| Ref: Drew
and Mark in the Canadian Rockies and Vern
Dewitt's Explor8ion |
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Yamnuska through the
trees. |
Scramble:
RT 8.75; 4.5 up. This is a nice long outing. The scenery along the way
is stunning and the trails grant good travelling. Part of the Front
Ranges, Wendell is a fine early or late season objective. We were lucky
with our
timing; there was very little snow on the approach but still some left
on the scree slope making the ascent a lot easier. I went up the
"gully" to reach the ridge while Fab went around, climber's right, on
some slabs. Immediately after cresting from the gully, I was surprised
to see how narrow the ridge is for about 5 meters. I crouched down and
proceeded slowly. The following section of ridge is easier. We enjoyed
the last stretch; the grade lessened giving us the opportunity to
unwind a little. The weather was trying to move in. We remained at the
top for a bit; although it was windy, it wasn't that cold with the
sunshine. Returning was fast at first, the scree run is fine. In 4
minutes, we were back down to treeline! The rest of the hike was
pleasant. The longer, warmer days of spring are welcome.
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Cresting on the
popular trail east of Yamnuska. |
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Fog blankets the
Foothills. |
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Following the horse
trail down into CMC Valley. |
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Crossing the
creek to the old road. |
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At the west end of
the valley, we veered into Wendell's ascent drainage. |
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Higher up, the scree
slope appears. |
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A closer look at the
scree slope. |
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We stuck to snow as
much as possible. |
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When snow ran out,
we hugged the slabs to avoid the loose scree. |
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Heading to the
gully, which bypasses the "first" pinnacle. |
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The
gully is followed by the crux, a narrow section of ridge. |
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Beyond the crux, the
"second" pinnacle is easily scrambled head on. |
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Yeah, what a day! |
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Weather is trying to
move in. |
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The east side of
Morrowmount. |
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Heading down. |
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The "second"
pinnacle. |
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Along the ridge
before the gully. |
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An alternative to
the gully (yellow) and crux is to use the slabs climber's right (red). |
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Fantastic scree run!
Four minutes of fast, deep plunging. |
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Hey Bob, look what
we also found! |
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Going
back up the horse trail. |
| Back to home page |
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