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974 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 06:45 AM
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I had a day booked with the guide I usually go with (Jay Mills) and I was trying to decide on what climb i wanted to do.
I slimmed things down to something at the icefields and soon enough i set my mind on the north face of Mt.Andromeda. I knew the ascent was one i would feel comfortable taking on with just a regular partner, but it was the descent that i was worried about and i decided that i’d rather climb Andromeda and check it out, rather than re-attempting the north face of Mt.Athabasca,a slightly harder climb.
 (older photo)...this is the route we climbed
I made up a video,including the pictures of my day.I highly suggest watching it,it will give you a bird's eye view of the climb.......here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9Mi5dkteU
We started off at 2:50 am and made good time up to the start of the glacier. Here we roped up and made our way through a short maze of small seracs.
It took about 2 -2 ½ hours to reach the base of the face and we started up without hesitation.
The snow was near perfect for step kicking and we made quick time up the face, the slopes never exceeding 50 degrees. Half way up we stomped out a small hole and had a quick rest and soaked up the magnificent views of snowdome, mt.kitchener and part of the icefields.
At the top of the face you pass by a cornice on your left and some seracs on your right,making the finish a little more scenic and interesting.
Once we got off the face,it was a fairly flat 5 minute stroll over to the summit.
Just over 4 hours to the top!!!
The weather was the best i’ve had on a climb so far this year and i could see for hundreds of kilometers, it sure made up for my last 3 climbs, which were done in whiteout conditions.
We sat on top for a bit, soaked up the wonderful views and then started heading down the east ridge descent.
 Mt.Bryce  Mt.Castleguard down below
 Mt.Columbia
Once we reached the east ridge there was a short bit of exposed ridge to walk and then a short snow downclimb to the first rappel anchor. At the moment, the east ridge is in good enough condition that you can just down climb the whole thing(if you are comfortable),we did 1 rappel and then downclimbed the last bit. This slope gets early morning sun and you dont want to be on it too late,as when we were downclimbing it at about 9am,the snow was already starting to change.
I've never had my crampons ball up with snow so bad,and every 10 steps down i had to bang them clean.
Once off the ridge we headed over to the aa col to make a couple more rappels,soon putting us on the glacier and off any steeper slopes. The bergschrund was open a bit where we came down and I had to do a backwards jump on rappel to get over it.
After we got over the schrund and back on the glacier,we strolled back to the parking lot, reaching our vehicles at about 11am…....making it about 8 hours round trip.
 Part of the Descent
Overall it was another great day up at the ice fields. I’m glad I went for that route, as now I have a good idea of what the east ridge/aa col descent involves. The climb itself was very enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
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Jasper, ab
Canada
1032 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 06:58 AM
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| Beautiful pictures. Sounds like a great day. |
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877 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 07:20 AM
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| I really liked the video! It looked like beautiful calm conditions from the top. I don't enjoy exposure, so that one section before the downclimb made my stomach turn. Well done! |
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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
34 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 07:25 AM
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| Nice vid again. The wide angle lens on your helmet cam creates a real airy feeling in your video. Nice effect. |
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rockies, alberta
Canada
249 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 07:28 AM
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| wow what a great video! took me with you on that ridge and I was nervous! beautiful day out. |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1009 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 08:23 AM
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Really liked the video. Got to get me one of those GoPros.
Yeah the section where you are walking that rocky and snowy ridge looked excellent. |
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Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
797 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 08:48 AM
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Wow, I could never do that bit a long the ridge. That looked crazy. Great video.
So the idea is if one of you slips the other one jumps off the other side? |
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974 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 09:06 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by booewen
Wow, I could never do that bit a long the ridge. That looked crazy. Great video.
So the idea is if one of you slips the other one jumps off the other side?
well,there are a couple things you could do to possibly stop a fall there.
jump in the opposite direction,the person falling can try and fall down quickly and hug the top of the ridge or latch onto it with his axe. If that doesn't work,then you are going for a ride.
This spot could've just been done unroped,but i was with a guide and i'm sure he didnt want to do that,even though i was comfortable with it.
That ridge was just walking though and if one were to fall there,well they probably should'nt of been there with their bad balance.
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Edited by - nmcan84 on 07/06/2011 09:08 AM |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 09:39 AM
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| AT about 2:58 that's pretty exposed lol. WOW you got balls. Mountaineering is a bit different on your side of the rocks. |
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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 - 07/06/2011 : 09:51 AM
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quote:
That ridge was just walking
Just walking but as the one famous old mountaineer said "it's fancy walking". |
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505 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 11:33 AM
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Looks like a good one for a 103 day hikes type of book ;)
Good on ya man,looks like fun! |
Edited by - paulyman on 07/06/2011 11:34 AM |
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Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
558 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 11:42 AM
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| That is great video...really enjoyed it. Beautiful climb. Thanks for sharing that. |
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357 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 1:11 PM
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Wow...love the video footage! That ridge looks nice and sketchy. Excellent job and thanks for posting  |
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Terminator shade wearing, summit questing, double Grinding, Gordo voting self annointed 'dumb ass' and Aconcagua Bagga who dreams of Robson, Teton, The Judge, and.....and....
Port Moody, B.C
Canada
2210 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2011 : 6:34 PM
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
607 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2011 : 12:34 AM
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| That vid is IMAX quality. Amazing |
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over the hills and far away
Canada
709 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 11:25 AM
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| Way to go. |
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bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4650 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2011 : 9:11 PM
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| That vid quality is awesome! Good show - although I don't think you'll ever catch me on that ridge, lol. |
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| gyppo
Intermediate Member
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
750 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2011 : 9:58 PM
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That picture of Columbia is awesome!!!!
Benoit |
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The North Face of Mt.Andromeda W/Video July 5th
