| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles
in the Canadian Rockies |
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Failed attempt in 2008.
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Scramble:
RT 7.0; 4.0 up. This difficult
scramble was a long time coming. I had attempted it in 2008 and had to
turn away due to lingering snow on the ridge.
I had also been there in the 90's with a friend that had brought a dog;
needless to say, we didn't make it. To be fair, I don't think I had the
head space to deal with the exposure at that time anyway. When I
decided to try this ascent again, it was to "close the book" on Lady
Mac whether I succeeded or not. I felt ready to tackle the challenge.
The hike to the unfinished teahouse was familiar, I really appreciated
the direct climb on the well-used trail. When we started breaking out
of the trees, I started to feel overwhelmed with anticipation. We took
a break on the platform, the weather seemed to be holding just fine.
There was no one there yet, we had the whole upper mountain to
ourselves. I kept looking at the ridge and slabs above, I couldn't wait
to see how I would fair out this time. Once replenished, we carried on
to the summit ridge. We avoided the loose scree trail by staying on
firmer rock to the sides. When I stepped on the ridge and looked at
what lay ahead, my inner voice said: bring it on! I started on the
ridge first with no hesitation, the scrambling was easier than anticipated. The crux is indeed
exposed, I straddled the really skinny part
until I had good footholds on the slab to resume walking and grabbing
the spine. I was surprised to see how calm and collected I remained, I
loved it! We stayed at the top for awhile before backtracking. I felt
at ease and wasn't intimidated to walk the exposed ridge again, all the
years
of challenging myself were finally paying off. We took numerous pictures
on the
ridge, it grants awesome photo opportunities. Down below, on the
platform, hoards of people had already gathered but nobody was on
the ridge yet. We met the first
climbers of the day on the south summit, they enquired about the ridge
and went ahead to
give it a try. We used the scree for a speedy descent and took another
break before the platform, then, we resumed the hike among the crowds.
I loved this
scramble, the only downside was hearing the highway pretty much the
whole time. Make sure to get an early start to beat the traffic on this
popular objective.
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Very popular approach trail.
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A marmot basking in the sun.
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Silky phacelia (Phacelia sericea).
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Close up of a pika.
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Three Sisters shrouded by cloud.
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The objective ahead.
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Taking pictures from the platform.
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An old launch beyond the platform.
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Climbing to the false summit.
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Breaking out of the clouds.
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Reaching the false summit.
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Engaging on the connecting ridge.
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Some narrow sections require caution.
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Fabrice negotiating a narrow section.
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The ridge is easier than anticipated.
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Looking back.
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Walking carefully on the wider part of the crux.
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A cheval for a brief exposed section.
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This picture demonstrates the typical technique to cross the crux. |
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At the top.
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Backtracking.
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On the crux.
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Walking the wider part.
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Fab's turn on the airy crux.
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Posing on an outcrop.
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A dip in the connecting ridge.
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Strutting the ridge crest calm and collected.
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Heading back down.
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Classic western view over Canmore.
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Cougars in the mountains...
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