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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2008 : 7:23 PM
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Intro to Mountaineering
- or -
Six Days of Sizzlin' Sun on Wapta 
June 28 - July 4
Pano looking down at Bow Hut
This is one of those trips that is so fantastic, it takes a while for the full effect to sink in. Except for the sunburn, that sunk in pretty much by Day 2, and I got more liberal with the sunscreen after that. 
If you've wondered about courses run through Yamnuska, wonder no longer and go sign yourself up. They like what they do, and it shows. I registered through the U of C's Outdoor Rec Center, which had 6 spots for this trip, and Yamnuska filled the other 6 spots. So we had a full roster and two guides, and yes, it's one and the same course, run out of Yamnuska's office, which is where we met to start the trip... but I'm getting a little ahead of myself...
Trip Preparation
For starters, you should have the 'high level of hiking fitness' they recommend. I'd probably peg my fitness level as 'above average' (average being sedentary), but by no means a tri-athelete. This trip has a fair amount of aerobic output, so hit those jogging trails now if you plan on going.
The other thing is pack light. Besides our gear we each had to haul a share of food up to the hut. A porter took about 45 lbs of goodies for us, but we each still had about 3-4 lbs of group food too. The hut is warm and clean, so you can get by with a bare minimum of extras. Since it takes 4-5 hours of uphill hiking to get there, every pound you save is probably worth 10 minutes on the trail. There is some advantage to a narrow pack too; if I did it again I'd be looking for 55-65 liters max. But packing light is no reason to not take a bottle of good quality sunscreen. Yes, it'll smear everywhere and get on your gear. But it'll save you from uncomfortable burns on every square millimeter of exposed skin!
Last, take good footwear that you have some miles in. I had the misfortune to rent heavy mountaineering boots from the U of C, and although I thought they fit ok back in Calgary, my rentals had a huge hole in the heel liners that I didn't notice, and I got wicked blistering on my left foot.  For a weeklong trip it's worth the $250 or so for light, new boots.
Ok, enough of the pre-trip babble. On with the show...
Day 1
We met at the Yam office in Canmore around 8:30am, had a short orientation and gear check, and left in a van for Bow Lake. We had a nice pit stop at Lake Louise for coffee, and got our boots on at the parking lot at
Num-Ti-Ja Lodge.
The location of trip in relation to Edmonton and Calgary:
A closeup of the hike in, and the two mountain ascents to come:
The first chance I had to get the camera out was just below Bow Hut, at a stream crossing.
Looking up to the cirque the hut sits in. The hut is visible in this shot, sitting up on the bench, below the pinnacle that is St. Nicholas.
After crossing the base of the cirque, it's a short uphill grunt to Bow Hut:
The left part is the sleeping area, the right half is the common room. The 'indoor outhouses' are behind; the cartoon on barrel replacement is a classic:
- The view from the hut,
- Looking waaaay up at St. Nicholas,
- Wapta Glacier looking like it's about crash down on us like a wave,
and my obigatory grouse (ok, ptarmigan) shot:
   
Day 2
Note to self: Bring earplugs (or wad up some TP) next time! It can get loud with all that snoring, so I didn't sleep well. Odd, since I snore myself...
Anyway... as it turns out, this year was really odd for persistent snow, so instead of jumping right into crampons, we stayed close to the hut and did some 'Snow School' in the morning. This was all about properly and safely moving and arresting on snow. You'd think that in a place like Canada we'd all have this dialed in by now, but add a pointy ice axe into the mix, and it's way more fun.
That afternoon we did our first hike up on the glacier just above the hut to get a feel for roped travel, tying in, and all that crevasse rescue jazz. We'd study and repeat crevasse rescue the whole week, so it's really drilled into our skulls now.
- Chris and Darren Checking out St. Nicholas
- Mt Thompson to the north
- A wider pano including Mt Thompson
  
- Putting our ropes away (Crowfoot Mtn in the background)
- Looking down at Bow Lake...
- ... and just beside us, the bluest of tarns
  
Day 3
Today was our first ascent, a nearby peak named Mt. Olive. It sits just beyond St. Nicholas, so it's summit is out of view from the hut.
- The first rope team ascends the glacier
- The rope teams traverse below St. Nicholas.
- Pushing up a steep section (although not steep enough for short roping)
  
- Stopping below the ridge of Mt Olive
- Looking back to where we came up.
- Ahhh... lunch on the summit. Great weather! (about 3126m)
- The view waaay down to Bow Lake.
   
