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2012.05.06 - Chick-A-Boom Traverse (Boom Lake exit)

Skied up the Chickadee Valley and then out the Boom valley trail. Went with Neil, Matt, and Sheri under bluebird May skies. Gotta love the spring ski tours!

May 6, 2012

Photos: 33

2012.04.29 - French Haig Robertson Traverse

Despite an uncertain weather forecast, skied the French/Haig/Robertson Traverse with Barend and Ben.

Apr 29, 2012

Photos: 19

2012.04.21 - Mt. Field

Wayne, Phil, John, Eva, and I woke before 5am to drive out and get an early start for a ski ascent up Mt. Field. It was certainly worth it as we enjoyed bluebird skies and temperatures that microwaved us on the way up, but provided some great powder coming down the higher alpine slopes. 8hr41m, 1420m total ascent.

Apr 21, 2012

Photos: 33

2012.04.15 - Cirque Peak with North Couloir/Glacier Descent

Ski Mountaineering with Wayne, Mel, Andrea, and Marko. Climbed Cirque Peak, then skied down the couloir to the north glacier and curled around to the drainage between Cirque and Observations peaks to exit to the highway. Rappel station at the couloir not needed as there was no ice.

Apr 15, 2012

Photos: 31

2012.02.04 - Crowfoot Mountain

Jan 26, 2012

Photos: 10

2011.12.29 Powder Hunt#1 - Gypsum Mine

ACC Powder Hunt #1 - the premier of the new event series for the Alpine Club of Calgary went to Gypsum Mine to enjoy boot-top, untracked powder. Marko, Heather, and Tyler are now full-fledged Powder Hunters® in training!

Dec 29, 2011

Photos: 8

2011 - Panama

In the fall of 2011, after visiting Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, I finished up my trip in Panama. Although not so inspired when reading about it beforehand, it surprised me with lot's of great places to visit and a good vibe.

Nov 4, 2011

Photos: 39

2011 - Costa Rica

In the fall of 2011, after visiting Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, I went through Costa Rica. It's a super-fun country, with lots of amazing nature to explore.

Oct 25, 2011

Photos: 26

2011 - Nicaragua

In the fall of 2011, after visiting Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, I went through Nicaragua, which turned out to have some of the towns I most enjoyed - Leon and Granada.

Oct 19, 2011

Photos: 31

2011 - Honduras and the Bay of Islands

In the fall of 2011, after visiting Mexico and Guatemala, I moved on to Honduras where I spent time on the mainland as well as venturing to Utila in the Bay of Islands for some diving.

Oct 9, 2011

Photos: 30

2011 - Guatemala

In the fall of 2011, from Mexico I moved into Guatemala, which turned out to be my favorite Central American country. It was a good mix of interesting culture and the rough & tumble of a developing country.

Sep 22, 2011

Photos: 69

2011 - Mexico: The Yucatan

In the fall of 2011, I began my Central America backpacking trip by flying into Cancun and then mading my way across Mexico's Yucatan Penninsula with stops in Merida, Campeche, Palenque, and San Cristobal. From there I continued south to Guatemala.

Sep 13, 2011

Photos: 30

2011.06.18 - South Baldy via West Ridge II

South Baldy via the West Ridge with So, Clayton, and Barbara. This was my second time, but it's just such a super-enjoyable route I'm sure there will be a third!

Jun 18, 2011

Photos: 12

2011.05.01 - Mt. Niblock

A spring ski ascent of Mt. Niblock with Wayne, Ben, and Heather. This summit has an entirely different feel in the winter and provides one of the most picturesque final couple hundred meters I've seen in a long time - some photos are going into my favorites folder! Bumped into Kerry, Blanka, and Keith on the col after summiting. Nice spring skiing on the way out as the temperature skyrocketed!

May 1, 2011

Photos: 26

2011.04.22 - Cathedral Mountain

A beautiful blue-bird day for what I think was the best ski mountaineering trip I've ever done - and probably even one of the most amazing summits overall. Went up Cathedral mountain with Wayne, Brad, Barend, Will, and Clayton. Up at 4am for a 6am start at the base. 1720m total elevation gain over 6.5 hours to ascend, 35 minutes at the summit, then 1hr45m to descend the enormous 1960 meters down the Cathedral Crag slide path to the highway. Stupendous.

Apr 22, 2011

Photos: 42

2011.04.16 - Tryst Lake Chutes

Who knew that there would be such amazing quality powder in mid-April! The fun just keeps going on and on...

