Snowshoeing in Cypress Hills park with Judy, Rodger, Julie, Kasey, Kerry, Keno & Elsa.

Cat skiing at Revelstoke area with Kerry. Early Christmas present and a big surprise!

Cross country skiing to Elk Lakes Cabin in Kananaskis.

Scramble up Pigeon Mountain with Kerry, Mike, Keith, Wayne, Jamie & Dana.

Attempt to scramble up Mt Sparrowhawk with Kerry, Keith & Barend.

Halloween Party at Heather's.

A scramble up Pasque Mountain with Kerry, Keith & Raff.

Alpine climb from Abbot Pass Hut to Mt Victoria South with Kerry, Mike & Will.

Scramble up Mt Indefatigable North with traverse to the South with Kerry.

Scramble up Table Mountain with Kerry, Judy, Rodger, Keno & Elsa.

Scramble up Mt Niles with Kerry, Heather & Ken.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090913MountNiles#

A hike to Plain of Six Glaciers with Kerry, Julie & Kasey.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090912PlainOfSixGlaciers#

Scramble up Big Sister with the COC - Kerry, Aarmaan, Andrea, Barend & Zosia.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090905BigSister#

A scramble up Mt Assiniboine via south slopes with Kerry & Ferenc.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090830MountAssiniboine#

Link to Ferenc's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fjacso/LunettePeak3400MAndMountAssiniboine3618MBanffNPCanada#

Scramble up Paget Peak & an evening hike to Takakkaw Falls with Kerry.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/kerryv/20090822PagetPeakII#

A hike to Lake of the Hanging Glacier with Kerry.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090821LakeOfTheHangingGlacier#

A scramble up Eastpost Spire with Kerry.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090820EastpostSpire#

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090818LakitMountain#

A scramble up Mt Smuts with Kerry, Ken & Matt. Since the season for big trips is very short and the weather was supposed to be really nice Kerry & Matt came up with an idea to do Mt Smuts.

Surprisingly the trail was pretty good all the way up to the base of the scree-cone. After less than 100 meters gain on the scree we were in the gully leading to the south ridge. We stayed on the right side of the gully and enjoyed hands-on scrambling all the way up to the point where the gully ends and the route goes to the right up on the ridge. This first part was really fun; the rock was solid and lots of good holds. Although I wouldn't call it difficult when I turned around it looked almost extreme! We scrambled up the right side onto the ridge where we saw couple of cairns and started to study the right route. Matt didn't waste time and started his own route on the ridge soon calling that we probably do not want to follow him! After looking at the photos we had with us we spotted the right little gully but to get there we had to do a short traverse on smooth exposed slabs. This little traverse and the rock fall which followed as Matt & Ken were scrambling up was the crux for me! After we got on the "right" route the real scrambling began. Although almost vertical the holds are pretty good and the rock is solid. After section one comes section #2 which is also difficult. There's a little "break" after section #2 - a short ridge walk to the last difficult section #3. All these three sections are very exposed and require 100 per cent concentration as there's no time for mistakes. I was very focused and noticed only when standing below the last chimney that the clouds are moving in and the sky is not that bluebird anymore. It was a great relief to be on the solid ridge both feet again but even though the last part of the ridge to the summit is significantly easier than the difficult sections it gets quite exposed on some parts.

Standing on the summit felt really rewarding after all the scrambling! We didn't have time to hang out for too long as the weather didn't look that good anymore but we were all really happy (especially Matt!) to have just summited the famous Mt Smuts!

Descent route was marked by a cairn but since the gully was steep and very loose we just downclimbed one at a time to avoid the rock fall. Around 200 m vertical the gully ends, the view opens up and it's obvious the route goes to the left on the ledges and down to the scree gully. There is a visible trail traversing the slope to the pass.

It was my A. Kane's peak # 94 and I'd rate it as the most difficult scramble I've done so far, mostly because it's very committing once on the ridge and the difficult scrambling is long, exposed... simply "extreme" requiring the full focus the whole time! I was very happy we had a rope with us just in case we need to retreat as going down the ascent route would have not been good! It was also nice to have photos from previous trips with us, it helped a lot during route finding! It would be interesting to go back sometime but the best group for this trip is two people!

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090808MountSmuts#

Scramble up Little Hector with Kerry, Ken, Matt & Will.

