Bill Kerr

A snow shoe trip with Dave S.  Good quick trip although a lot colder than expected.  Best access to ridge is to stick with the ski tracks until past the right side of the cut block and then keep going through trees until on the main treed ridge and then turn left and go up ridge.  If go up at cutblock then go over a hill and then down and then up steep treed side of ridge.

Ridge had a lot of snow as the normal cornice is on the left hand side but the recent upslope east winds/storm had laid down considerable soft slab on the right hand side.  We went to the first summit but judged the slope under the rock buttress and then steeply up to the second summit to be too loaded to be worth it.  The consequences were too high.

Commonwealth ridge

Snow shoe trip with Kevin, Wietse and Vern.  Kevin’s 49 th peak on his Summits For Seniors fundraising.  Great cause.

Steeper parts in trees were a thrash as breakable crust over sugar.  We were paddling in places so thanks to the trail breakers.  Longer shoes were a hassel on the way down as front of shoe would break through while tail would hang up – not something regular.  Short legs a real handicap going over deadfall.

Fortune

Vern’s pics

Wietse pics

Kevins

Annual powder ski trip to Blanket Glacier Chalet.  Twenty third year.

 See previous years links under ski trip tab at top.

lots of new snow – about 1 m so big trail breaking and deep powder skiing. My 95 mm under foot Volkl Polar Bears were not wide enough!!

Al has added a new drying room onto the chalet which is great.  Everything is hung up there so opens up the main room and gets stuff dried quickly and throughly.

Getting lazy on the pics and snowing most of the time so not great pic weather.

Blanket 2013  – full screen slideshow best.

Emerald Peak by Emerald Slide path. Sunday feb 10.  Cooling trend and some new snow, moderate avi based mainly on wind slab so we thought we would bag this.  Good choice as the upper half was very good skiing. All photos are coutesy of Vern or Raff since I left my camera on the charger.

Minus -16 C at the start but warmed up quickly in the sun but no melting so all good. Up track was good except for unecessary swing left into the forest at about 1/3 of the way up.  Upper part was rebroke in the new snow by a pair of skiers ahead of us.  They peeled off and skied from the rocks on the right below the summit so we had to break the upper part. Original plan was to ski up to the right and ski to summit but the new snow over the base made it hard to build angle on the steep part.  Rather than do 6 tight switchbacks over everyone we decided to cut over to the rock ridge on the left.  The ridge went but was more complicated than expected. Great views on top with no wind. ( 4.5 hours?)

On the way up the ridge I used the rock as much as possible but on the way down the ridge I lazily followed Kevin’s steps in the snow beside the rock and  sank up to my armpits in the moat and had to roll out. I am sure I am not as heavy as Kevin so what gives with that!   back down to the skis and then a super run down. Beautiful powder over a solid base. There was the odd sugary spot beside local rocks but overall real solid.  Bottom half was like a ski area with tracks – must have been hundreds of skiers on this in last 2 months.

pics at Emerald  Thanks Vern and Raff

Vern’s Pics

Kevins Pics Emerald  at Summits for Seniors – great cause. kevin also has video.

Good trip to an easy peak with Wietse and Vern. Glad they invited me for a last minute outing. I have not been out much due to personal and work issues.

Parked on road and skied in on good track into smuts valley and up to smuts pass/col between smuts and Birdwood.  Carried skis a bit then crossed to smutwood peak ridge.  Left skis there and postholed up ridge.  went over two steps and then left around the false summit.  Steps were easy except for terrible sugar snow which was no help at all. The final stretch up to the summit was also crap snow over scree and slab. Not sure on times but about 4.5 hours to top.

Easier going down and some okay turns back to pass and then some more turns on hard windpack back to valley. A quick out and a good day.

Pictures at  Smutwood 

Wietse’s pics

Vern’s pics

Mount Saint Nicholas Wapta Icefield

Good 2 day trip on the shortest days of the year with Kevin, Wietse, Vern, Kelly and Steven.  Steven did great given that it was his second backcountry ski trip and his first time with a heavy pack on skis to a hut.  Good coverage up on glacier and in the canyon for this early in the year.
The high winds and new snow eliminated most of the tracks which slowed us down a bit on the way in and made for some issues in the trees on the way out. We have come out of here dozens of times but with poor visibilty it all looked different. After crossing the gully from crowfoot we entered the trees too high at the start(should have listened to Vern!) and then eventually went too low by the end of the canyon and then had to climb up a bit across the talus slope to drop down to the normal exit slope to the creek(cut back skiers left and down just before next set of trees). You can continue into trees and find two more ways down into the canyon depending on snow coverage.  Shallow coverage in places and poor visibility lead to lots of rock strikes.

Skiing was great in the bowl above the hut and the food was fantastic. Rock salted steaks and jumbo prawns in the wood stove were amazing.

Not much for my pics as I only went up for one run in the bowl on Friday – so some pics of Steven and Kevin on the Onion and  I did one run on Sat.