Apr 16, 2011

Photos: 5

2011.04.03 - Narao Shoulder

Wayne, Ben, and I spent a casual day up on Narao Shoulder, going a little further up into the alpine to check out Pope's Col around the corner.

Apr 3, 2011

Photos: 10

2011.03.20 - Mt. Field

Day 2 of our Lake Louise trip with Paulina's return to the promised land for some skiing along with Ben, Heather, Erin, Ewen, and I, we made our way to the slopes of Mt. Field to get some turns.

Mar 20, 2011

Photos: 12

2011.03.19 - Dolomite Circuit

Day 1 of our Lake Louise trip with Paulina's return to the promised land for some skiing along with Ben, Heather, Erin, Ewen, and I.

Mar 19, 2011

Photos: 21

2011.03.13 - Mt. Haffner

A little early for peak bagging season for me, but it was a great day to get the first summit of the year and a few hundred meters of good powder... before the survival skiing through the burn.

Mar 13, 2011

Photos: 6

2011.03.12 - Fortress Mountain

Athough the powder was not the deepest ever, it certainly was some of the most “pleasant” I've encountered in a long time. Direct from Heaven. A great day with Ben, Heather, T.J. and Megan.

Mar 12, 2011

Photos: 3

2011.03.05 - Gypsum Mine

Ben, T.J. and I celebrated Ben's birthday by a trip to Gypsum Mine. With temps in the -15 range in Calgary, it was nice to find it hovering around the 0 mark out there up high! Excellent quality powder and tremendous skiing in untracked lines all day.

Mar 5, 2011

Photos: 5

2011.02.11 to 13 - Rogers Pass Annual ACC Weekend at Wheeler Hut

Headed up to Rogers Pass for the Annual ACC ski weekend at the Wheeler Hut on the cusp of a big storm. Went a day early with Heather before the storm with the idea to get some good skiing before things got touchy. Despite 70cm of new over the weekend, still got a few thousands meters of vert. over the three days by sticking to some conservative tree skiing. A pleasant day of friendly fresh powder Friday turned to waist-deep plowing on Saturday, but settled into more skiable stuff again on Sunday. The funnest way to burn thousands of calories!

Feb 11, 2011

Photos: 18

2011.02.05 - East Panorama Ridge-Taylor Lake

Went to Taylor Lake and up East Panorama Ridge for some turns with T.J., Megan, Marty, Ramona, Jody, and Corinna. Warm day, blue skies, and snow that was pretty agreeable to lots of fun!

Feb 5, 2011

Photos: 9

2011.02.01 - Fortress Mountain

Will and I took a day off mid week to catch the first warm day after a weekend of heavy snow. It was -20 or colder at the parking lot, but more like -5 up high on the mountain under blue skies!

Jan 20, 2011

Photos: 4

2011.01.20 - Trophy Hut

Took a trip to the Trophy Hut in Wells Gray Provincial Park for some backcounty skiing over 4 nights in January. Lots of fresh powder, no other tracks, just pure goodness.

Jan 20, 2011

Photos: 36

2011.01.16 - Fortress Mountain

Jan 9, 2011

Photos: 9

2010.11.07 - Forgetmenot Ridge

A nice day out for November with Heather, Paulina, and Tanya.

Oct 28, 2010

Photos: 6

2010.10.23 - Limestone Mountain

Tanya and I went for a short day out to Limestone Mountain, which offered some shelter from the wind lower down and then a little bit of moderate scrambling up higher by sticking to the ridge. A nice shoulder season leg stretcher. On the descent we went east from the summit to the col, which required some route finding, and then followed the gully until we were able to broach a cliff band and rejoin our ascent route lower down.

Oct 23, 2010

Photos: 8

2010.10.09 - Ghost Climbing

A few photos of a great late-season climbing trip out to the Ghost.

Oct 10, 2010

Photos: 3

2010.09.26 - Red Peak

Ben, Heather, and I made a shoulder season trip out to Red Peak as the forecast was looking good. For the most part, the weather and temperature was good, except we had solid cloud cover the whole day and some rain near the summit. We went up to North Buller Pass, turned left once on the col, and traversed to the right of the minor peak on crappy scree to reach Red Peak's ridge and the summit.

Sep 26, 2010

Photos: 21

2010.09.04 - Pinto Mountain

Pinto Mountain with Kerry, Blanka, Keith, and Andrea.

