| Ref: Alan Kane's
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies |
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Narao from the
highway. |
| Scramble: RT 10.5. We did not research this trip
and underestimated it. This was not an outing for the
pooch
but luckily for us we had a third member with us and we were able to
take turns at the summit. The weather was less than perfect:
foggy and drizzly but fairly mild. At the initial buttress along the
ridge, Fab pointed out a traverse climber's right across
scree and snow. Eventually we were back on the ridge and faced with
another buttress. We circumvented this one by traversing to the right
again on a moderately wide
scree bench
before reaching less exposed terrain. This
whole
traverse made me nervous as we focused on keeping Winston close. Once
on the ridge again, we soon came up to the crux. We
decided Winston would not proceed any further; we set him up
for a comfortable stay. Val went on ahead to the top while we stayed
behind
noticing the deteriorating weather. When Val returned, we set
off. Fab had to coax me up a few awkward bits and soon thereafter we
were
following a row of cairns! Wow, if only we could see. By now it's
raining and the ceiling is dropping, like pea soup; it's like the
mountain is chasing us back down. We didn't stay at the top, quite
worried about Winston most likely cold and anxious; poor doggy. Filled
with guilt we returned and assured our pooch a safe return to the very
mossy ground. Perhaps we will go again on a clear day to soak
in the view that we missed, leaving Winston at home will make this
scramble a lot more enjoyable! |
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A closer look, the
top is hidden behind the false summit. |
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Treed terrain is not
bad. |
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Coming out of the
trees, West Louise Lodge below. |
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Scree ascent to the
ridge. |
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The route up around
the first buttress. |
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Looking down the
scree slope. |
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First buttress and
the summit on the left. Picture taken on an attempt in 96. |
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Going around
climber's right. |
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Typical terrain. |
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On the ridge. |
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Traversing climber's
right below cliff bands to circumvent another buttress. |
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Scree bench between
cliff bands. |
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The crux. |
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Val along the ridge,
we wait for our turn. |
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Looking towards
Popes Peak from the crux. |
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Quick final ascent
from the false summit. |
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Looking down the
east side. |
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False summit ridge. |
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Coming down. |
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This traverse on
snow brought us back around the initial buttress. |
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Lower down the
mountain. |
| Back
to home page |
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