The Highest Height in Alberta: Mt. Columbia 3747m
Thanks again to Mammut for facilitating this fantastic adventure.
Gery – our fearless leader
Gery Unterasinger organized us: myself and five strong men from Calgary who call themselves the White Clothed Peaks. We set off in a great weather window to summit the highest peak in Alberta. Mt. Columbia at 3747m.
off to the ‘races’
We started by meeting in Lake Louise at 6:30 am, which got us skiing by 10 am. After competing with the Brewster Ice buses at the Athabasca Glacier.
The graceful wilderness approach to the Athabasca glacier
We were happy to connect with Mark Klassen who showed us a ‘safer’ way to traverse through the three icefalls of the glacier- one of the cruxes of the route.
traversing through the icefalls
The rest of the trip had a lot of flatish glacier slogging. Where you could watch your dog run away 😉 I was grateful when I pulled up and saw the digging of our campsite — which meant I could unload the beast that was on my back.
your dog is in BC
We were blessed with some amazing weather, which made for fantastic cooking conditions and lifestyle photos at dawn and dusk.
oh, the light!
Unfortunately, there was some suffering. Ground meat surface around the feet, elephantitis around the face and one suspicious case of altitude sickness cause some vomitting:
NOT fun
This is an example of me ‘being comfortable’ winter camping in perfectly reasonable temperatures:
anyone have an extra layer or hot beverage?
The greatest rewards from this trip include: being with some quality folks who were giving it their ALL! and the amazing vistas to the west and to the north.
the vastness
I must say that I think the greatest joy of the trip, other than the fragrance of our clothes, was the relief felt when the ‘rental’ boots came off!
oh, please make it stop
I am very proud of these guys for enduring the suffering of rental equipment and naivety, but they survived a very physically challenging adventure and received the rewards of amazing scenery and a job ‘well done’!
sweet as
Team Lithuania in Patagonia
Gedis, Aras and Saule
Today we went for a 5 pitch rock climb. Bolts, around 5.10 or 6a. Very fun outing. A little bit windy– good training for us to get to know each other and get into thinking about alpine climbing.
Gedis on the 1st pitch
in the rhythm
enjoying the views
the wind picks up
our 1st summit - many more to come ; )
to rescue training...
So after a day of getting to know each other and some rescue review… we are off to the mountains. Tomorrow we will hike into Piedre Negra and hope to climb Guillomet and Aguja Pollone in the next couple days….
Classic Chamonix Climbs with fellow Canucks, Joanna and Tom
get your game face on for the Aiguille du Midi arete
the Cherie Couloir on the triangle du tacul... beside the trois mont route on mont blanc
the crux pitch ~ WI 3-4
Joanna cranking out the crux
Tom is happy not to be under Joanna or any other parties for that matter : )
the last pitch of perfect ice and stone
an impressive glacier and valley far below
riding the Helbronner to the Torino hut, a mountain guide's dream of transportation
Bonjourno Dent du Geante and Torino rifugio
"getting dressed" in the morning
Aiguille de Entrevs ridge traverse from right to left
So many great ridge photos!
Joanna coming to grips with her fear of exposed places! WOW! impressive...
great views from the Helbronner
OUT OF THE MONT BLANC MASSIF AND ONTO THE AIGUILLE ROUGE SIDE OF THE VALLEY TO APPRECIATE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN….
its all about the vistas
Traverse of the Crochues follows the ridge from left to right starting at the 'V' notch
a superb ridge traverse
Next stop... Lac Blanc
the popular Lac Blanc, well worth the hike
sit down, relax, eat and drink: croute, omlette, tart, beer, wine and rose!
a tipsy bumble back to the top of the Index lift
a sweet ride down before the evening storm
High Route from Chamonix to Zermatt
prepping for the glaciers
Great trails in all weather conditions
Amazing wildflowers this year
sometimes the bad weather makes for beautiful waterfalls and fog
The Mont Blanc
A photo story of climbing this prolific mountain from the Cosmiques Hut on the traverse of the three summits.
