| From
the south-west
corner of Emerald
Lake parking lot, locate the trailhead to Hamilton Lake. Follow this
popular trail to the lake. From there, make your way to the
Carnarvon-Top Hat Col; follow the north-west ridge to a short chimney
that breaches the summit block. |
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Leaving the trailhead. |
| Snowshoe
trip: RT 8.25; 4.25 up. We visited Hamilton Lake early season to see if I
could snowshoe with my torn ACL and check out Top Hat Peak as a
potential outing; it appeared to be a good candidate. With decent
conditions in the region, I sent out a few invites to some friends;
Raff decided to tag along last minute. Once again, he introduced to us
some of his mountaineering friends, Alan & Elizabeth and Marta, which
we had just met the week previous. With fresh snow in the alpine, they
chose skis for this trip and I would have also! Fabrice accompanied me
on snowshoes so we could split from the group on the way down. The
lower part of trail was deteriorated with dirt patches but past the
canyon, snow coverage increased drastically. At the lake, we had a
quick break before continuing. A group ahead climbed towards the Top
Hat-Emerald Col, I thought they might be skiing the "Slide Path" back
down to Emerald Lake but they ended up traversing to the Carnarvon Col
to ski the north side. Alan and Elizabeth proceeded to break trail
towards the Carnarvon Col at a blazing pace, I couldn't keep up... Once
reunited at the col, Fabrice started up the ridge right away towards
the short snow-filled chimney; he kicked good footsteps for us to use.
The summit plateau offers a great view in all directions; we sat for a
pleasant lunch break enjoying the mountains and the great company. Back
down at the col, Alan and Elizabeth went down the north side following the
previous group's lead; Raff and Marta decided to come down the way we
came and so did we. The first 100 meters seemed like good skiing but
that's about it; still, I wish I was side slipping instead of walking! |
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| Dirt patches on the lower trail. |
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| Even some deadfall to negotiate. |
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| Crossing a large avalanche path, the snowpack is bomber. |
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| Quick break just ahead of Hamilton Lake. |
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| Fabrice has a new look! |
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| Heading to the Carnarvon-Top Hat Col. |
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| Nice terrain and straightforward ascent. |
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| Having a hard time to keep up... |
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| Straggling behind... |
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| At the col. |
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| Fabrice doesn't want anybody to wait any longer and heads up the ridge right away. |
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| Short distance to the summit. |
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| Marta at the base of the snow-filled chimney. |
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| And Elizabeth in hot pursuit! |
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| Marta ascending the short chimney. |
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| Alan on the summit plateau with Emerald Peak in the foreground. |
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| Summit picture. |
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| Heading back. |
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| Raff trying to convince us that his choice of music is better! |
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| Down the chimney; Alan contemplates doing a "canon ball" but settles for a short glissade. |
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| We're the unofficial sweep of the trail. |
| Back
to home page |
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