| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles
in the Canadian Rockies |
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Start of the first
drainage from the wooden bridge. |
| Scramble:
RT 12.0; 7.0 up. This was an amazing
feat for
me. This difficult scramble proved to be the toughest to date. We
approached from the first gully which was O.K. The traverse didn't take
that long even if we skirted around the bluffs to gain the ridge. On
the way back we came down a gully that breaches the bluffs enabling
quick height loss. When we reached the flake, I scrambled to the choke
stone then asked Fab to go ahead and set an anchor past the ledge.
That section made me nervous, it set the tone for the rest of the
climb! Fab also short roped me up the two following cruxes. Sorry, no
time for pictures but there's lots on the internet. Man, when I
reached the summit plateau I was mentally exhausted and very relieved
to see broadness. We hung out for nearly an hour at the top, enjoying
the astonishing views and gorgeous weather. Fab tried to dry out the
summit register, the container filled with water because the o-ring is
broken on the lid (anybody want to bring up an array of o-rings between
1.5-3 inches?) Surprisingly
enough, the way down was not as intimidating;
I knew what was coming and I was on belay for the difficult sections.
After that, we hurried back down and tried to make some time to avoid
getting home too late (kibble time for Lincoln). Fab fell on the
traverse, tweaking his shoulder and bashing his knuckles on both hands.
That added to the gash he suffered on the calf higher up when he
stepped down against a razor edged rock. We can't say we didn't leave
blood, sweat and tears! |
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The upper gully and
our route up to the shoulder. |
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Closer to the upper
gully, the way up still not clear from here. |
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Looking down at the
upper gully, we ascended climber's
left of this outcrop. |
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Pilot's summit block
from the shoulder. |
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The traverse to the
north-west ridge. |
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A speedy descent
from the north-west ridge! |
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The summit block,
the flake is more apparent. |
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Fab drying the
register. |
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Mount Assiniboine. |
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Mount Ball and
Shadow Lake. |
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A close up view
of Copper Mountain. |
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Mount Brett and it's
narrow ascent ridge. |
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Jo at the summit. |
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