| Ref: Chic Scott's Summits and Icefields 2 |
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The moon from the "End of the trail" sign at Hermit Meadows. |
| Alpine
climb: RT 13.0; 6.5 up. This weekend the forecasted weather was
stellar; sunny and really warm. I called Jay to see if he was
available, I knew this objective was high on his list. We planned an
alpine start to beat the heat and be off the snow before it got too
soft. Jay spent the night here in Golden. We left the trailhead at 3
AM; the full
moon lit up the darkness and the temperature was already a balmy 14˚
Celsius. We hiked up the very steep trail and reached Hermit Meadows as
it started to get light,
1 hour 40 minutes.
From the "end of trail" sign, we continued on a trail up
and over a couple of moraines; after that, we aimed for the Swiss
Glacier. There's numerous cairns along the way and several options; we
just picked a line of ascent on rock to gain the top of a snow gully we
aimed for. We continued on a rib of bedrock to the toe of the glacier;
we geared up for the glacier walk
and snow climb
just as the sun's rays reached us.
Travelling on the glacier was fast, snow conditions
were optimum and the ascent slope had a recent bootpack. It turns out,
some people brought their skis and dog; they laid down some pretty good
tracks! At some point, we traded poles for axes; the climb was rendered
much easier following the bootpack. Once on the summit ridge, we
casually walked to the highpoint and summit. The forest fires produced
a haze but the view was still phenomenal in all directions. There was
no wind and the temperature was hot for a mountain top over 3000
meters; we sat and enjoyed a good break before backtracking. The snow
was even softer on descent, we were able to step-plunge down the
snow slope. Shortly after Fab talked about glissading lower down, I
heard: "Oh f___, here I go!". I looked up to see Fab coming down
towards me at a good speed; I moved over to see him whiz by me in a
semi-controlled glissade. He went for a ways before turning facing the
slope in a full arrest position to stop; whoa, good thing he didn't get
hurt... Following the excitement, we resumed a pleasant descent
to Hermit Meadows. I knew the rest of the trail would be tough on me;
the steep grade surely taxed my knees and jammed my toes. Feeling
exhausted, I was really happy to see the truck. We saw some people
preparing to head up with big overnight packs; I felt bad for them, the
temperature read 35˚ Celsius... This outing is definitely a must
for anyone who loves non-technical snow climbs! |
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| A good trail continues up and over a couple of moraines. |
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| Rogers Peak at the far left; we aimed for the top of the snow gully, right of center. |
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| While the sun rises, the sky becomes orange from several nearby forest fires. |
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| Part of the Swiss Glacier appears as we get closer to the snow gully. |
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| Travelling on glacial bedrock. |
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| Nearing the top of the gully. |
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| Mount Rogers (Rogers, Grant, Fleming, Swiss and Truda); Rogers Peak, the highest point, is in the sun. |
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| Putting on our crampons and anticipating a sudden rise in temperature. |
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| Very good snow conditions. |
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| Mount Tupper in the foreground and Mount Sir Donald at the far right. |
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| Following a recent bootpack up the slope. |
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| Looking down the moderately steep snow slope. |
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| Nice transition to the summit ridge. |
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| Stepping onto the summit ridge. |
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| The summit ridge. |
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| The glacier on the north side. |
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| Fabrice walks over the highpoint to a rocky spot where the cairn sits.
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| Lots of forest fires and hot temperatures; I'm doing a sprinkler dance. |
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| 25˚ C and no wind; it's hot for up here. |
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| South-western view with Mount Sifton in the foreground and Mount Bonney in the distance. |
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| Leaving the summit.
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| The views are phenomenal despite the smoke. |
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| The soft snow allows good step-plunging. |
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| Glacier make-up. |
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| Small crevasses are opening up. |
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| Almost off the glacier. |
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| Back on rock. |
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| The Discovery Center is visible down below. |
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| Great trekking in one of the finest places. |
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| Now on a good trail that leads to Hermit Meadows. |
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| Hermit Meadows and its grandiose sights. |
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