This wasn't our original plan but since it was on the way and most of us haven't done it we decided to go up Little Hector. Rated "moderate" in Alan Kane's book this trip appeared to be one of the least enjoyable scrambles I have done.

We started going up the forest trail and soon reached the waterfall. The route up the waterfall was quite obvious and involved a little bit of hands on scrambling, more enjoyable in hiking shoes than in ski boots!

Once we reached the open basin between Mt Andromache and Little Hector we started slogging up. Our objective was visible and the route seemed quite obvious - just slog up all the way to the pyramid-shaped summit!

We found a wind free spot just below the summit and enjoyed some views of Mt Hector, its glacier and hazy view of surrounding peaks. We didn't stay very long as we were all excited about the pub in Canmore where we were going to stop for proper meal.

Going down was a little bit better but after taking an alternative descent route and not having read the proper description we encountered some bushwacking and downclimbing big boulders. At least it was very fast - Little Hector was quite a "little" trip - return trip less than 5 hours!

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090803LittleHector#

A scramble up Mt Sarbach with Kerry, Dustin, Matt G, Ken, Heather, Mike & Will.

Link to Kerry's photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090801MountSarbach

A scramble up Narao Peak with Marta, Joanna, Zosia, Dustin & Will.

An alpine climb up Diadem Peak with ACC.

Six of us left Saturday morning at 7am heading for the Columbia Icefields. After some confusion where we were supposed to wait for each other we started our base camp approach with a "warm up" - crossing the freezing Sunwapta River! Afer ditching our waders, sandals and other "river crossing gear" we found a trail which took us to the base camp.

We set up our tents, cooked dinner and just when we were ready to hang out it started to rain. Where did the perfect forecast go? We went to sleep at 8pm hoping we'll wake up to the clear sky. The plan was to get up at 4am, pack up the gear, start climbing up Diadem Peak, descend to the col, climb Mt Woolley, descend to the base camp, pack everything up and return to our cars.
Unfortunately, the sky didn't really clear up, there was a thunder storm and the wind was so loud at times that it was hard to sleep. We woke up at 4am disappointed to see black clouds all around and light rain so we went back to sleep. Couple of hours later the weather looked better so we got ready and around 7.30 left our camp heading towards the glacier and Diadem snow gully.

Glacier traverse was quite easy and most of the crevasses were obvious. It didn't take us very long and we were on the snow going up the gully. The snow was very good as it wasn't too soft or too hard. We kept gaining meters with clouds changing the whole time. Higher we climbed more beautiful the views were. Finally we reached the big rock and could see the summit cornice above us. This was the crux of the trip as the last section was icy and required a little bit of ice-climbing. Keith led the climb and then we all top roped. It was so cold up there that I was very excited about any kind of movement, even if it's ice-climbing with only one tool! After climbing over the cornice we were standing on some rocks (finally some solid ground!). From there the summit was just a little walk.

It was cold up there, getting quite late and we still had other half - descent - ahead of us so after taking some photos and enjoying views of Mt Alberta & other glaciated summits we started going down. After reaching the col we had a quick glance at Mt Woolley which appeared so close but so far at that moment, and started descending a steep gully which for us on the second rope seemed like a big staircase. Just after passing the cool looking Woolley glacier we found a cairn and scrambled over the rocky ledges to the left to the second gully - the same as we went up. We glissaded down the easier not so steep part, crossed the glacier and at 5.30pm we were back at our campsite, almost exactly 10 hours after we left it in the morning.

After one hour we were on our way down to the cars. We kept a good pace and after couple of hours we were at our "river crossing gear" and second and last crux of the day! Fortunately nobody went for a swim in Sunwapta River and even I with my giant waders was able to fight the wild stream! Back at the cars at 9.30pm.

Thanks to Keith for organizing such a great trip!!!

A hike up Moose Mountain with Kerry, Julie & Kasey.

Hike up Stanley Glacier with Kerry.

On the way from Radium we decided to do a hike up Stanley Glacier where neither of us have been before. The official trail goes up 5.5 km but even beyond this point there are couple of trails leading up to a closer viewpoint of the glacier. The views of Stanely Peak, its glacier, waterfalls and Mt Whymper accross the road are amazing!

Exploring the backroads of East Kootenay with Kerry and Explorer.