Sep 4, 2010

Photos: 9

2010.09.11 - Mt. Odlum

A September day out - that seemed like mid-winter - with Ben, Heather, and Aarmaan.

Sep 4, 2010

Photos: 12

2010.08.28 - Wastach Mountain

With the weather forecast looking horrid, I went with Marko's giant group of nine for a smaller trip to explore Wastach Mountain near Moraine lake. The day turned out to be quite pleasant and we didn't even get rained on despite threatening skies.

Aug 28, 2010

Photos: 21

2010.08.25 - Escargot Corner

With the forecast looking horrid, Jeff and I took advantage of what turned out to be the hottest day of summer to climb the classic Escargot Corner (6 pitch, 5.6 Trad) on Mt. Norquay just outside of Banff. Named for the fossilized remains covering the slab of the pitches near the top, the route follows a corner for about 260m, providing fun climbing with plenty of good placement options for pro, where we used lots of medium-large nuts and larger cams. We parked at the Vermillion lookout and it took just under 2hrs and 625m total gain to reach the base of the route. From there it took just under 4hrs to climb the six pitches. We ate and enjoyed the summit, then descended via the “two rappels” route and some scrambling to get back to the base, where we'd left our large packs, in 1hr15m. We were back at the car 1hr40m later, including 25min of hanging out and enjoying the heat as the base of the climb before heading down. Total trip time of just over 9hrs. Photos by Jeff unless noted.

Aug 25, 2010

Photos: 22

2010.08.21 - Mt. Whymper

Heather, Pauly, Mike and I made a trip up Mt. Whymper. I was plesantly surprised at how fun the route was. The gully lower down is loose, but if you pick your line well, it's fun, ledgy stairs. Up higher the scrambling gets quite fun and with more ledginess until you reach the summit ridge, where it's a quick walk up!

Aug 21, 2010

Photos: 17

2010.08.14 - Mt. Edith Cavell

Jeff and I headed up the classic East Ridge (Alpine III, 5.3) of Edith Cavell, a prized 11,000er, and down the West Ridge (Alpine II). A fantastic route with a great weather day, it's easy to see why it's a CLASSIC! The technical upper ridge had some unnerving rime ice and snow, which made it challenging and slowed us down from an initial good pace. We put the first entry in the summit register for 2010, but I'm certain there had been other parties up there in the previous weeks even though no tracks were visible up high. We started just after 4:30am and took just under 2hrs and 585m gain to reach the col. Then just under 2hrs and 615m gain to do the lower ridge to the plateau. The upper ridge took just over 4hrs and 450m. The final ridge walk to the summit took just under 15min. Just over 9hrs to the summit in total. Descent via West Ridge route was 5hrs15min. Totals for the trip were 1685m total gain, 1578 net gain, in just over 14hrs trip time. More details in the photo captions.

Aug 14, 2010

Photos: 57

2010.08.02 - Reynolds Mountain

On Day 3, our last in Glacier National Park, we went up Reynolds Mountain which is short, but very fun, with some challenging route finding on the summit block.

Aug 2, 2010

Photos: 17

2010.08.01 - Mt. Siyeh

Aug 1, 2010

Photos: 10

2010.07.31 - Otokomi, East Flattop, Unnamed

Jul 31, 2010

Photos: 12

2010.07.25 - Mt. Bowlen

After a great day on the West Ridge of Mt. Fay, I took the afternoon to rest and then went solo up Mt. Bowlen in the evening. A nice stretch at only 1 hour round trip at a relaxed pace.

Jul 25, 2010

Photos: 9

2010.07.26 - Mt. Tonsa and Perrin Exit

On our last day of the trip to the Neil Colgan hut, Paul, Wil, and I decided to get an early start and make our way up Mt. Tonsa before exiting. It took us about 3hrs30m to summit via the snow coulouir. We then stopped at the hut to pick up the remainder of our gear and have some lunch. Exiting via the Perrin route took about 3hrs45m and took three rappells.

Jul 25, 2010

Photos: 31

2010.07.25 - Mt. Fay, West Ridge

Wil, Paul, and I, tackled the West Ridge of Fay after being shut down on the NE Ridge the previous day. A glorious route, leagues better than the NE. A bit of everything... glacier, steep snow, and some techincal rock!

