| Most
trip reports mention parking alongside highway 40 and aiming for the
Pocaterra Ski Trail. During winter, when highway 40 is closed beyond
the Kananaskis Lakes turnoff, it's possible to reach that ski trail
using Packers Ski Trail
that starts at the Boulton Creek parking lot. We left the Pocaterra Ski
Trail near 367111 and climbed the treed rib to the saddle south of the
summit block. |
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Packers Ski Trail. |
| Snowshoe
trip: RT 7.5; 4.5 up. This was a
thrilling trip; Fabrice and I hadn't been out in awhile and
Charles was joining us, we hadn't seen him since early summer. I
recently had come back from driving across Canada (to and from Ottawa)
and
I couldn't think of a better way to get back into the groove of things.
Poor road conditions in the morning slowed us down, we were late
meeting Charles. After locating the right parking lot and trail map
sign, we geared up. We enjoyed the ski trails, they provided great
travel through the forest. When we had
our ascent rib in sight, we left the trail. The snow was
unconsolidated and postholing ensued. We had doubts about reaching the
top; yet, after a quick break midway, we continued on the rib. At
treeline, we avoided open terrain and soon gained the saddle
and
summit block. The wind was fierce once we broke out of
the trees, I struggled to keep the hood on my head and my hair out of
my mouth. We left the snowshoes for the last bit, the ground was
scoured. The scramble is straightforward and in good shape, we
reached the top and promptly put on additional layers. We had happy
faces despite the wind but couldn't linger, our hands froze from taking
pictures. On the way down, the wind blown
snow whipped our face; we were pleased to resume our descent
sheltered in the trees. We got back to our
vehicles in the dark. |
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Joining the
Pocaterra Ski Trail. |
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Well-groomed trail,
firm and fast. |
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Leaving the ski
trail with the saddle in sight (right center). |
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Postholing in the
shallow snowpack. |
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Gaining the saddle. |
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The summit block is
wind-scoured. |
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Continuing without
snowshoes. |
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The summit comes
into
view. |
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Almost there. |
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At the cairn for a
brief pause. |
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Flashing signs yo! |
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Neat snow lip. |
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Leaving the top. |
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A short distance to
treeline. |
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The intense wind
picks up snow. |
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Fab showing off his
snowshoeing skills. |
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Back on the
Pocaterra Ski Trail.
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Returned in the dark. |
| Back
to home page |
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