| Ref: Eric
Coulthart in the Canadian Rockies |
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Abraham's south-east
ridge and Slabs in the shade. We head for the small saddle. |
| Scramble:
RT 12.0; 7.0 up.
This is a long and arduous trip but the view is well worth the effort.
Abraham Mountain is popular with climbers. An alpine climb (III 5.8)
ascends the south-east ridge to the summit and a short trail leads to
bolted climbs on the south-west aspect of the ridge. The scramble is
the climber's descent route. Ev was up for the challenge even
though we were uncertain about the approach to the "Endless scree gully
of pain" and the conditions on the upper mountain. This is our last
scramble together for a looong time, I hoped for a good adventure. We
met in Lake Louise and drove to the trailhead, 383882. The trail is
visible but there is no sign. Near the start the trail forks; the left
goes to the sport climbs and scramble, going straight takes you to the
alpine climb. We quickly reached Abraham Slabs. The textured slabs are
truly impressive and run along the whole length of the ridge gaining
height and magnitude. We skirted along the slabs and the path
eventually deteriorated to a faint trail with the odd cairn. We
handrailed the slabs with a climbing traverse. Numerous side drainages
are crossed staying high until well into the draw. Once we had the bottom of
the gully in sight, we plodded towards it losing a bit of elevation.
The snow in the gully was continuous and consolidated. We put on the
crampons and started the pleasant ascent to the col. Following a brief
break, we headed to the summit ridge. There was still some snow. We
proceeded, probing the snow and planting our feet for good
purchase. Some sections were unnerving... Once across the ridge, the
summit is easily gained. We stayed long enough to enjoy the sights and
the moment but we didn't linger. On the way down, it is hard not to
notice the imposing strata of slabs that form the summit ridge. After
carefully retracing our steps on the ridge, we prepared for a long
glissade down the gully. Coming down was sweet!
We renamed the gully "Endless snow gully of fun". Feeling rejuvenated,
we resumed our walk out. Cairns made finding our way back easier
but side-hilling talus slopes made it slower. It took us a
while to
reach the climber's trail. Happy to hear the traffic on the highway, we
strolled to the car. Again, we were very fortunate, we could not have
hoped for a better outcome. Ev, thanks for your friendship, I miss you
so much already... Please come and visit soon... |
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Nearing the small
saddle. |
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Building more cairns
as we go on the faint trail. |
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Slabs force us to
ascend and handrail the mountainside. |
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Crossing one of
several side drainages.
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Building a cairn
high on an outcrop, Elliott Peak in the distance. |
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Ev and I coming down
the outcrop. |
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We aimed for the
orange scree weakness. |
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Crossing another
side drainage. |
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Ascending the orange
scree weakness. This was very nice coming down! |
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Getting closer to
the ascent gully. |
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Looking back, Mount
Michener across Abraham Lake. |
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The endless scree
gully of pain or snow gully of fun! |
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Putting on the
hardware. |
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"Rage against the
gully". |
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Pleasant ascent on
firm snow. |
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Staying on the
packed scree higher up. |
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Abraham Mountain's
summit block comes into view (right of center). |
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About to tackle the
summit ridge. |
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But first I must
push over this rock. |
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Further along the
ridge. |
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Finally on the
summit block. |
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After a lot of hard
work we reached the top! |
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Looking along the
south-east "Shoulder route". |
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The view to the east. |
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Celebrating with a
cheer and a well deserved break. |
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A look at the ridge
and the col from the top. |
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Noticing the strata
of slabs from this angle. |
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Retracing our steps,
Allstones Peak in the background. |
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Traversing snow
slopes close to the ridge crest. |
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More of this
stunning ridge. |
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A super long
glissade from the col, fun, fun, fun! |
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We'll keep going
into the rocky debris, all the way down. |
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Cairns assist our
long side-hilling return. |
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