Jul 25, 2010

Photos: 25

2010.07.24 - Mt. Fay, NE Ridge Attempt

Wil, Paul, and I attempted the NE ridge of Fay, highly recommended by one of the park wardens... it presented lots of hard snow/ice over crumbly rock on the steep face, plus a dubious cornice at the top, so we aborted after taking two pitches of climbing to reach the ridge about 1/3 of the way up the face.

Jul 24, 2010

Photos: 15

2010.07.24 - Mt. Little

After backing off of the NE Ridge route of Mt. Fay earlier in the day, in the evening I went up Mt. Little with Ben, Heather, and Will as it's only about 1hr30m round trip from the hut.

Jul 24, 2010

Photos: 6

2010.07.23 - Neil Colgan Hut

Went in to the Neil Colgan hut via the Perrin Route (Alpine II, 5.7) with Kerry, Blanka, Will, Paul, and Amber. Took a whopping 9 1/4 hours because of our large group size, but it was a great day under pleasant skies.

Jul 23, 2010

Photos: 32

2010.07.17 - The Grand Sentinel

Climbed the classic Alpine II, 5.8 route of The Grand Sentinel with Julia and Calvin. A real eye catching piece of rock and great trip. 4.5hrs climbing with 12hrs total trip time.

Jul 17, 2010

Photos: 7

2010.07.15 - Aberdeen & Haddo

Aberdeen & Haddo with Sue, Darren, and Wil. Awake at 1:15am, and hiking just after 2am. 3hrs to the glacier toe, 8hrs17m and 1315m elevation to the Aberdeen/Haddo col. Food break, up to Haddo summit and back to col, 51m, 80m elevation. Roping back up, and climbing to the summit of Aberdeen from the col, 1hr3m, 170m elevation. Hanging out at the summit and then decending and walking to the car, 4hrs44m. Total trip: 1630m elevation, just under 15hrs, and going at a relaxed pace for a great trip!

Jul 15, 2010

Photos: 35

2010.07.11 - Piran, Behives, and Devil's Thumb

St. Piran, Little Behive, Big Beehive, and Devil's Thumb with the COC.

Jul 11, 2010

Photos: 10

2010.06.27 - Grillmair Chimneys

Jul 1, 2010

Photos: 2

2010.06.19 - Panorama Ridge

Went with Ben and Heather to Panorama Ridge.

Jun 19, 2010

Photos: 13

2010.06.05 - Belmore Brown

Climbed Belmore Brown, then did a horseshoe along the ridge to the highpoint just before the Tiara.

Apr 11, 2010

Photos: 9

2010.03.28 - Baldy, West Ridge

Went with Heather and Paulina to give the West Ridge of Baldy a go. The trip started off nicely in the canyon, with just enough snow and ice melted out to let us by. But as we made our way out onto the open ridge the wind began to gust so strongly that it was difficult to stand even on safe ground. Up higher the ridge is really technical and exposed with serious consequences and considering that we could barely stand up in the wind, it was clearly unsafe to continue. We made the right decision to turn around. Just to be safe, we roped up for the decent of the technical portion we'd already come up. As we ate some lunch lower down in the shelter of the trees, we agreed there would be another day!

Mar 28, 2010

Photos: 9

2010.03.27 - Porcupine Ridge

A slow and casual exploritory scramble up Porcupine Ridge, immediatedly north of Wasootch Ridge with Marko, Amelie, Dustin, Marta, Andrea, Ali, Aarmaan, Derek, Kerry and Blanka. 845 meters total gain, 686 meters elevation, 6hrs20m, with one short but difficult section.

Mar 27, 2010

Photos: 22

2010.03.20 - Mt. Baldy

Mar 15, 2010

Photos: 6

2010.03.14 - Tryst Lake Chutes

Kerry, Blanka, Wayne, Heather, and I headed out of town with the rumor of 30-50cms of new POW in K-Country. We ended up in the Tryst Lake area and were not disappointed. -18 degrees at the car in the morning, but quickly warming up with the sun and loads of soft snow! 6hrs30m, 5 runs and 1025 meters.

Mar 13, 2010

Photos: 10

2010.03.07 - Trapper Peak

For the third and final day of our Peyto hut trip, a group of us set out to tackle the less frequently climbed Trapper Peak. On the trip were Heather, Wil, Ben, Paulina, TJ and I. See http://www.parryloeffler.com/peaklist.htm for trip stats.

Mar 7, 2010

Photos: 12

2010.03.06 - Peyto Peak and Mt. Baker

For our second day of the Peyto hut trip, a group of us headed out early to attempt a massive two summit day. Our first objective was the skier's summit of Peyto Peak and the second was Mt. Baker. On the trip were Mike M., Wil, Ken, Jamie, Wayne, Phil, and I. See http://www.parryloeffler.com/peaklist.htm for trip stats.

