Just as I was lamenting the fact that the gorgeous fall weather was sure to end without me taking advantage of it my email dinged with a message from the crazy Pol – Raf. He was asking me if I would be interested in scrambling up Mount Sarbach. Yep! I would be very interested! Arrangements were hastily made. Raf picked me up at 04:45 at my house and 3 hours later we were at the trailhead. There was some haze in the air but the weather was perfect – calm and sunny.
Since I had scrambled Mounts Pilot, Brett, Burstall and Storm over the previous 2 days I figured it was time for a short and easy mountain. I chose Mount Fox. Short? No. Easy? No. Oh well. Fun? Yes! I was joined by Harvey, an active scrambler and hiker from Calgary who I was introduced to by Marta.
After scrambling Mount Pilot and Brett the day before and driving all the way to Elkwood campground in Kananaskis I was ready for a shorter and easier day. I chose to finally do Mount Burstall since it had been on my radar for a long time already.
Summit Elevation (m): 2984 Elevation Gain (m): 2400 Trip Time (hr): 10 Total Trip Distance (km): 25 Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3/4 – you fall, you break something or worse Difficulty Notes: Easy alternate descent is the way to go on this one! Difficult scrambling on the ridge described by Kane. Note: This trip combines both Pilot and Brett with a bike approach. Technical Rating: SC7; YDS (4th)GPS Track: Download Map: Google Maps After ascending Pilot Mountain I decided to take advantage of the long approach up the […]
On Monday, August 31 2009 I decided to attempt Pilot Mountain and Mount Brett as a day trip. Both of these mountains are rated ‘difficult’ by Alan Kane and both of them deserve this rating. I knew that I was in for a long day and was hesitant about doing it solo but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and go with it – and I’m glad I did!
After a solo scramble on Observation Peak, I met up with Keith Bott for the trek into the bivy on Mount Chephren on August 07 2009 in the evening. I had Chephren on the radar for a long time already and finally all the pieces of life aligned to allow me a good chance at this giant. And make no mistake about it. Chephren is every bit the giant you may have heard or suspected it is! Just gaze at it from the highway sometime and you’ll have a pretty good idea of how big this mountain really is.
On Thursday, July 30 2009 I joined Eric Coulthard from Edmonton on a trip up Mount Coleman in Banff National Park. In order to facilitate an earlier arrival back home to Calgary after the scramble, we both stayed overnight near the trailhead and agreed to leave the parking lot around 0530. This was my first scramble with Eric and we proved to have much in common, including our love of the mountains and our method of ascent.
On Saturday, September 20th 2008, Keith, JW and I scrambled up Mount Bosworth in beautiful, sunny weather – the summer weather we never had in 2008! Originally we were supposed to be making an attempt at North Victoria Peak on this day but since the weather forecast was pretty good we decided to wait for a cloudy day to enjoy that 11,000er.
To get to Og Mountain, we first had to hike along the Windy Ridge trail from the Assiniboine Lodge area and our Naiset hut. After getting some sublime morning sunrise shots of Mount Assiniboine early in the day, it was nice to walk past it again in full day light. With a plume of snow peeling off it’s lofty 11,871 foot summit it looked incredibly huge and intimidating.
On Saturday, August 30 2008 Keith and I set out to scramble Mount Lipsett and Mist Mountain. I originally wanted to scramble something difficult (like Mount Fox) but the weather was acting up again and it didn’t seem prudent to be on too much difficult terrain with unpredictable weather hovering around.
After being thundered off Commonwealth Peak the day before with Raf and Mel, I was more than ready to attain another few summits on Saturday, July 05 2008 with a gang of mountain veterans. I was joining Bill Kerr, Gary Vandergrift, Roy Stadelweiser, Kevin Papke and Keith Bott on a two peak day in Kananaskis Country on Nihahi and Compression Ridges.
After bagging Roche a Perdrix and Morro Peak the day before, we were ready for an easy day out. So, naturally we chose the 5.5 hour trip up Hawk Mountain. Of course we knew that the 5.5 hour time is actually only ONE WAY but still, it sounded short.
On Saturday, August 25 2007 a group of us decided to ignore the potentially dismal weather forecast and scamper up a peak around Banff or Lake Louise. Our first objective was Temple Mountain which I still hadn’t ascended at the time.
Summit Elevation (m): 2778 Trip Date: Thursday, August 16, 2007 Elevation Gain (m): 1400 Round Trip Time (hr): 8 Total Trip Distance (km): 15 Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 4 – you fall, you break something or worse Difficulty Notes: A fall on the crux would severely injure or kill so take necessary precautions. Technical Rating: SC7; YDS (4th)GPS Track: Download Map: Google Maps After scrambling Mount Warspite and Mount Storelk the previous two days, Thursday, August 16 2007 seemed like […]
After scrambling up Mount Warspite the day before, I was ready for another ‘difficult’ scramble so when Raf suggested an afternoon jaunt up Mount Storelk in the Highwood Pass area of Kananaskis I was ready to go.
After spending 2 weeks on a family vacation in Kelowna, I was ready for the serenity of a rarely climbed peak. Tuesday, August 14 2007 proved to be the perfect day for a mid-week scramble up Mount Warspite.
On Friday, July 06 2007, JW, Wietse and I decided to escape the madness that is Calgary on Stampede Parade day and bag another peak instead. We chose Galatea because we thought we could still get lucky with a good glissade and I’ve wanted to scramble that mountain for 3 years already.
Taking advantage of the weather is priority #1 for any peakbagger, so following that theme I set out with Kevin Barton and Wietse on Wednesday evening, July 04 2007 to help our Southern neighbors celebrate independence day with a trip up Mount Arethusa in the Highwood Pass area of Kananaskis country.
On Wednesday, June 28 2007, Jason Wilcox and I decided that we should bag a peak after work. According to JW this was not about having fun but was strictly for a cardio workout.
All day Jon and I had been glancing nervously (and somewhat excitedly) at Mount Northover looming ominously to the north and west. We had originally planned on climbing it the next day after backpacking to Northover Pass, via the alternate descent route.
Summit Elevation (m): 3053 Trip Date: Saturday, September 2, 2006 Elevation Gain (m): 1570 Round Trip Time (hr): 10.5 Total Trip Distance (km): 28 Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 4 – you fall, you break something or worse Difficulty Notes: Climber’s scramble on low 5th class, loose terrain. People have fallen to their death on this mountain so treat it seriously. Technical Rating: SC7; YDS (4th)GPS Track: Download Map: Google Maps On Saturday, September 02 2006, Raf, Jason and I […]
After scrambling 4 peaks the previous weekend in Yoho National Park it was time to relax a bit this weekend. I thought I’d go for an even (odd) 3 peak in Banff!
Bob and I woke up with the dawn of a new day and by 7 am we were hiking up to Kiwetinok Pass under a partly cloudy sky. We ascended the lower slopes of Kiwetinok Peak and before the large snow patch we tried short-cutting up through the lower cliffs to climber’s left.
On Friday, June 30 I headed out early to scramble Mount Edith in Banff National Park. Originally I was supposed to be heading up Copper Mountain but a certain person who I won’t name canceled on me. So, after Dave Stephens canceled on me…
Raf, Jason and I headed down to Waterton National Park on May 06, 2006 to tackle the infamous “Bears Hump” scramble route up Mount Crandell.
