| Ref: Sean Dougherty's Selected
Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies |
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Heading to Haddo
Peak. |
| Alpine climb: RT
14.0 (includes Mount Aberdeen), 1.0 up. Haddo Peak is an excellent
extension to the
Aberdeen outing; it offers a short exciting scramble, easy glacier
travel and a
pleasant walk to the top. Along with the bear sighting earlier, this
was one of the highlights. I wasn't sure what to expect of the upcoming
crux, we had a short rope if needed. A bit nervous, I followed Jay's
lead across the airy ridge; a trail is visible and holds are plentiful,
it
was easily negotiated. Soon thereafter, we stood above the crux. Roomy
horizontal ledges with positive holds rendered this short section
easier than expected, moderate scrambling in good conditions. At the
bottom of the crux, there's a convenient spot where you can don
crampons before stepping on snow. Travel on the glacier is
fast, we came across a
section of bare ice where crampons came in
handy. At the col, we left all unnecessary equipment
strewn
about and carried on to the top. The easy walk on good terrain
permitted us to look around along the way. I was thrilled to be on this
nice summit; all day I was hoping the weather wouldn't worsen so we
could stand here. As we stayed to enjoyed the sights, lingering dark
clouds
looming over the mountains west of us appeared to lower. Without
hurrying too much, we began backtracking to the summit of Aberdeen; it
took
us 2.5 hours return trip. Back on Aberdeen, we hung
out a while longer as the weather was
cooperating. We casually
went down using scree for ease of
travel and the snow for a quick glissade. Eventually, we reached the
fan of the gully and located a faint
trail along Paradise Creek. Hiking was decent until we
neared the decommissioned trail, a short nasty section of bushwhacking
ensued. Once on the trail, we resumed hiking with the odd
conversations here and there. I'm very pleased with this outing,
I'm especially thankful it never rained! |
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The connecting ridge
narrows but is easily negotiated. |
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Moderate scrambling
down the crux. |
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Bottom of the crux. |
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Straightforward
glacier travel. |
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Pleasant trekking
with awesome sights. |
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Easy walking to the
top of Haddo. |
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Almost there and the
weather is holding! |
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The dark sky to the
west has been there most of the day. |
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Big square blocks
announce the top of Haddo Peak. |
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Mount Temple and
Lake Annette. |
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The sun pierces
through as we savour the scenery. |
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Heading back down to
the col. |
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Backtracking to
Mount Aberdeen. |
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Quick jaunt under a
darkening sky. |
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Looking back. |
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Good spot to regroup
and put away crampons and axe. |
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The crux grants
horizontal ledges and positive holds. |
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Jay waits on the
connecting ridge. |
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Fabrice and Sonny
rounding up the airy ridge. |
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Imposing Mount
Lefroy from the summit of Mount Aberdeen. |
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Down the west ridge. |
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Using loose scree
for a fast descent. |
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Traversing to line
up for a fun glissade. |
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Fastest way down
other than paragliding! |
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Sonny's getting face
shots. |
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Sentinel Pass with
Pinnacle Mountain and Eiffel Peak to the right. |
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More descent. |
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Following Paradise
Creek back to the decommissioned trail. |
| Back to home page |
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