We had to really hustle down after the summit snack; weather was moving in, so we were pretty quick getting back down. And of course we had some CR training afterwards... I'm playing 'victim' here, so I have some time to kill while the team figures out what to do...
Day 4
Today was another big day; we'd head across the glacier to South Rhondda. We had to get up extra early so we'd get back before the snow on the glacier turned to knee deep slush.
Up on the glacier we got some extra instruction about moving over crevasses, marking the trail, and generally being cautious.
- Here we are moving out in rope teams
- The first team stops to probe a crevasse..hmmm....
- Ok, so this is it?
  
- Views are amazing up here... (about 2650+ m)
- At a break, checking out the view (about 2730m)
- More views from the ridge up Rhondda
- Yet more views. Wow. If you look closely you can see our trail.
   
- From the shoulder of Rhondda to the summit.
- Cornicing we stayed well back from
- The summit! Yay! (about 3082m)
- Eric fools around with a cairn
   
Heading back was a hot slog. The temps on the glacier in the sun are just amazing; it felt like 90 degrees F. And the sun reflects, so it burns all the undersides of everything; nostrils, earlobes, under your eyebrows... the whole deal. Luckily I had a wide hat and glacier glasses, but still, it's scorching.
After some some more CR training, we relax a bit in the hut. After a long trek it was nice to relax a bit in a place like this...
- Common room, eating area
- Common room, cooking area
- Bunk room (6 big bunks, each can sleep 5)
  
We weren't totally spent, so Richard and I jetted out for some pics. Ok, 'jetted' doesn't really describe my pace with well-blistered feet. More like hobbled. Anyway...
- St. Nicholas, but this time you can see the trail we cut the day before.
- Richard ahead of me a on a rock sidewalk above the hut.
- Mandatory 'veil of waterfall' shot.
  
Day 5
No more ascents, but more crevasse rescue under St. Nicholas. I left my big camera in favor of a small point-n-shoot... I think it did ok for a 2.1 MP clunker.
- Bow Lake (again...)
- Lunch at Crevasse Rescue and Belay School
 
We went lower down for Ice School, on to an ice patch that was revealed as the week progressed and the snow cover exposed the glacier itself...
- A not-totally-equalized ice anchor
- Standing around on crampons
 
We did some more crevasse rescue in the afternoon, to the point of doing it without assistance from the guide. The team I was with had two folks that were going to Aconcagua, so they were pretty motivated to get it right. (although I heard that it's basically just a rock walk to the top).
Day 6
We had a busy morning, getting packed up to go, and a session of Prussik'in up a rope tied to the balcony. The local marmot decided he liked the taste of rope and got pretty brave...
The rest was easy; the hike down took about 2.5 hours, and was easy enough I did the whole deal in running shoes (actually, Salomon Techamphibians... not even running shoes, but water shoes). There are some rocky bits you have to watch your ankles on, but otherwise, no big deal, even with a full pack...
- Crossing the flats below the hut
- Looking back up at the hut... buh-bye!
- Typical view on the trail
- Team crossing a rocky bit
   
- More rock to cross
- Bow Falls. Nice.
- The view from the chockstone across the creek.
- The chockstone.
- Almost done. Probably 1/3rd of the trail is flat-ish like this.
    
