another year. Sigh… clearly we needed another epic mountain to take its place. But which one?? Continue reading “Mount Lady Macdonald: So. Much. Exposure.”
Ascending Mount Baldy. It’s hard not to be impressed with the views within a short period of time.
Looking for a great after work scramble from Calgary?
One of the reasons I love living in Calgary is its proximity to the mountains. This is no secret and I often post about how grateful I feel to live where I do. Whenever my friend Dan visits for mountain adventures, there’s always an after work hike. This year’s choice? Mount Baldy at 2192 metres and an elevation gain of 800 metres.
After a fun day of statistical programming (weeee!), we left the university after 4 pm and headed to Kananaskis. Taking the Highway 40 exit and travelling south for approximately 12 km, we parked at an open lot on the right and geared up. The trailhead is a little before the lot on the opposite side of the road at a stream. The trail is well worn, steep, rocky, and awesome. Incredible views of Kananaskis Trail, Barrier Lake, and the Baldy ridge make the short ascent quite interesting. There are a few sketchy scrambling sections about halfway up (ie. a scary down climb and a rock wall to climb over) , but all can be avoided by bypassing them to the right. Thankfully for us, clouds blew over as we neared the top and provided amazing views all around. As the sun set behind the mountains and the light faded, we decided to forgo the ridge walk and head back to the car. But hey, that’s okay! For a 4-hour round trip scramble after work, I’m not complaining. 🙂 Continue reading “Mount Baldy: In Photos”
Last year I tried cross-country skiing for the first time. I really enjoyed it, and although I didn’t get out to cross-country ski that often last year, I was determined to make a change for the current winter season. A few weeks ago I purchased a set of wax-able skis from Lifesport in Kensington and I’ve been itching to test them out. Last night I waxed up my skis (thanks Youtube for the instruction!), and was ready to go for today. I met up with friends Adriane and Lauren and we were off to Cascade Valley in Banff.
The temperature was cold (-10 Celsius) but the weather was great- super sunny and not very windy. I’m told these were quite ideal conditions. With an attitude of excitement, we stepped into our skis and were off. It took a while before the technique came back to me: leaning forward, shifting body weight completely to one side as you plant and kick off, and the general motion of that which most imagine to be classic cross-country skiing. At first, I blamed my struggles on the equipment: “Did I put the right wax?”, “Did I put enough wax?”, and “Is this the right sized ski with the right amount of camber for me?”. Of course, all of it was fine, and it was just me. Like the saying goes, “A bad carpenter blames his tools”. Slowly but surely, I got into the groove and it was lots of fun!
In the end, we skied for about 2.5 hours. One and a half hours to the river/bridge, and one hour back. The shorter return distance was due to a 3 km downhill, which really tested my ability to stay in control. Which I did not. And this resulted in a few falls during the descent. But alas, everyone falls at least once. Or twice. Or several times. And it’s crazy how much of a workout it was! Even though I exercise regularly and my cardio strength is good, my cardio was tested today. And my entire body was put through the wringer. As I write this, my everything hurts, especially my right hip flexor. Something is not right there.
That said, this is an activity I look forward to continuing throughout the next few months. I think I did pretty well for the first day out and I can only improve from here. The goal: to enjoy the wintry outdoors. I definitely haven’t taken advantage of the amazing winter wonderland that is the Rockies. But the other goal: to complete my first loppet. A loppet is a cross-country ski race similar to running races… but on skis! The ones I have in mind are The Kananaskis Ski Marathon (February 22, 2014- 15 or 24 km) or the Lake Louise Loppet (March 2, 2014- 10 or 20 km). It’s all dependant on scheduling right now, but if I can do at least one, that would be awesome.
Green moss on the rocks while descending Sparrowhawk
I have certainly been tired this past week. After Dan and his brother left Calgary, I didn’t really have a chance to relax. Here we are, a week later. I’ve had a very relaxing weekend with no hiking gasp. And I’m finally getting a chance to reflect on Labour Day’s hike of Mount Sparrowhawk.
When I was thinking about a good hike to end the weekend of hiking, I narrowed it down to two: Mount Bourgeau in Banff, and Mount Sparrowhawk in Kananaskis. Bourgeau would be new for me, but I wanted to be sure that Dan and Aidan would have stunning views from the top of a mountain. Sparrowhawk has one of the best (if not THE best) summit view that I’ve experienced since hiking in Alberta. Aidan was also drawn to the name “Sparrowhawk”, so in the end, we were off to Kananaskis!
Just for you Paul. Just for you.
For me, it was really cool to hike Sparrowhawk again. Two years ago, Paul and I decided to do this hike as a tough one for the season. I remember a really steep start, lots of rocks and scree, rocks sounding like broken glass, fossils, and a sketchy scramble to the top. It was really long, epic, and we were a bit hysterical and exhausted by the end. This time around… I thought and experienced the exact same things. It was like I was reliving the hike with different company, but the same sunny weather as last time! Sparrowhawk 2.0. But not.
Ascending to Mount Sparrowhawk. So much rock. Such a long hike.
Similar to before, the ascent alone took about 4.5 hours with much of that time over talus fields and scree. After hours of concentrating on my step due to rocks or the really steep incline, I was mentally shot. Done. But it was all worth it. Sparrowhawk amazed me all the same, and this time, the wind wasn’t too fierce at the top. It was nice to rest at the summit, step onto crazy ledges for crazy photos, and take in the incredible panoramic views all around us.
Scree slope to the summit. We did it!