After 11,5 hour trip to Mt Nelson with 2000 m of elevation gain we decided to let the truck scramble for a change. We still did the summit - Mt Swansea but our legs gained 100 m while the truck had to climb 600 m. The views were nice for such a little efford!

After Mt Swansea Lookout we got back on Hwy 95 and continued south pass Windermere and Columbia Lake to the Whiteswan Lake backroad turnoff where we spent a few hours exploring the road checking out the distant not much known mountains. Soaking in the Lussier Hot Springs right by the river was a nice treat at the end of the day.

A scramble up Mt Nelson with Kerry. I have to admit I wasn't too impressed with getting up at 4am on a Friday morning but I'm VERY happy Kerry made me! It was a beautiful day and the views we were rewarded after 2000 m elevation gain were one of the best I've had so far ...

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090703MountNelson#

Trip report by Kerry:

Last year I had discovered (in the backroads mapbook, nonetheless) that there was such a thing as a 3300 m peak "Mount Nelson" with a relatively simple way to gain its lofty summit albeit with 2000 m of elevation to be slogged up. I was intrigued and knew it would be a great objective for one of those days when the weather in the front ranges is unstable but the interior of BC is better. Having not been to the Windermere valley since 1984, I also was excited about seeing numerous unknown, beautifully glaciated peaks. Friday, July 3 happened to be the perfect day for an ascent of this giant.

Blanka and I awoke at the moderately alpine hour of 0400 at the Redstreak campground in Radium - not too many others were up at this time; we heard lots of snoring from various tents as we had breakfast and got packed up. A scenic drive up Toby Creek to the Delphine Creek road brought us to the trailhead - there is a washout with the creek running through it but we decided to forgo the early morning creek crossing and let the truck ford it instead. At 0618, we started up the trail at a moderate pace - which is not bad at all - very steep of course but there's no nonsense; all you are doing after the first 5 minutes is gaining metres. Similar to Steve Tober's trip report, we topped out on the rib where the angle lessens considerably after about 1h20, and finally got to see some of the amazing views and how high we were (~750 m) above Delphine Creek. I salivated as I could see more and more glaciers (or at least permanent snowpatches) appearing to the W and SW. After negotiating a few huge downed trees that crossed the trail, we came out into the alpine and the upper Nelson basin, which is simply beautiful. Did I mention it was cloudless and calm? This was also our first good view of the peak and possible routes up it. Even this high above your starting point the tremendous mass and height of the peak was impressive. We also started to cross some snow patches which was much more pleasant than pounding away on the rubble that was everywhere else. We figure that there is a faint trail under the snow somewhere, as bits and pieces of it appeared from time to time near the stream. The setting became even more amazing as we gained a minor high point above the huge cirque surrounded by Sultana Peak and Mount Nelson. It was mostly full of snow snow, surrounded by old moraine, and there was even a small green tarn peeking out from the remnants of winter. We each took a different route to the back of the bowl and had differing spectacular views of the other. Now it became time to determing the best way up. The suggested ascent gully looked very steep and the lower portion was full of old avalanche debris that was quite hard in the early morning hours. It was either that, try another gully (none looked better), or scramble up alongside the gully on ledges to the right, sometimes very steep, completely covered in loose rubble. We didn't haul the crampons up 1400 metres for nothing, so out they came and we kicked steps and front pointed up the gully depending on the consistency of snow. The gully was quite narrow, and near the top leaned back even more - so I scouted out a route up the ledges to our left which turned out to be tedious but far safer than the upper portion of the gully. Then came what seemed like endless bashing up loose blocky talus to some intimidating cliffs guarding the summit block. We'd probably come up too far left but decided to check it out anyway. After deciding against ridiculously steep and exposed scrambling, we traversed/sidebashed right all the way across to the south ridge. It looked like in dry conditions gaining a small cliff to the ridge would be a no brainer, but since we had a large steep snow and ice patch in that particular gully we didn't give it serious consideration and dropped down a bit to see what the ridge itself looked like. We gained the ridge easily but were still below a cliff/gendarme so Blanka traversed around to the right to see if we could deal with it. The traverse was not too wide and there was huge exposure on the right hand side. A slip here would result in a quick and likely painless plummet down the entire east face of Nelson, with a short bump on a steep, downsloping ledge on the way down. We know because we sent some loose rubble over the edge and didn't hear it hit the bottom. Back to reality and we found a way up to the ridge top around the right side of the steepest part. The scrambling was not particularly difficult, upper moderate at most, but it was VERY steep, there were a lot of loose holds and there was still that extreme exposure waiting for us to make a mistake. We were very pleased to see much simpler terrain awaiting us beyond that. The remainder of the ascent of the summit block itself was dry, almost enjoyable as the rubble was not too loose, and Blanka cheered with joy when we came up to a skyline and the large aluminum cross was clearly visible moments away. Half an hour was spent on the summit having lunch and enjoying one of the best views we've ever come across. Among the 11,000ers in view were (CW from west): Jumbo, Commander, Delphine, Farnham, Farnham Tower, Peter, Howser Spire, Columbia, The Goodsirs, Victoria, Temple, Hungabee, Assiniboine, King George, Joffre and Harrison. By this time there were a few clouds rolling in, but they were the small, fluffy popcorn variety that only made the photos better. Numerous other peaks suddenly appeared on my mental to-do list. We were a bit anxious to get the extreme exposure section over with and also get back down the steep snow to the cirque. We encountered no unexpected difficulties on the way down and had an awesome break lounging around in the cirque on a rockpile in the bright sun. The snow had softened up enough that we no longer need to use the crampons to descend the gully. Several stops were made to guzzle litres and litres of fresh water from the creek, too. The descent was quick, although during the last section I need to stop every 100 vertical metres (which was every 3 minutes) to ease the pounding on my poor old knees. We gratefully guzzled more water from the creek again back at the truck and soaked our feet in it too.