Mont Blanc from Lac des Cheserys
Early Morning Light on the Tacul du Mont Blanc
Weaving through the seracs on the Tacul du Mont Blanc
Perfect conditions despite the storm
the traverse from the tacul to the maudit
the technical cruxes of the route lie on the Mont Maudit
Pitched climbing on the Maudit
Amazing views of the Aiguille du Midi rising above the clouds
Castles in the Sky
SUMMIT! despite challenging winds, late start and adverse conditions ; )
descending the Gouter ridge
On the way down from the Tete Rousse hut in the morning
Walking the tracks when the train is under repair
On a recent trip, we summitted the Tacul du Mont Blanc under adverse conditions:
Walking out of the Aiguille du Midi requires full concentration
winds on the summit ridge
turn the volume down ; )
climbing to the summit of the tacul
a grateful summit without wind
rush hour on the aiguille du midi
Mt. Assiniboine in all its Glory
the mission
Michael and Jen
Barry Blanchard
Kai Larson
from the hind hut
perfect cramponing for the first third : )
Wakey Wakey, the sun is up and its a glorious day
takin a coffee break ; )
where the difficulties begin : )
Kai gettin busy
such a hard life, this mountain godding : )
Nearing the summit ridge
Yea! We made it... half way ; )
the spectacular east face beckons
you're faking it well, Michael ; )
A photo essay of an amazing trip to Mt. Assiniboine September 29, 2010. Unexpected good conditions and travel partners made this ascent serendipitous…..
A big thanks to Michael Penny who brought us up here, and my fellow mountain guide Barry and partner, Kai for blazing the path whilst entertaining us.
A big kudos to Sepp Renner and the lodge staff for all the support, including heli’s!
Chris, the Bugaboos and a Grizzly Bear
Chris and I recently went to the Bugaboos and had a great adventure involving lots of fresh snow and a hungry grizzly bear.
starting in the RAIN
It wasn’t too hot or too buggy on our rainy hike up to the Kain Hut : )
a rest before the final leg up to the hut
its not hard to get your pack on the hangar with a meter of snow under your feet
On July 3, we hike up to Eastpost Spire via Appleby campground where there was a meter of snow still! We had about 20cm foot pen in the new fresh snow. Very skiiable.
a wee bit of neige
Summit Photo!
I summitted too!
We decided to make a day of getting back to the car and so we headed over the Brenta-Cobalt Lake Sattelite Spire Col to Cobalt Lake.
Chris said he would of gone for a swim if it was warmer ; )
Then the Grizzly incident. He was not scared of us. There was no bluff charge. He just wanted what he smelled and it was coming from our direction and that was all.
hungry bear
After Chris scared the bear off we got ourselves up and over Black Forest ridge and onto the donkey trail back to the trailhead. Good times.
we hollered for bears all the way back to the trailhead ; )
Thanks for the trip Chris. A Grand Adventure.
Multi-pitch Skills
Cecile and Corina learning the ropes
By breaking up some classic crack climbs into shorter pitches, we can learn a ton, in a very short time, about transitions on multi-pitch climbs. We had great weather and a super fun time learning these skills late in the summer in Squamish.
Tantalus Range in July 2009
The clouds made for a interesting day, no boring blue sky : )
I recently visited the Tantalus Range and the Jim Haberl Hut. What a fantastic place! We climbed Dione and Serratus. We had near perfect conditions and weather, as well as a working BBQ at the hut for a steak dinner.
Dave Thorburn joined me and we thoroughly enjoyed the views, the climbing and the luxury of the Jim Haberl Hut.
- Sunrise on Serratus
Steep snow Climbing
Tantalus and Dione in the background
Jim Haberl Hut
Chicks on Crack 2009
Back: Lynn, Ilze, MC, Karen, Ella, Shannon & Cecile Front: Jen, Jasmin & Kinley
Challenge and Fun were the two main sentiments from the weekend. Everyone (including me ; ) ) got their butt handed to them by some challenging, but exquisite granite crack. The women of the All Sizes Crack Climbing weekend did not get off easy, but lots of learning was had in a fun and supportive environment.
We learned how to jam fingers, hands, cups, fists, off-widths and chimneys. The Smoke Bluffs and the Chief  had many cracks for us to get schooled on.
Karen chimneying like a demon
Shannon jamming up a storm
Cecile cranking the crack
Our egos and bodies got bruised, but our muscles and awareness got toned and tuned into what it takes to get up these ‘holdless’ cracks.
Showing off the hard work and tenacity
Thanks to the participants for their determination and great attitudes and to the guides for their skill and expertise. Looking forward to many more days of kung fu fighting with talented aspiring crack specialists!
Thanks to Blurr for the hats, headbands and t-shirts that made us look SO good  AND to LaSportiva for the t-shirts, stickers and SHOES that made us climb like lizards.
