Ref: Drew and
Mark in the
Canadian Rockies II |
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Evelyn (front) and I. |
Ski touring: RT 8.5; 5.5 up. Fab and I decided it
was time to do a ski touring trip to be able to gage our level of
fitness on skis. I invited a very good friend, Evelyn. The forecasted
flurries and cold temperature made us a little
apprehensive, considering the length of the trip. As we left the house,
we could see the moon through very light flurries. On highway 93, the
snow
stopped and made way to clear sky. When I stepped out of the
car I
was expecting bitterly cold temperature, but to my surprise, it was
quite nice with no wind at all. We met with Ev and were on our way by
7:30
AM. We were counting on a packed trail to Mosquito campground;
indeed, there was a well-used one. We soon reached the campground and
proceeded further on the trail looking for a good line of ascent. Fab
started breaking a trail through the light timber of the south-west
slopes. It was not the best conditions, some steps punched down in the
sugar snow; I don't recall seeing such a shallow snowpack for this time
of the year. Fab continued but expressed later he had doubts we would
make it to the top. However, within 20 minutes of leaving the main
trail,
we came across an up-track. We were quite joyful, I was in disbelief of
this blessing!!! We assumed it probably climbed to treeline and
stopped. A hard trail breaking session turned into an easy plod. At
treeline the terrain flattens, we took a nice break savoring the sun
and our surroundings. The up-track continued climber's right of a gully.
We followed onto shallow, wind-affected snow to the ridge where we
decided to take our
skis off. The summit plod was nice with good footing on rock and stiff
snow. The weather started to move in slowly but the visibility
remained good and the picturesque area discernable. It only got windy
near the top, almost perfect conditions! Very memorable.... The descent
was quick. We even got a couple of good turns on the upper slopes above
treeline. Unfortunately, the skiing soon deteriorated and we carefully
made
our way back to the racetrack. |
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Ramp (left) and
Mosquito come into view. |
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The girls looking at
the objective. |
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Further along the
trail, Quartzite Peak is now visible. |
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Almost at the
campground. |
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The up-track through
lightly timbered slopes. |
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The terrain
flattens; the up-track continues climber's right of the gully ahead. |
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Part of the track
can be seen, right of center. |
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Above treeline. |
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Looking towards
Molar Mountain, far right. |
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Noseeum Mountain. |
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Our approach and Bow
Peak. |
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The upper slopes. |
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Trudging up on thin
snow towards the summit ridge. |
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Dolomite in the
background. |
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Wind loaded slopes
before the summit. |
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Mount Hector can be
seen, far right. |
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We are finishing on
foot. |
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Molar and Hector are
now obscured. |
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Very pleasant final
stretch. |
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Finally, the summit
of Mosquito. |
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Nice view of
Quartzite and Ramp. |
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Northern view,
looking down Pipestone. |
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South-east ridge. |
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Unnamed Peak. |
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