Pics at Bow Hut Wapta Dec 2012 

 Steven’s Pics  Onion  and Vulture

Verns pics

Wietse’s Pics

Kevin’s pics   Summits for Seniors – great cause.

Kevin on Thunder Mountain, Alberta

Thunder mountain is the first mountain in the Canadian Rockies that was climbed by a non native(Peter Fidler) in 1792. Fidler is the first european  to explore Southern Alberta and view the southern Canadian Rockies.  He wrote about Devil’s Head in his reports which the Blackfoot had named and used as a marker or navigation tool. Fidler had a map drawn on a hide by “Old Swan” – a native guide – which showed Devil’s Head, Chief Mountain and Devils Tower.   He entered the rockies at the Gap and then solo scrambled Thunder Mountain in December, 1792 so 220 years before our December ascent.  It is a nice class 2 ridge walk in the summer if you go around the rock parts and probably a moderate scramble if you take all the rock.  In winter with snow it is more difficult although I expect that the ridge blows clear or is chinooked off most of the time.

Drove down from Calgary on highway 22 and then west on the Gap road. We arrived just as the new snow started and knew we were in for a longer wet day. Not best conditions as there was not enough snow for the snowshoes except in some steeper places and so we carried them to the top for weight training.

The new snow froze to the rock and frozen ground so it was all slippery and difficult footing especially on the way down.  Various snow storms during the day with high winds wiped out our tracks so we wasted time in the trees on the way down.  About 11 km RT and almost 1000 m.   Fours hours up and also a slow careful four hours down to arrive at the jeep just before needing headlamps.  Traction devices like micro spikes and an ice axe or whippet would have been useful – I own all of these but did not think to bring them.

Pics at Thunder  Full screen slideshow best as usual.

Kevins Pics  at Summits for Seniors  Thunder  – great cause.

Hike and snowshoe expedition into livingston area SW of Longview with Dave, Kevin and Vern.  Went in on #532 (hump road) and then south on forestry trunk. West over blue bridge to old reclaimed wellsite and then walked quad track.

Very windy – bad wind chill so camera battery had problems let alone cold fingers so not much for pics. See Vern’s and Kevin’s.

Added Dave’s Pics and a video  Video

 Pic at S.O. Isola

Vern’s pics

Kevin Summits for Seniors  Great Cause

Twin Cairns Banff - beside Sunshine ski area

Good short ski trip with Wietse.  Ideal trip to start season.  On top in 3.5 hours.

Snow good and supportive except sugary in spots on the ridge around the rocks.  Kept to lower angles and avoided windslab. Lots of snow on top of ridge this year.  Wore my tele gear for a change since my AT ski skins had a ripped tail attachment.(the orange BD ones)

Skinned all the way up lower ski out/creek but thin on creek crossings – rocks and logs.  Wawa run was reasonably soft snow.  Regular ski out was closed below Goats Eye and had to take the Gondola down.

 Pics at  Twin Cairns  Fullscreen slideshow best.

Wietse’s pics

Big day for me coming off the couch after 3 weeks rehab on my cut/bruised knee and only one outing per month. About 1700 -1800 m elevation plus 20+ km.  Took us about 12 hours due to a wrong turn on descent on Volcano so we just avoided the headlamps.

Took trail along the creek all the way to plateau – turn off Evan-thomas trail  just before the creek crossing.  After .5 hours there was a trail off the left side which probably went up to the SW ridge to the plateau- better winter access versus creek – but it would be longer.  Trail has some narrow ledge sections over creek that would be dicey with snow/ice.  Take left fork of trail later on to get to plateau and avoid going to lake below McDougal.  Upper ridge was mostly easy with one moderate slab – went to right and up past dark rock where the cairn was. Four hours to top. 

Took scree gully down to col and followed bits of trail – no real scrambling – over to McDougal at easy pace – about 2 hours.

Ridge to Volcano – first upclimb was moderate – short, second longer but also moderate to diff. Rest of ridge has some problems from this direction but can walk around on ledges on left side. Hour and 1/2 to volcano with stops for pics.

Started down west ridge but got sucked off to right side and went over NW side too early and went down some real ugly talus, rockbands, dense trees, slippy moss, ugly talus gullies, etc. so 2 hours down to trail and then 1 hour 15 out.

Should also read others trip reports – Quote from Steven Song on Clubtred

“We decided to take the gully immediately towards skier’s right. Poor decision, this gully turned out to be very miserable. It reminds me about Storm Mountain, the worst scramble ever… There’s even a big cliff near the end and forced us to do some bushwhacking to get around. Once down to the main drainage, more bushwhacking was waiting for us… After what seems like eternity of nasty stuffs, we finally managed to find the trail on the right side of the stream.”

Recomend to stay up on volcano ridge along trees until nearer the west end of ridge.

Pics at BaldyMcdougal Traverse

Poor video of Kevin climbing the crux up climb between McDougal and Volcano  on Youtube  crux     – I have since learned how to adjust the quality of video on my camera.

Kevin Old Baldy McDougal Pics at Summits for Seniors  – Great cause.