| Ref: Drew
and Mark in the Canadian Rockies |
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Canyon Creek is wide, open terrain. |
| Scramble: RT 9.0; 4.5 up. We left Golden in a blizzard hoping
for another shot at a snow-free outing. The sunny, mild weather
overshadowed the windy conditions forecasted for the Foothills. The
Powderface Trail was in good shape. We hiked along the creek bed to the
ascent ridge and reached treeline with minimal bushwhacking. Along the
broad north ridge, beautiful scenery is revealed. The sun was nice, we
followed the ridge enjoying the moment fully. Trekking was easy with
the absence of snow, the wind wasn't even that bad until we reached the
last highpoint. From there, the wind picked up drastically knocking us
off balance. We continued to the top stumbling occasionally. The view
is awesome from this tall front range summit. Although it was windy, we
still stayed at the top for a while. After having
some good fun in the wind, we headed down the alternate
descent. Back on Canyon Creek, we realized we had to hustle back
to the car in order to beat the darkness. A speedy pace ensued. We
arrived at 5:30 PM with no daylight left, almost had to take out the
headlamps! |
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Further along, the ascent ridge is in sight. |
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Mount Howard's north ridge just ahead.
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Straightforward and scenic. |
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Looking back. |
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| | The objective comes into view to the far left. |
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| | Going towards the animal trail bypassing the highpoint. |
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Looking back again, the sky has cleared. |
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| | The pinnacle and summit, minutes away. |
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| | Last bit. |
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| | Yahoo! Absolutely worthwhile. |
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| | A bunch of Kane scrambles to the south. |
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| | Fab reads some of the entries. |
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| | Steadying myself against the wind on the pinnacle. |
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Fab, all puffed-up, prefers to lean into it... |
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... and stir-up some snow. |
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On our way to the alternate descent. |
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The sun is setting as we near the rib. |
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Continuing along the forest's edge, above the canyon. |
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Gravel flats all the way back to the car. |
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