All in all, a fantastic outing that I'd recommend to anyone who can handle the elevation gain and slogging - you will be well rewarded. Oh yeah, and we were the first ones up there this year, too!

A Canada Day scramble up Mt Remus with Kerry & Ken.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090701MountRemus#

A scramble up Mt Fairview with Kerry.

As we were driving in the mountains the weather didn't look that good so we decided to do just a small trip and go up Mt Fairview. Since it was a week day it was much less crowded there than at weekends. Although there were clouds forming we could still enjoy the views of surrounding peaks.

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090624FairviewMountain#

Exploratory scramble up Orient Point with Kerry, Will, Denise & Matt.

Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090620OrientPoint#

Scrambling up Mt Galwey with Kerry & Matt G.

Since none of us has done Mt Galwey it was a great trip for Sunday - we could sleep in, it was right by the campsite and we would be home early!

A scramble up Anderson Peak with traverse to Lost Mountain with Kerry, Denise & Matt G.

Kerry's photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090613AndersonPeakLostMountain#

A scramble up East Peak of Wendell with Kerry, Keith, Joanna, Aarmaan, Ali BaBa, Safari, Dobby, Chau, Geoff, Matt G, Terence and Dale (COC - link: http://www.calgaryoutdoorclub.com/events/archivedetails.asp?eventid=9863)

My second trip to the summit of East Peak of Wendell Mountain, this time with a big group of people...

Kerry's write-up:
A warm and clear morning greeted 13 of us at the Yamnuska parking lot and the rest of the day was almost as good. The heat didn't seem to let up until the end of the day. Although we had a large group it was experienced and of a sufficient fitness level to keep things right on schedule.

Dropping over the east shoulder of Yam, travelling down and across to the CMC Valley was straightforward - although we took a bit of time to cross the creek as it was running a bit higher than my last visit. Once on the west side of the peak we could see several options for ascent: an easy way (prominent scree trail in a gully), a difficult way (ridge on the north side) - these are both described in the book; and a moderate way just off to the side of the easy route. We decided to take this way as it was far more enjoyable to do some hands on scrambling and ascending friction slabs rather than grovel up the gully. Once at the skyline, the ridgewalk to the summit was pleasant and scenic. We enjoyed Dobby's giant Toblerone bar on the summit in addition to the usual lunches and summit photos.

After descending the main part of the peak we decided to split into groups. One group of 6 headed back the same way we came up, over the E shoulder. Thanks Phil for leading this group. The rest of us went up the W shoulder so we could enjoy the scree run below Yam's face. Had to do some monster bushwhack and sidebashing to get there, but it was different, and the scree was fun as usual.

Seven of us finished at Moose McGuire's with dinner and pints around 6 PM.

