| Ref: Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Trail Guide. |
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The trailhead and
the old road. Ski tourers have packed down the snow. |
| Snowshoe trip: RT 4.75; 3.0 up. The persistent
gloomy
weather in Golden has motivated us to plan a trip elsewhere. The
foothills seemed shielded; clear sky and mild temperature is
always appealing. We set off with the dogs for an overnight stay in
the area. There is a lot more snow than we expected. Luckily, the old
road following the south-east ridge of Lipsett was packed down; the
hounds had an easy way but still chose to boot straight through the
bush most of the time! Springers love that stuff, unfortunately their
featherings ball-up badly in the snow. About halfway, Fab started
heading down with the dogs. The dense snowballs tugging their fur
required numerous stops to break them apart, it was obvious they needed
to go dry out in the car. I put my snowshoes on and continued on the
packed road. Conveniently, the road shoulders the ridge on the
south-west side in the trees, offering some sun and shelter from the
wind.
At treeline, I quickly put on my windbreaker and continued to
the false summit. From there, the true summit is near.
I didn't stay long at the top. I took pictures of these awesome
mountains and remembered our pooch Winston, who had led us the whole
way
up Mist Mountain (the easy route) in 2006. I started descending and
soon reached treeline,
put on my snowshoes again and carried on. I enjoyed the sun and warmth;
soon we'll be around a fire feeling the
heat on our face with dogs at our feet. Cheers! |
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Lincoln and Daisy on
the trail momentarily. |
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Rupert stays close
for relentless fetching. |
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Leaving treeline and
shelter from the wind. |
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Saddle preceeding
the false summit, Mist Mountain in the background. |
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False summit; the
true summit is visible on the right. |
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From the false
summit, the top is a short distance away. |
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Very stiff snow
sculpted by wind. |
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The top of Mount
Lipsett, an outlier of Mist Mountain. |
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South-east view and
Odlum Ridge. |
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Looking north-west
towards Tyrwhitt (center) and Pocaterra (right of center). |
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Heading down after a
short stay at the top. |
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Quickly back at the
road. |
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Snowshoes back on
for this sheltered hike in the sun. |
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My hounds running to
greet me. |
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A sleep over is a
treat for the dogs. |
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Chinook arch the
next morning. |
| Back
to home page |
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