| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles
in the Canadian Rockies |
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Pinnacles at the
Isolated/Whaleback Col. |
| Hike: RT 11.75
(including Isolated
Peak); 3.75 for the traverse. Hunkered down below Isolated Peak and
sheltered by a huge boulder, we were excited to watch the storm passing
by. The wind driven rain was nearly horizontal but we remained dry. We
had lunch and talked about God, humanity and the earth. After some
time,
blue sky appeared over Whaleback and the cloud cover lifted. We started
to joke about "sucker holes" and next thing you
know, we were on our way up Whaleback Mountain! This was
unexpected, I had given up on the idea of exiting that way. We were
happy about the opportunity; this is a fantastic ridge walk. Ascending
to the ridge crest is easy. Once up there, we could see Mont des Poilus
which was engulfed in clouds earlier. The Presidents were also now
visible; as for Mounts Niles and Daly, they remained partly concealed.
Walking along the ridge was lovely, we took tons of pictures. It seems
that all the cloud layers added texture and mood; maybe because the sun
still filtered through... As we neared the south-east end of the ridge,
rain was fast approaching. We reached the Whaleback Trail and took
shelter under a big tree for a snack; it was raining again.
Unbelievably, the rain ceased in little time. We came down the steep
switchbacked trail and met up with the Little Yoho Trail in less than
an hour. From there, we casually made our way back to the trailhead. |
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We aimed for the dot
on the ridge right of center. |
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Nearing the ridge
crest, good travelling on a crude trail. |
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Clouds are lifting
and The Presidents appear. |
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Looking back at
Mount McArthur and Isolated Peak. |
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Distinguishable rock. |
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Taking way too many
pictures! |
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Nearing the
highpoint of Whaleback Mountain. |
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Mont des Poilus and
Mount Collie are now visible. |
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Whaleback Mountain's
summit. |
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Lovely traverse. |
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Continuing to the
south-east end of the ridge.
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The weather moves in
again. |
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The rain is fast
approaching. |
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The Whaleback Trail
is discernible in the grasses below (left), that section goes to Twin
Falls. |
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Looking back at the
abrupt side of Whaleback Mountain. |
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It's raining but
we're on the Whaleback Trail, soon back on the Little Yoho Trail.
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to home page |
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