Mar 6, 2010

Photos: 22

2010.03.05 - Peyto Hut

Eighteen of us skied up to the Peyto hut on the Wapta Icefields for three days of relaxation and peak bagging. Wayne, Jamie, Ben, Paulina, Heather, TJ, Kerry, Blanka, Keith, Mike M., Wil, Phil, Barend, Ken, Paul, Mike F., Matt, and I! 5hrs38m trip time, 815m gain.

Mar 5, 2010

Photos: 24

2010.02.27 - Twin Cairns

Mike, Tami, Kerry, Blanka, Matt, Denise and I went for the summit of Twin Cairns just outside of the Sunshine resort boundary. Tami forgot her skins, so was a no-go at the parking lot and Blanka succumbed to ill feelings from an H1N1 shot the day before. But the rest of us pushed on. Around 3hrs42m and 875m to the summit.

Feb 27, 2010

Photos: 8

2010.02.20 - Crowfoot Mountain

Kerry, Blanka, Ken, Will, Keith, and I headed up Crowfoot Mountain. Great day, but low snowpack... is it really winter?

Feb 20, 2010

Photos: 20

2010.02.15 - Hermit in Rogers Pass

Day four, our final day of the four day ski weekend took us up the Hermit Trail in Rogers Pass for some skiing on a very warm day. Melanie joined Wayne, Jamie, Jodi, Tami and I for this final trip. 3hr40m, 815m

Feb 15, 2010

Photos: 10

2010.02.14 - Ursus Trees in Rogers Pass

Day three of you four day ski weekend had us back up in Rogers Pass. Jodi, Tami, Jamie, Wayne and I had a great day with some pretty nice untracked POW in the Ursus Trees area. 6hrs, 1245m over 2 runs

Feb 14, 2010

Photos: 12

2010.02.13 - Cariboo Ridge North of Revelstoke

After staying the night with Jamie's mom and step-dad north of Revelstoke, Jamie, Tami, Jodi, Wayne, and I skied up the nearby Cariboo Ridge to do some exploration and found surprisingly good snow. Unfortunately it was a white out so we missed seeing the best glades for skiing on the way down... lots of potential great skiing here! 5hrs, 740m

Feb 13, 2010

Photos: 5

2010.02.12 - Balu Pass in Rogers Pass

It was me and 3 girls - Jamie, Tami, Jodi - on this 1st day of a four day ski trip because Wayne forgot his transciever and had to stay with the cars. We headed up to Balu Pass in Rogers Pass. Went up the climbers right slope towards Ursus Major for a couple of hundred meters above the pass. 4.5hrs, 930m

Feb 12, 2010

Photos: 6

2010.02.07 - Perley Rock

Nathalie, Tyler, Jeff, Paul, and I headed up to Perley Rock from the Wheeler Hut the night after the big ACC Disco Party. 5hr30m round trip, 4hrs to the summit. 1200m gain.

Feb 7, 2010

Photos: 20

2010.02.06 - Young's Peak

Went up Young's Peak from the Wheeler Hut with Tyler, Joe and Paul via the Pterodactyl route. Beautiful terrain with a pretty steep and meaty final slope up to the summit block. 7hr45m trip time, 5hr45m to summit, 1620m total gain.

Feb 6, 2010

Photos: 27

2010.01.17 - Birdwood Smuts Traverse

The Birdwood/Smuts Traverse with Ben, Heather, an Shaun. Had a few good turns, but the best pow looked to be on the lower half of the climb on the way up to Smuts Pass.

Jan 17, 2010

Photos: 7

2010.01.16 - Crowfoot Glades

Skiing the glades with Ben and Garth. Some of the best powder I've ever skied. Thick, light, fluffy and untracked! 5 laps at just over an hour each.

Jan 10, 2010

Photos: 7

2009 - Myanmar (Burma): The South

In late 2009 I spent a full month exploring one of the most closed-off countries in the world. This album of 3 of 3 and comprises the last portion of my trip during which I explored the much less visited southern areas around Mawlamyine and Hpa-an, which turned out to be some of my favorite places. I finished the trip back in Yangon.