After the long day, we took a break at Spray Lake, gazing over the peaceful water as the sun set behind the mountains. I continue to realize this, but I never get tired of the mountains. There’s a beauty about it that just calms me down every time I go. I feel so fortunate to be living in a city so close to amazing summits, snow-capped peaks and glacial lakes. It’s something I don’t take for granted.
Dan’s always making photos so awkward
Based on the feedback from Dan and Aidan, it’s safe to say that the hiking weekend was a success :). Until next time guys. There are too many mountains to hike, so visit again soon…
I never get tired of these mountains
Stats:
Elevation: 3121 m; Elevation gain: 1350 m; Distance: ~10 km (?); Start: 10:40 am; End: 7:20 pm (a long hike!)
Dan and I approaching the south peak of Mount Indefatigable
Mount Indefatigable.
I can’t remember when I learned about this hike, but ever since I was informed of its epic-ness, I’ve wanted to conquer it. That was a couple of years ago. I remember saying to Dan last year that I had a good hike in mind, but winning the Big Mountain Challenge introduced other mountains to climb. Fast forward to this past weekend. I knew Dan and Aidan wanted a good hike. Better than good. An epic show-stopper, in fact. I also wanted a new mountain summit under my belt. Indefatigable was a clear choice.
It’s decommissioned… but onward!
Before Saturday, I called the Kananaskis Visitor’s Centre to inquire about Indefatigable. It turns out the trail was decommissioned back in 2005. Did that mean we shouldn’t hike it? According to the guide, it’s definitely hike-able. Due to high grizzly activity in the area, the trail was constantly being closed when it was an official Kananaskis trail. Now that it’s decommissioned, it’s hike-at-your-own-risk. Thankfully the trail is extremely well travelled. So on Saturday, we were up early and made our way to the North Interlakes parking lot in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park with one simple goal: Conquer Mount Indefatigable. (Spoiler alert: No, we didn’t encounter any grizzlies thank goodness, but I was very much expecting that this would be the first time I would cross paths with one while hiking. Phew!)
Absolutely gorgeous views of the Kananaskis Lakes
Mount Indefatigable has two peaks: the popular south peak, and the more difficult scramble to the north peak. An amazing ridge walk connects the two. When we started the trek, I thought we’d ascend to the south peak. We quickly emerged from the tree line to absolutely incredible views of the Kananaskis Lakes on either side. Mountains stretched far in the distance. We had hiked less than an hour and we were awe-struck. The weather was perfect that day too. Perhaps the giddiness helped boost our confidence. Or perhaps we were overzealous. Either way, we decided: Let’s just do the north peak and traverse the ridge! It was still early in the day, so why not?!
Wowza.
Here’s the thing: Alan Kane rates the north peak and traverse as a difficult scramble. According to his rating system, difficult scrambles require much handholding; steep, loose and exposed sections; smooth and down-sloping rocks; and risks of falling to your death. Up until Saturday, I had never completed a difficult Alan Kane scramble. Despite not having helmets for head protection, we decided to go for it. Smart? Not at all. Live and learn: a helmet is an upcoming purchase. But I’m glad we pushed through because it ended up being one of the most difficult and thrilling scrambles I’ve done in the Rockies. And boy had I been itching for a good scramble all season.
Approaching the north summit. Sketchy!
We trekked onward through forests while looking behind us at the amazing views. There were bear prints and evidence of ungulates (which I think were from the mountain goats we spotted!). We passed a dried up tarn and stopped for lunch right before the scramble to the north peak. To say that the scramble was sketch is a bit of an understatement. Dan, Aidan and I were in full concentration mode. A misstep could cause rocks to dislodge, and we did not want to be sliding down the mountain. Thankfully there was no one beneath us as Aidan accidentally sent rocks flying down the mountain. It also didn’t help that we took a wrong turn somewhere (or so we think). Hand-over-hand climbing went on for what seemed like a long time, but eventually we all made it to the summit. There would be no falling to our deaths on this mountain.
After surviving the moderate/difficult scramble, we were greeted with an amazing sight.
The views were absolutely incredible! I’ve hiked a lot of mountains, and I would rank the summit view in the top three, along with Mounts Sparrowhawk and Tyrwhitt. Maybe Eiffel too. We sat there for a while and took it all in. We also needed a rest- that scramble was intense! The traverse to the south peak was not nearly as scary as the ascent. In fact, I would say it wasn’t scary at all. Even though there were moments of crazy exposure and the ridge was narrow, there’s something amazing and oddly comforting about having steady footing on the ridge while the mountain drops on either side. In terms of ridge walks, this ranks highly along with Tent Ridge and Pocaterra Ridge, but takes the cake in terms of exposure and risk of falling. So much fun!
Traversing the ridgeMaking our way to the south peak
We snacked again at the South peak, and after remarking on how amazing the traverse had been, we made our descent. The views of the Kananaksis Lakes and surrounding mountains were just as amazing the second time around, now with different shadows and colours cast by the setting sun. The day ended 8 hours after we began, and the three of us were all smiles, extremely happy with our accomplishment. There were a lot of crazy awesome moments while conquering Mount Indefatiable… but what was the craziest thing I learned during the hike?
Last year I tried cross-country skiing for the first time. I really enjoyed it, and although I didn’t get out to cross-country ski that often last year, I was determined to make a change for the current winter season. A few weeks ago I purchased a set of wax-able skis from Lifesport in Kensington and I’ve been itching to test them out. Last night I waxed up my skis (thanks Youtube for the instruction!), and was ready to go for today. I met up with friends Adriane and Lauren and we were off to Cascade Valley in Banff.
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 