| From Caldron Lake,
continue north to
Delta Glacier. Straightforward glacier travel contours
Patterson's false summit and climbs onto the south ridge, 289322. The
summit
is easily reached from there. |
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Mountains mirror in
Caldron Lake early morning. |
| Alpine climb:
RT 16.0; 7.5 up. Holy moly, what a trip! The weather
seemed stable during the week therefore we booked
the "Barking
Lounge" at Lisa's for our doggies. This would allow us a very early
start
(2 AM) from the Bow Summit parking. But the forecast changed, becoming
more
unsettled with a possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Once
again,
the race was on. With a 30 kilometer hike ahead of us, we hastily
plodded-on to Caldron Lake in the darkness. After 3 hours, we stood by
the
lake and daylight brightened the horizon. The top of our objective
was engulfed. We wasted no time and continued towards the glacier. The
sky was covering quickly but the ceiling was not lowering; we kept
racing... Delta Glacier is long, we were happy to close-in on the
ascent slope to the summit ridge. The slope is moderately steep
and quickly
leads to a saddle. With this behind, I finally started to feel
we
would stand on the summit. The last stretch reminded us of our trip
last week: total loss of visibility on the summit ridge. We continued
on the gentle ridge to the top. The cairn hosts a register; I was
surprised to see an entry in February. Although there was no view, our
stay was pleasant. I took the time to sign the register; my hands
weren't frozen this time. At 9:30 in the morning, we had reached
our
destination; the race was over. I was elated and we still had all this
time for the return. We stopped several times along the way, taking
pictures and simply enjoying the scenery. Back on the grasses, it was
boots off for a while. The clouds were dark but sunshine petered
through. It tried to drizzle. Feeling rejuvenated, we carried on with
our journey past the lake and down the moraine. A couple more breaks
and we tackled the climb back to the observatory. That one hurt. We
arrived at the car early enough to go home and pick-up our hounds at
the kennel. This trip is quite lengthy but well worth it. The scenery
is outstanding and the views from the top must be breathtaking! |
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Our objective is
already in the clouds. |
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At the toe of Delta
Glacier. |
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Travelling on the
glacier; Peyto Peak is now far behind. |
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A long stretch on
the glacier; will the weather hold? |
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Approaching the
ascent slope, the cloud cover hasn't dropped. |
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On the summit ridge. |
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A little like last
week. |
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Yahoo, we're at the
top! |
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Last peek at the top
on the way down. |
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Dramatic drop on the
Snowbird Glacier side. |
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Visibility returns
lower down. |
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Very happy indeed. |
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Back at the base of
Patterson's false summit. |
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Retracing our steps
down the ascent slope. |
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Last glimpse at the
summit ridge. |
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It was effortless
coming down. |
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Lengthy Delta
Glacier ahead, Peyto Peak in the far background. |
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Patterson almost out
of the clouds!!! |
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We rope up again. |
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The weather is still
fine. |
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Off the glacier, the
ascent slope for Mistaya Mountain is behind Fab. |
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Lovely rolling
terrain near Caldron Lake. |
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Taking an extended
break on the grasses. |
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Time to head out. |
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One last look at
this magnificent area and far away Patterson. |
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Peyto Lake and the
gravel flats down below. |
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Awesome!!! |
| Back
to home page |
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