Dec 5, 2009

Photos: 59

2009 - Myanmar (Burma): The Interior

In late 2009 I spent a full month exploring one of the most closed-off countries in the world. This album of 2 of 3 and comprises the middle of my trip during which I explored the vast plains of Bagan, Myanmar's greatest architectural site; the old colonial hill station called Kalaw; and the captivating nature of life around Inle Lake.

Nov 29, 2009

Photos: 51

2009 - Myanmar (Burma): The North

In late 2009 I spent a full month exploring one of the most closed-off countries in the world. This album of 1 of 3 and comprises the beginning of my trip. It follows me from Yangon, up to Mandalay, then into the countryside to Hsipaw, and Pyin U Lwin.

Nov 18, 2009

Photos: 76

2009 - Thailand

In the fall of 2009 I took a trip to Myanmar (Burma), but since the maximum stay there was limited to 28 days, I decided to make stops in Bali, Java, and Thailand en route. This was my 3rd time in Thailand, and I hadn't been to the north since the first trip, so I decided to go that direction. I spend nearly a week hangin' in Pai, one my favorite places, with other stops in Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Ayuthaya, and Bangkok.

Oct 30, 2009

Photos: 83

2009 - Java, Indonesia

In the fall of 2009 I took a trip to Myanmar (Burma), but since the maximum stay there was limited to 28 days, I decided to make stops in Bali, Java, and Thailand en route. I originally didn't plan to visit Java, but after a couple of weeks in Bali I was getting quite bored, so I decided to hop a ferry over. It was a great decision as Java is much more raw and less touristed. Highlights were visiting the volcanic area around Bromo, climbing Gunung Merapi, and the Prambanan and Borobodur ruins.

Oct 14, 2009

Photos: 67

2009 - Bali

In the fall of 2009 I took a trip to Myanmar (Burma), but since the maximum stay there was limited to 28 days, I decided to make stops in Bali, Java, and Thailand en route. The highlights of Bali were climbing the active volcano, Gunung Batur, Air Panas Banjar (the outdoor hotsprings), motorbiking through the rice paddy laden countryside around Jatileweh, and learning to surf!

Oct 4, 2009

Photos: 94

2009 - Singapore

In the fall of 2009 I took a trip to Myanmar (Burma), but since the maximum stay there was limited to 28 days, I decided to make stops in Bali, Java, and Thailand en route.

Sep 28, 2009

Photos: 11

2009.09.19 - Mt. Engadine

Joanna, Barend, and I decided to make good use of a pleasant fall day. Left the Buller Pass trail just before the 2nd bridge and found good trail leading up the right side of the lower ridge, following a mix of rocky rib and treed slope. Gained the ridge proper midway up at some cool-looking pinnacles. We brought the rope along and took it out on the meatiest portion of the ridge due to high winds, exposure and wanting some practice - pitched out about a half-dozen of the small “no fall” steps while short roping the remainder of the more difficult parts. On the descent, tried to take the gully that was just before we'd have to navigate the overhangs. We ended up going down for a ways, then traversing further right when things got too difficult, but we still ran into some steep stuff.

Sep 19, 2009

Photos: 17

2009.09.12 - Mt. Edith, South Ridge, South Peak

Went up the South Ridge of the South Peak of Edith with Will. From the car we hike up the Edith Pass trail. After a (dry) stream crossing about 50 minutes in, there is a steep climb and then a flatter section which at about the 1hr mark deposited us at a grassed avalanche gully on the left with a faint trail. Followed it up for about 1 hr on good trail to the start of the climbing route - which is notoriously difficult to locate. We didn't have much trouble, but did spend some time debating it. I've included a couple good photos of it that if commited to memory should make things easy. If you follow the path beyond the start of the route, you'll reach a sheer drop as the path reaches the south ridge proper. The route is not there - it's in the obvious gully about 30 meters back from the ridge (right of the ridge). There was no cairn - I suspect anything that is erected is soon destroyed by rockfall - the first part of the route is like being in a mountain-sized Japanese Pachinko machi

Sep 12, 2009

Photos: 21

2009.09.05 - Mt. Nestor

Biked into Mount Nestor for a scramble with Mike, Marko, and Alana. The scrambling up the gully was unexpectedly good - interesting “mini canyon” for part way with solid lines to be sought out beyond that. After the ridge, dropping into the next gully was great staircase when followed in the heart of the gully. Awesome weather, perhaps one of the last days of great scambling weather for the year?

