| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles
in the Canadian Rockies |
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The trailhead. |
Scramble:
RT 12.0. Fab is going up Castle with
Winston,
I've been there so I'm attempting TV peak. The hike to Tower Lake was
quick, from there the view unfolds and is like no other. At Rockbound
Lake we took a break, fully enjoying this majestic place. We followed
the ascent gully to a broad shelf above Rockbound Lake where we split
up. I climbed towards Helena
Ridge and Fab traversed to the lower terrace; one of the most
beautiful spots I've ever seen, I remember hiking
through there in 96. I had an extra
8.5 km to do and the weather appeared unstable. That motivated me to
treat this as a race: quick, put your head down and lets
go! When Fab called me from the top of Castle, I was at the foot of the
final ascent slope; the ridge dips before ascending the last bit.
Pretty good
I thought but I had to hussle! He hung out at the top with Winston
taking a nap until I summited, 2 hrs from Stuart Knob. I didn't stay
long at the top, equipped with
huge propane tanks and antennas; I felt my brain waves scramble (just
kidding). The weather was still holding up but I really wanted to
minimize Fab's wait with the pooch, especially if it started raining,
so off I went, drinking my Redbull on the way down. The terraces I
traveled, below Stuart/Helena are simply stunning. This area as got to
be one of my favorite places with rock never seen before: "from the
Middle Cambrian period, 530 million years ago". I often
visited Rockbound Lake in the early 90's on a mountain bike, when it
was not so illegal!
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Approaching Tower
Lake. |
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Tower Lake bordered by Castle's impressive walls. |
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Rockbound Lake and
its slabby shore; very majestic place. |
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The ascent gully
accessing Kane's four scrambles. |
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Looking across the
lake. |
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The ascent to
Helena, Stuart and TV climbs the scree trail. |
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The two lakes from
higher up. |
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Lower terrace
leadind to Castle Mountain's ascent gully. |
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I traversed below
Helena's cliff bands. |
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Amazing hiking on
the upper terrace. |
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TV Peak beyond
Stuart Knob, a ways away! |
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Short but very loose
traverse below Stuart, the snow was firm. |
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Looking back at
Stuart Knob from the connecting ridge. |
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Television Peak is now officially known as Protection Mountain. |
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Hardware at the top
of Television Peak. |
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More hardware. |
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Castle Mountain from the
upper terrace. |
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Rejoining with Fab
and Winston. |
| Back
to home page |
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