Link to:
Kerry's photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090530EastPeakOfWendell#
Keith's photos - http://www3.telus.net/keithoutdoors/Keith/My_Albums/Pages/May_30,_2009_Wendell_East_Peak.html
Ali BaBa's photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/ali.shariat2008/WendellMountain#

A scramble up Limestone Mountain via south ridge with the COC.

Still early in the season when some people are still skiing on icefield, Limestone Mountain makes it for a nice short day out...

A scramble to GR338442 with Traverse to "Kananaskis Peak" with Mike.

A scramble up Gap Peak with Kerry, Ken, Heather, PGL & Matt G.

Ski ascent of Mt Hector with Ben, Heather, PGL, Maverick, Will and two other friends.

Expedition to Hailstone Butte with Kerry & PGL....

Link to Kerry's photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090405PGLSExpedition#

Ice-climbing at Junkyard with Mike & Will

After a long time I went ice-climbing again! Unfortunately the ice was pretty soft and it felt almost as if climbing a vertical glacier but the warm sun was really nice for belaying and waiting around. :) Great day and lots of fun!

Lezeni ledopadu v oblasti "Junkyard" blizko Canmore s Mikem & Willem.

Dowhill skiing at Revelstoke with Kerry. Pow! :)

Backcountry ski trip to Twin Cairns summit in Sunshine Village area with Ben and Wayne.

We skinned up the Sunshine ski out and after a brief break at the lodge continued up along the Wawa chair. Once on top of the hill we could see Twin Cairns in front of us. We passed the ski resort boundary and followed the tracks leading to the mountain.

The avalanche risk was low so we picked the steeper and shorter route up and had to take off the skis for a bit. After some scrambling parts we were standing on the Twin Cairns summit and had a nice view of Mt Assiniboine and surrounding peaks.

We chose more gentle slopes for the ski down. We were not quite sure about the route back as we were doing a loop but except for the dense forest part it turned out well and we were back at the parking lot by 3pm.

Had I not complained (the forest really sucked!) it could have been my "ski graduation" from Ben's school of torture and punishment ... hopefully next time!

Backcountry ski trip to Burstall Pass with Kerry & Parry.

A Valentine's day winter scramble up Heart Mountain with the COC - Marko, Clayton, Rahul & Chad.

Scramble up first summit of Mt Baldy (2192 m) with Kerry, Angela & Mike (COC).

We followed the trail through the forest up to the ridge. Since it was windy we decided to avoid the tricky fun ridge section by going down on the right side and traversing below the cliffs. From there, we ascended the slope following the well-trodden trail all the way to the summit. It was windy and cold so after taking a few photos we started going down.

Only an hour drive from Calgary it was a great February scramble! There was some snow on the trail but all difficult sections can be bypassed. It was nice to be outside and enjoy the sun!

Link to Kerry's photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kerryv/20090208MountBaldy#

Link to COC trip details: http://www.calgaryoutdoorclub.com/events/details.asp?eventid=8936

Cross country skiing trip to Ribbon Creek with Heather, Ben, Kerry & Marko.

We headed out later than usual and leaving Calgary after 10.30am. As it was first time cross country skiing experience for Kerry & Marko we chose an easy trail with a short drive.

The trails were in good condition although extra snow would be good on some spots. It felt pretty cold, more than -20C but it was nice to be outside. Apart from one ski we all made it back in one piece!

Cross country skiing to Shadow Lake with Ken, Heather, Ben and Phil.

It was unexpectedly cold when we started after 9am - close to -15C but we were moving up the hill most of the time which kept us warm.

Last part to the lake was pretty steep and some of us gave up the struggle and walked. We had lunch at Shadow Lake cabins and enjoyed the sun and chairs. To make Ben happy we let him brake the trail across Shadow Lake and after stopped at the cabins once again to enjoy more sun.

We walked down the steep hill in the forest entertained by Ben's ski descent who showed us how to "buttbreak" for a few times. After we got on the main trail ski down was fast, mostly down the hill.

It was a great day out and we were surprisingly the only people who enjoyed the cross country skiing on Redearth Creek trails!

A Sunday afternoon cross country skiing on Telephone loop trail in Bragg Creek with Heather, Ken, Wayne & Mike.

Backcountry skiing at Mollar Meadows by Mosquito Creek hostel and cross country skiing around Castle Hostel in -30C. All photos taken by Przemek Heske. Thanks, Przemek!!!