Sep 5, 2009

Photos: 13

2009.08.30 - Mt. Smuts

My 200th summit just happened to be a very prized peak - Mt. Smuts, with Heather and Marko. Our line was an Alpine II, 5.4 route under near 30 degree heat and bluebird skies. A magnificent day to reach a huge milestone for me with some great friends!

Aug 30, 2009

Photos: 36

Wasootch Tower

Went up Wasootch Tower via the North Ridge route with Jeff, Sandy and Daniel as part of an ACC trip. There is a route floating around that also calls itself the “north ridge,” but in reality doesn't really hit the actual ridge very often, but rather zig-zags across the face. We didn't do that. Ours stuck quite close to the ridge for the most part. My rating is about a 5.7 in rock shoes.

Aug 20, 2009

Photos: 22

2009.08.03 - Mt. Tupper West Ridge

Orion, Ben, and I went on one rope while Dana and Wayne went on another. We ended up pitching out several times on the ridge before hitting the Hermit, which slowed us down. Seems lots of people solo the ridge, but I wouldn't feel comfortable, unless we didn't do enough routefinding and were making it hard on ourselves (this may be the case in hindsight, as on the return trip we somehow avoided the crux entirely ;-). Might do a bit more simul-climbing with intermediate pro next time. We were traversing the Hermit at the 6hr mark and clouds were swiriling about so we called it off due to both time and weather. Wayne and Dana were ahead as they were moving more quickly and summited, arriving at camp a couple of hours behind us.

Aug 3, 2009

Photos: 17

2009.08.01 - Mount Sifton SE Ridge

Orion, Ben, and I headed up to Hermit Meadows, established a base camp, then continued on to do the SE Ridge of Mount Sifton. The ridge provided good scrambling. Most difficulty could be avoided by going left below the ridge. Debated between returning via the south face couloir and the north ridge. The north ridge reported at 3rd class and “without difficulty,” so we opted for it. It did seem pretty close to 4th class though, and a 20min thunderstom rolled in to make the rock wet. At the last buttress before the col where we'd decend to the glacier, we got hung up. We were on the left side of the ridge and it just became too steep. Ben climbed to the ridge and reported the other side was vertical and the ridge looked problematic. After some failed routefinding, we decided to drop down into the valley, cross a small glacier and then take a scree slope to the col, bypassing the buttress. By the time we gained the ridge, light was gone and we were tired, so decided the best option wou

Aug 1, 2009

Photos: 33

2009.07.26 - Copper Mountain

Ben, Will, Dobbie, and I went up Copper Mountain. We took a bit of a new route that was a little dicey and we didn't know if it would go. We did make the summit, but we took a lot of extra time with our route finding and there was some difficult scrambling. Used the bikes for the approach which was fantastic.

Jul 25, 2009

Photos: 18

2009.07.19 - Lady MacDonald ESE Ridge

Headed up Wil and Mike. Great route involving several short pitches of low 5ish climbing, some exposed, sharpish ridge walking, and great views. 7hrs to the true summit. 9.5hrs round. 1200m height gain. 1300m total gain.

Jul 19, 2009

Photos: 10

2009.05.31 - Opal Ridge Traverse

Ben, Heather, and I tackled the Opal Ridge Traverse. A great trip for when the weather is warm, the day is long, and the skies clear so that you can enjoy the views along the approx. 6km of ridge. The route has been reported as a difficult scramble, but our route was not. We had the rope so took one interesting line involving a crack. In any case, lots of route finding would be required to keep it as a scramble. Just under 10.5 hours, 3259 calories, 1610m total gain.

May 31, 2009

Photos: 21

2009.05.22 - Columbia Icefields - Mt. Columbia, Snow Dome, Mt. Kitchener

Kerry, Ben, Dave, Wayne, Heather, and I went to the Columbia Icefields to attempt Mt. Columbia, the highest peak in Alberta. We left Calgary Thursday evening, overnighted at the Rampart Creek Hostel, then went up the Athabasca glacier under clear blue skies, weaving through the icefalls route, and set up base camp before the trench. Saturday we crossed the trench and ascended Columbia via the South Ridge under more clear blue skies. Sunday we got up, broke camp, and then buried our stuff at the base of Snow Dome, ascended it, traversed over to summit Mt. Kitchener, then skied back out to the cars. Interesting trip stats: 5180 calories burned from the trip start to the summit of Columbia. 6hrs to base camp. 5hrs from camp to Columbia summit, 9hrs round trip. 1.5hrs from base to summit of Snow Dome, 2hrs to traverse to summit of Kitchener. 10000 calories burned over 3 days.

