Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies |
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Preparing for a
great scramble. |
Bike/Scramble:
RT 9.0; 5.0 up (from the campground). Fab and I decided to spend the
night at the Ribbon Falls campground and attempt the scramble the
following day. The weekend forecast was good. We biked in; for the most
part it was good until we hit the single track rutted with roots. Our
bikes were slightly awkward, weighed down by the
saddle bags. We enjoyed a nice afternoon at the site, eating and
drinking
plenty in preparation for the next day. We woke up in fine shape, the
weather was stellar! We spotted the ascent drainage mentioned and
quickly gained the upper gully. The basin ahead is an absolute delight;
we took a break there on the way up and on the way down enjoying the scenery and the nice weather. The summit
plod was
fairly long but pleasant. We used the remaining snow up to the crux
which is narrow and steep. It happened to be icy at the time and we
did not have crampons; that part was tricky. Within a half hour (from
the crux), we were standing on this amazing summit. Coming down was not
without excitement. Fab pulled out a big boulder with his alpine axe at
the icy section; he, along with the rock, fell down to the snow slope
below. My heart dropped to my feet as I peered down. Fab was on his
butt, anchored in the snow; the rock had fallen away... He was slightly
bruised but otherwise OK. Very lucky... |
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Tropical feel to
this campground. |
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The ascent route we
followed. |
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The crux comes into
view above Fab. |
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Upper snow slopes. |
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At the top with the
route we followed from Ribbon Falls. |
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Looking west. |
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Self-timed summit
picture. |
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North-eastern view
over Nakiska. |
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In the basin,
another self-timed photo. |
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