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Whitehorse, Y.T
Canada
115 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2007 : 11:53 PM
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| As the summer climbing season approaches and trip planning begins Im looking at a few routes with interest. Does anyone have any good route beta on the Mt. Louis routes (Alberta? Furthermore, dies Mt Temples east ridge (5.7) require rock shoes, or would mountaineering boots be sufficient? Needed for edging or crack camming? Thanks... also, along the same thread, whats the overhang on Alphas east ridege like... worth protecting, if so any idea the size of the crack so aas to avoid major gear lugging? Thanks all! |
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Canmore, AB
Canada
1238 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 11:28 AM
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Hi,
You may want to post this question on :
http://live-the-vision.com
Lots of guides and hardcore alpinists (from AB) on that forum.
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 | Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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 Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 11:51 AM
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I've climbed the Kain route on Louis. It's quite a lot of scrambling with a couple harder pitches. You need to be able to make long runouts and/or do some simulclimbing, on easy but loose rock and rubble with no pro.
Temple depends how hard you can climb in your mountain boots. If you can lead 5.7 at Back of the Lake in mtn boots, you should be able to do Temple likewise. Be aware that its easy to get off route and into 5.9 terrain.
Take a rack of 6 hexes to Alpha, that will avoid gear lugging and till give you a nice size range.
The rock routes on Castle have the best alpine rock in the Bow Valley. It's almost worth skipping Louis and going straight to Bass Buttress and Brewer's IMHO. |
Edited by - Dru on 04/02/2007 11:52 AM |
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Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
6302 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 12:08 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by bcbackcountryboy
As the summer climbing season approaches and trip planning begins Im looking at a few routes with interest. Does anyone have any good route beta on the Mt. Louis routes (Alberta? Furthermore, dies Mt Temples east ridge (5.7) require rock shoes, or would mountaineering boots be sufficient? Needed for edging or crack camming? Thanks... also, along the same thread, whats the overhang on Alphas east ridege like... worth protecting, if so any idea the size of the crack so aas to avoid major gear lugging? Thanks all!
The Alpine Select guidebook has route beta for the rockies climbs you mentioned.
I would have to disagree with Dru about skipping Mt. Louis. There is alot of routes on it other than the mostly scrambly Kain route...so I hear. Some of the other routes have some quality looking rock.
I wouldn't underestimate the east ridge of Temple because of the grade. Alot of people have epics on that route. |
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Whitehorse, Y.T
Canada
115 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 8:42 PM
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Thanks for all the assistance.. Im definately not underestimating the East Ridge - epic stories are easy to come by indeed. Dru, thanks, should routefinding be such a challange perhaps lugging rock shoes might be a good idea so as to help should a more techincal situation present itself.
Ill be sure and check out routes on Castle, but as Time2Climb noted there do seem to be some wicked routes on Louis, at least so ive also heard... the one im looking at is the Spider or Widddow ridge (?) 5.9. Spicy, thanks for that site id not heard of or found it.
Thanks again everone! |
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| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 8:52 PM
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Be aware that the latest version of the guidebook has Homage to the Spider grade at 5.10a. At its original sandbag grade of 5.8 it was often called "The hardest 5.8 on Earth"
If you haven't climbed in the Rockies before I strongly urge you to spend a couple of days getting trad limestone mileage at the crags (Yam especially) and on easy routes like the NE Butt of Ha Ling (Chinaman's) before you get on Homage To the Spider. Otherwise it's pretty much guaranteed you will epic! |
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Whitehorse, Y.T
Canada
115 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2007 : 01:47 AM
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| Thanks for the warning... i've a few buddies who've cimbed it but neither said that it'd be 10a, but then again...they're rockies born climbers accustomed to sedimetary and metamorphic rock. I've done some climbing in the Vercors region in SE France, there too all limestone, 'slippery when dry', so I'll be sure and give myself an acclimitization period prior to any such endeavour. Thanks again for the info though. Have you done that route? I've heard it's a beauty. |
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| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2007 : 09:51 AM
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Nope just the Kain Route.
There's also a 5.9 not in the guidebook that climbs the right hand edge of the Diamond on the east face (= climbs the vague buttress between HttS and Kain Route) that is supposed to be good. |
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Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
6302 Posts |
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| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2007 : 11:18 AM
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| You can skip the whole Black Towers section with a low snow traverse and couloir climb beyond, say some friends of mine who did just that. |
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Whitehorse, Y.T
Canada
115 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2007 : 01:16 AM
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| Nice stats.. thanks for that... were we to be dissuaded by such figures though wewould surely be on another forum. Much of the reationale for the hig numbers is its popularity... as you all well know, given its status as top 50 N.A. climbs. Im looking to late august early september... weather should be alright still while the crowd control be in effect. Let me know when youre looking to go though cuz who knows. |
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Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
6302 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2007 : 08:46 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by bcbackcountryboy
Nice stats.. thanks for that... were we to be dissuaded by such figures though wewould surely be on another forum. Much of the reationale for the hig numbers is its popularity... as you all well know, given its status as top 50 N.A. climbs. Im looking to late august early september... weather should be alright still while the crowd control be in effect. Let me know when youre looking to go though cuz who knows.
I'm not trying to dissuade you, I was kidding...partly. It makes for some interesting reading if nothing else. |
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Whitehorse, Y.T
Canada
115 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2007 : 2:33 PM
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| Hey no worries... i didnt take it that way at all. |
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Beta requests...