- Done!
Like I said, this trip will take a while to settle into the ol' noggin. But it was a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs, and the guides (Steve and Pat) were terrific.
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Some more notes on elevations and distances...
The first day I took a GPS elevation on the deck of the hut, and got 2292m. But that was in conflict with what we knew, that the position was closer to the 2400m contour line of all the different maps we had. And indeed, on different days the hut elevation varied between 2300-2400m. What we were seeing was the barometric pressure play with the elevation readings.
As for distances, I had my GPS buried in my pack most of the time, so my track logs look more convoluted due to error than those from an identical unit (60 CSx) that another guy had. He had his positioned on the top part of his pack, so his track logs were smoother. After I changed some settings on my unit to match his I noticed a secondary, weirder effect; the unit max'es out at 500 points, then starts averaging points to squeeze in more data, effectively smoothing / shortenting the measured distances. Yeesh! |
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3787 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2008 : 9:49 PM
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| Great photos! Looks like a really cool course. |
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 Big pack hiker who sleeps with bears in tent and falls on slippery logs
Langley, BC
Canada
7647 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2008 : 10:12 PM
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| Looks like good course. Cool TR you've done of it. Weather sure agreed with you too.... |
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Coffee swillin', wine lovin', Owl fearin' Andie McDowell stunt double, who sports retro gear
Vancouver, BC
5464 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2008 : 11:24 PM
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Good stuff! Beautiful. I know what you mean about rented plastic mountaineering boots; I did the same thing for a mountaineering course years ago and I still remember the agony.
Thanks for posting!! |
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Canmore, AB
Canada
1238 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 07:57 AM
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Nice report!
Brings back a lot of memories... especially those pics of the Bow Hut.
Like Wilderness Seeker and yourself, I also rented those plastic Koflach boots for my course. They didn't give me blisters but I remember how clumsy they made me feel walking up/down from the hut. |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 08:14 AM
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The boots were leather / gortex Kaylands. When I tried them on a month ago (to reserve the only size 12's they had) they were great.
When I picked them up the day before leaving for Canmore I didn't notice the damage to the liner - it was worn down to the plastic heel cup! After crossing the gravel flats around the lake I ended up switching and finishing the hike to the hut in sneakers. No big deal, except the half-dozen times I nearly turned my ankle 90 degrees the wrong way. I left my regular hiking boots behind to leave room for the shared food.
As it happened I had space to spare, but it would have meant that I got the first blisters on the glacier, instead of the approach. So kind of a mixed blessing.
And I should mention that they were WET. The snow / slush soaked anything that touched it, including my feet. Even with warm temps above the snow my toes got cold toward the end of the day when were just standing around doing crevasse rescue drills. Perhaps it was just the damaged liner, but I can see why closed-cell foam inserts in double plastics are nice.
The other addendum to the post is how it changed my idea of a proper ice axe. A 65cm or so should be fine for me (I'm 5'11"), and slightly heavier - ie steel, not aluminimum, and with a full-faced adze, not one of those multi-perforated ones, which make building a T-slot anchor an exercise in futility. Before the course I would have gone for a too-long shaft (like 75) and far too uber-light. I had a chance to compare them on ice, and the light version had to be really swung hard to do anything. |
Edited by - noeldodd on 07/07/2008 08:24 AM |
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Trail blazin', backcountry bushwackin', pine huntin', photo takin', long winded story teller
3838 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 08:28 AM
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| Great TR and learning experience. I really like climbing and climbing course TRs that have more detail. This was a good one. Thanx for sharing. |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
252 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 08:30 AM
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| Great TR, noeldodd. Glad the weather was pleasant for the trip. |
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Finally stopping that crazy suffering that is ice, climbing to concentrate on great ski tours!
3502 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 1:47 PM
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| Would you be on the hunt for mountaineering partners now? I'm alwaya looking... |
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876 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 2:28 PM
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Thanks for posting your report! This is something I'd really like to do in the future, and I appreciate hearing from someone who's done the course  . |
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Popkum, BC
Canada
5887 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 6:20 PM
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| Lovely report, great pictures! |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13435 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 10:10 PM
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This is a first class report with huge detail and matching photography. Your TR makes great ready and gives plenty of valuable info.. Good lesson about rental boots, something to watch out for.
K |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 07:03 AM
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Thx gang for the kind words