May 22, 2009

Photos: 58

2009.05.10 - Gap Peak

Kerry, Blanka, Ken, Matt, Heather and I tackled Gap Peak as an early season scramble.

May 10, 2009

Photos: 9

2009.04.19 - Cirque Peak

After ascending Hector the previous day, Ben, Heather, Wayne, and I skied up Cirque Peak in slightly less than ideal conditions, but it's always a great day when you get a summit with friends.

Apr 19, 2009

Photos: 10

2009.04.12 - Mount Olive

Day 3 of the Easter Bow Hut trip took us to Mt. Olive under some unclear skies. Visibility did reamain good enough for us to make the 770m climb to the summit and back to the hut in about 5.25 hours. The next day we had a leisurely ski out in just over 1.5 hours to cap off a great extra-long weekend!

Apr 12, 2009

Photos: 10

2009.04.11 - South Rhondda and Mount Thompson

Day 2 of our Bow Hut ski mountaineering trip took us first to the summit of South Rhondda in 3 hours with 530m gain over 5km. After some lunch, we skied down and 1.5 hours after departing the summut we were at the base of Mt. Thompson. It took us 3.5 hours to summit Thompson and then return to the Bow Hut. Close to 1000m gain on the day.

Apr 11, 2009

Photos: 35

2009.04.10 - Bow Hut and Mt. Gordon

Over Easter, ten of us skied up to the Bow Hut to stay for three nights and do some ski mountaineering. The trip to Bow Hut is 8km with 390m gain which took us 3.5hrs at a leisurely pace with a lunch break. Ben, Heather, Will, Jason, and I then went onwards to climb Mt. Gordon which was a further 12km and 850m… a total of 1240m and 20km for the opening day! Gordon was the highest peak we reached during the trip at 3200 meters.

Apr 10, 2009

Photos: 20

2009.04.05 - Hailstone Butte

Went with Kerry and Blanka during a HIGH danger avalanche day... we tried to do a very conservative trip to Hailstone, but still abandoned the summit bid up high due to snow instability.

Apr 5, 2009

Photos: 7

2009.03.28 - Gypsum Mine

Intended to do the French/Haig/Robertson Glacier traverse, but visibility was low, so opted for some turns at Gypsum Mine. Ben, Wayne, Mike, Heather, and me.

Mar 19, 2009

Photos: 6

2009.03.15 - Mt. Vermillion

Backcountry skiing with Ben, Heather, and Jaron. Plan was to ski up Mt. Haffner. It was snowing hard and visibility was low from the outset, so we just followed another track up. At treeline the sky cleared and we could see that we were actually on Mt. Vermillion! Oops! It was OK as we got 1000m of powder skiing on the way down.

Mar 15, 2009

Photos: 13

2009.02.21 - Birdwood-Smuts Traverse Tour

Began at Burstall Pass parking lot, skied up the valley but peeled off right just at the top of the big 120m headwall towards Birdwood Pass. At the top of the pass, skied into the valley on the other side, sticking to skier's left slopes. Snow variable, but with patches of powder. Stopped at the end of a large avalanche clearing, with Smuts pass above and a bit of a traverse right. Climbed, breaking trail, until connecting to a track from skiers who'd stayed high and just traversed. From the pass skied down to the tarns with great snow! Past the tarns the terrain was rock and wind-scoured until about 50m below the tarn shelf. Stuck to skiers left on crusty snow and some very old avy run-out that felt like skiing on a washboard at times. Nice tracked trail out from there to the highway and awaiting shuttle car. 6hrs 50m trip time, 615m altitude gain with 970m cumulative ascent, 1020m cumulative descent.

Feb 21, 2009

Photos: 21

2008.08.09 - Marta Przemek Wedding

Aug 9, 2008

Photos: 13

2008.08.9 - Climbing EEOR - Raptor Wall

Aug 9, 2008

Photos: 2

2008.08.03 - Mt. Burgess North

Aug 2, 2008

Photos: 5

2008-07-08 - Juan De Fuca Trail

Over the period of four days from July 8-11, 2008 Mike, Blanka, Barend, Wil and I backpacked the 47km Juan De Fuca trail from north to south. It'd been nine years since I'd completed the longer, 72kmWest Coast Trail. Although a little shorter and less remote, my feeling was that the Juan De Fuca was indeed more challenging terrain.

Jul 11, 2008

Photos: 58

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