| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles
in the Canadian Rockies |
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Orangey sky early
morning, towards Mount Hector. |
| Scramble: RT 8.0; 4.0 up. This scramble does not
disappoint, it ranks high in my favorites. Dolomite is castellated with
impressive towers, the fourth being the highest. The ascent appears
intricate and somewhat intimidating. We researched it plenty
before heading out and found our way to the summit no problem. On a
weekday, we had the upper mountain to ourselves, which minimized rock
fall hazard, and an early start provided a shaded ascent to the top of
the gully. Still in the car, while putting my boots on, I noticed a
black wolf. Fab picked up the camera and started filming. As he
wandered
on our side of the highway, three other wolves followed. Wolf video.
Wow, it's an
amazing feeling watching these long-legged canines trot along the calm
road... The pleasant trail grants a quick approach to the treed
rib.
The lower gully is quite fun; the little ledges are like stairs
and easily lead to the narrower section. Indeed, the gully is steep; a
couple of small rockbands require some hands-on scrambling, but holds
are plentiful. The wall in the scree filled upper gully
turned out to be quite helpful up and down. We continued past the
"shark's fin"
almost to the saddle where we noticed a nice ledge dotted by cairns
(a few variations exist). The last stretch of solid, easy rock
offers more hands-on. The lack of airiness helped me focus on the climb
and allowed me to find it quite delightful! Soon on the summit ridge,
we casually walked to the top. We took advantage of the calm wind and
warm weather to fully enjoy the view with a lengthy stay. The orange
hazy sky from the forest fires filtered a bit of sunlight and added a
different atmosphere. We omitted the ascent of tower three; I most
likely would have needed to be roped up. With carefully placed feet,
our way down went well but it was difficult not to kick rocks down. We
kept going down the 3-4 gully in good scree. After going around a
headwall (climber's left), we reached treeline and continued our
descent aiming for the ascent treed rib. From there we quickly reached
the trail. |
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Leaving the trail to
ascend the treed rib. |
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Quickly beyond
treeline. |
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Towers one to five
(left to right). |
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Traversing to the
gully between towers three and four. |
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Little ledges are
like going up stairs. |
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Narrowing ascent
gully. |
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Looking back helps
recognizing the way upon return. |
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Scree filled upper
gully, the wall offers good assistance. |
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The "shark's fin". |
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Traversing to the
final section. |
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All right, I can do
this! |
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Fab leading the way. |
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Mount Hector from
the summit ridge. |
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Summit ridge. |
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Quite thrilled to be
here. |
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Standing on the
highest point. |
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There is a sheer
drop behind. |
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Tower three's
scramble is more exposed. |
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Looking east over
North Molar Pass and Fish Lakes. |
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Fastest way down, no
thanks!!! |
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Familiar mountains
of the Wapta Icefield. |
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Adding our names to
the register. |
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Heading back down. |
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First of a few
downclimbs. |
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Follow the cairns
back to the gully. |
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This part is quite
manageable along the wall. |
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Coming out of the
upper gully. |
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Enjoyable scrambling
indeed. |
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Looking back up from
the alternate descent. |
| Back
to home page |
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