Sometimes when doing super-detailed TR's I feel like I'm giving too much away and lessening the 'adventure' aspect a bit for the next person, so it's nice to hear some encouragement. When I was getting ready for this course I was actually looking for a wee bit more detail than the TR's I could find via Google. If there are any more specific questions anyone has, I'd be happy to answer them.
johngenx, etc: Yes, for sure I'd be interested in getting out... but I'll have to round up some of the technical gear.  A lot of the hut chatter ranged from extended scrambles like Temple to more technical trips like Robson and Athabasca. But there are plenty more objectives that are possible now... which is one of the reasons I took the course (and the rock course last year). Even looking for scrambling routes I was frustrated by Kane's constant 'bring an ice axe' comments in the Scrambles book - I wanted to know how to use one first! |
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Finally stopping that crazy suffering that is ice, climbing to concentrate on great ski tours!
3502 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 10:43 AM
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You might want to save Robson for a little later in your mountaineering experience!
I don't usually return to peaks once I've bagged them, but Athabasca is another story. I took a small novice group this last weekend and we got hit with some awful weather. +10C and pouring rain at 2700M as we approached the base of the AA col ascent gully. Yuck. We were the last party to bail, but one headed back to the normal route at about 8:00am once the rain let off. Too late for us to be headed back out!
If you have boots/crampons/axe/harness, I have a big bag of gear, and between myself and my chums, we often share gear with novices. It's a great way to see what people are using before investing too much in your own stuff.
When out with novices, I am super-safe, making very conservative decisions. Also, we leave early and take time to explain what the heck is going on, looking for "teachable moments." (I'm a teacher and can't turn it off, my partners either love it or hate it, hopefully mostly the former)
Just don't listen to anything bobdep says... |
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3787 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 9:20 PM
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| I enjoy detailed trip reports. Anyone who doesn't want them can just skip through the photos, or ignore the reports entirely. |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 11:47 AM
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rachelo: Thx .. that's pretty much how I think about it. It's like choosing to not read spoilers to a movie you've been waiting for.
johngenx: Yup, that's pretty much the list of goodies I need (boots/harness/crampons/axe) - but good to hear about the other misc. gea, and the offer is much appreciated! I've sent you a PM with my coordinates... |
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Finally stopping that crazy suffering that is ice, climbing to concentrate on great ski tours!
3502 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 7:19 PM
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I have a few spare harnesses laying about if you don't mind borrowing someone's. (some people are picky that way) They're in good shape, not old throw-aways! Can probably scare up an axe too. Boots are, of course, sized and you'll need to rent/buy those. Most of the time, crampons along with them are not much more.
On a peak like Atha-B (normal route or AA col) I expect you'd be carrying a pretty small assortment of gear, including prussiks, some webbing/cord, an ice screw, maybe a pulley and a few loose 'biners. I have lots of spare stuff. I have ropes too.
I'm returning to the North Glacier Route on Athabasca on the weekend of August 9, if you're interested. I've got me (of course!), another fairly experienced climber and I need at least one more (and could be a beginner/novice) but I'll hopefully scare up a total of 5-6.
I'd just PM this, but if anyone else is interested, let me know!!
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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2008 : 11:06 AM
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Thx - sounds good; I should be able to save enough pennies this month to get decent boots. I'll check with the 'boss' and see how the date works out - stay tuned...
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737 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2008 : 12:18 AM
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noeldodd: Way to go, Noel! If you're wondering why it took me so long to respond, it's because it took me this long to read your post!
All joking aside, it really looks like you're getting right into the mountains...ice axe and all! I'd love to do some glacier work...I'd be hitting Mount Hector (the big one, not just Little Hector), Joffre, Snow Dome and others.
That area is simply awesome...I remember looking up at Bow Hut from below on my way to the summit of Crowfoot Mountain:
You may be interested in revisiting that post to see more photos of the surrounding area here:
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10567&whichpage=14 |
Edited by - Granticulus on 07/15/2008 12:19 AM |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2008 : 04:30 AM
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Cool! Bow Hut is also visible in your shot #19:
I'm pretty sure it's the few bright, flat pixels on a line directly below the smaller peak to the left of the main peak of St. Nicholas, just above the cliffs, and to the right of the very small snow patch.
This is a more realistic view than from the floor of the cirque - from down there it seems like the hut is snuggled up against the edge, but really it's set back quite a ways, as this shot shows. |
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737 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2008 : 10:18 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by noeldodd
Cool! Bow Hut is also visible in your shot #19:
I'm pretty sure it's the few bright, flat pixels on a line directly below the smaller peak to the left of the main peak of St. Nicholas, just above the cliffs, and to the right of the very small snow patch.
This is a more realistic view than from the floor of the cirque - from down there it seems like the hut is snuggled up against the edge, but really it's set back quite a ways, as this shot shows.
If I'm right (we all know how often that is!), you mean inside the red circle.
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Intro to Mountaineering - Bow Hut / Wapta Icefield
