| Ref: Andrew Nugara's More
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies -2nd Edition
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We hiked the
approach on the gravel road but some may choose to bike it.
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I had made plans with Zofia,
Sonny and Raff to meet in Pincher Creek before our weekend scramble.
After my outing on Turtle Mountain, I casually drove to our meet-up
place at Leo's Pub and Grill. When I showed up, Raff was already there
with Andrew Anugara, Taras Kus and Wietse Bijlsma. Shortly after I
arrived, Sonny Bou and Zofia Zgolak showed up with their friends, Asieh
Ghodratabadi, Houmaro Kone, Ali Shariat and Dorota Sokolowska; they
were going to accompany me tomorrow on Loaf Mountain. Not present
at the table was Alison Sekera, she was tied up with family and would
join me later at the A&W parking lot. We had a fabulous
supper and talked mostly about mountains. I was thrilled to be
surrounded by like-minded people for my 50th birthday, celebrating this
one was a bit of a shocker... I'm resisting the whole aging
process like most and I felt that reaching that milestone propelled me
in the "old folk" category... Anyway, after eating decadent chocolate
birthday cake, people dispersed. I drove to the A&W and set up
for
the night. I awoke during the night and had a quick glance outside,
Alison was parked next to me, I hadn't even heard her arriving.
Scramble:
RT 10.25; 6.0 up. The following morning, everybody met us at
A&W
and we caravanned to
the trailhead. The plan was to ascend the mountain from the south side
instead of its northern approach, a recent trip report described
favorable snow conditions in the cirque and I was keen to take
advantage of that. We started on the gravel road from the gate. We had
a good distance to go and I can see why using a bike would cut
down on time and effort but hiking the long approach gave us the
opportunity
to converse along the way. After about an hour and a half, we reached
the access snow gully and the fun began. The snow was firm providing
good climbing conditions, travel was both fast and pleasant. We reached
the cirque in good time and got a fine view of what was coming next.
The snow slopes leading to the east ridge are steep, some of us didn't
have crampons so the group discussed possible ways up. The angle
lessens towards the east side of the cirque, Alison and I picked a snow
chute while the rest of the group pushed further
east on mixed terrain. We regrouped on the east ridge before dipping
down to the saddle that precedes the summit ridge. The weather was
fabulously stable and the absence of wind was unusual. I enjoyed the
casual ridge walk and the last stretch to the summit on
firm snow. Our summit stay was really pleasant, this peak is the
highest in the region and offers fine
views all around. We regrouped at the top and took countless pictures
before backtracking. At the saddle, none of us wanted to climb
back up to pick up our ascent lines so we agreed to traverse the
cirque's steep slopes until we were comfortable to descend. I picked a
line of descent and led the way with Alison in hot pursuit, the snow
was perfect for glissading. Sonny led the rest of the group further
east and we regrouped at the
bottom of the cirque. With everybody now pros at glissading, we carried
on down the snow gully embracing every possible bum-slide!
...and that was the end of the fun part... The rest of the hike on the
road was all business and uneventful. I was really happy about this
trip, everything was primo!
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A
scene straight out of "Mad Max".
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Continuing
past the gravel road on a good trail.
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Our
access snow gully comes into view in the middle.
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Finally,
let the fun begin!
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Reaching
the cirque.
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Contemplating
our line of ascent.
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Alison
and I choose the continuous snow gully (left of center).
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Looking
down.
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Upper
gully, the snow is firm and the ascent is delightful.
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Looking
back at Alison.
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The
objective is in sight.
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Victoria
Peak (left) and Pincher Ridge on the right north of us.
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Regrouping
before tackling the ridge walk and climb to the summit.
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Alison
approves.
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Straightforward
ascent.
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The
summit is fringed by nice cornices.
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Eastern
view with Mount Dungarvan (left) and lofty Mount Cleveland in the
distance on the right.
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Western
view.
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View
south all the way into Montana!
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Summit
picture.
Picture courtesy of Sonny Bou.
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Zofia
and Alison kicking the rime off the summit stake.
Picture courtesy of Sonny Bou.
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Leaving
the top after a long stay.
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Loaf
Mountain's pleasant north-east ridge.
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A
tiny bit of easy scrambling.
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Regrouping
before the glissade down.
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My
chosen descent.
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The
group will keep traversing further east.
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Prompting
Alison after my initial slide.
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Nice
line!
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Waiting
for Alison to commit to the glissade.
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There
she goes!
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Alison
and I's ascent line and mad glissade.
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Still
glissading below the cirque.
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Fun
is over, it's back to business....
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| Back to home page |
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