Mt Temple rises over the dramatic Louise Group

The mighty Mt. Temple  rises to 11,624ft, making it the highest peak in the Louise group, and the 11th highest in the Canadian Rockies. With its 5000ft north Face looming over the town of Lake Louise, it is often compared to the Eiger’s shadow on the Swiss town of Grindelwald.  Temple is one of my favorite mountains in the World, having lived under it in Lake Louise for many of my formative years, and having had some great climbing adventures on its North Face and East Ridge.

Margaret and Pat raise their glasses on the Summit

When Margaret mentioned that she had wanted to climb it for years and had already suffered a false attempt due to weather, it was an easy decision. We grabbed a third, Pat McCabe one of last week’s Ottawa  ACC section,  who is new to mountaineering and settling to a healthy addiction. We gave it a late start of 8 am to allow the previous day’s storm snow and expected verglass a chance to melt back.  We didn’t see a soul our whole approach up the Larch Valley, and that coupled with the cooler temps and gusty winds gave the day the feeling of September.It was one of those beautiful clearing days when the clouds just tore open over the jagged peaks all day. The remnant snow was actually helpful in making for easy steps up the talus ridge to the summit.

Descending the ridge with the Valley of the ten peaks in the background

It was at this point in the day that I realized that Margaret had purchased today’s adventure as a Birthday present to herself.

As the weather cleared we stood on the summit and soaked in one of the best views in Canada. The descent was easy,  and we wandered down the empty trail to Moraine Lake, Margaret happy with her Birthday present, and Pat smiling with his new addiction.

I met up with longstanding clients and good friends Margaret and John, for an ascent of  the Takakkaw Falls rock climb in Yoho National Park. We met at a casual 8am and had the route to ourselves. The climb ascends the rock on the left side of the Falls. There is a good variety of climbing from steeper pitches to face climbing with mist of the waterfall spraying over you. The roar of the Falls and constant rainbows from the mist make for a unique climb like no other.

Margaret still smiling and singing, emerging from the cave

Just when you think you topped out, a finishing touch awaits.  There is a cave that you can crawl through, literally hands and knees with a headlamp for 30m! The best part is you exit on a ledge right where the water is pooling and launching over the abyss into the Falls!!!  After a fun lunch on the ledge we rappelled the route. There was some late starters we rapped over, and felt bad for as we got the beginning of the anticipated rains, just as we were safe at the bottom.  Always having fun and new adventures with John and Margaret, who knows what’s next…

The crew enjoying Appetizers with Wiwaxy Peak and Mt Huber in the background

Theresa just finished up a great week at the Elizabeth Parker Hut in the Lake O Hara district of the Canadian Rockies. The Ottawa section of the Alpine Club of Canada has been hiring Theresa for many years now to prepare delicious meals for their section camps.

From the Bell Cabin in Canmore, to the Wheeler Hut in Roger’s Pass to the Elizabeth Parker Hut, their camps are a great week of hiking and climbing with friends. Most will admit that the hiking and climbing is just a way of killing time until they get to relax and enjoy cold beers from the creek, sip nice wine and eat Theresa’s gourmet meals in the backcountry.

Theresa whipping up a salad.

They have also hired Andrew a few times for crevasse rescue courses, advanced mountaineering courses, and guided ascents. This year David and Louise hired Andrew for a great ascent of the classic South ridge of Victoria. They left the Parker Hut at 3am, and went up through Abbots Pass in the dark to catch the break of dawn at the Abbot Hut, where they had a break and some warm tea. It was a beautiful day and the climb up the ridge went smooth as David and Louise were already tuned up from their previous week in Roger’s Pass.  They descended via the Huber Glacier and ledges bringing them back to camp by 3pm making for a 12hr day.

Andrew and Theresa spent the next day climbing the classic “Grassi Ledges” route, one of the perks of getting to work together!

David and Louise on the summit of Mt Victoria

Polish Richard as he is known hired Andrew for the next 2 days. They started with an ascent of Wiwaxy Peak via the renowned 5.8 route “Grassi Ledges”. It was impressive how efficient and smooth Richard climbed, but not surprising as the Polish are known for their hidden climbing talents. With home made rock shoes and a pack and helmut from the 70′s, Richard was great to watch, making you feel like you were in that era! A traverse of the Wiwaxy terraces ( old guides trick ) took them to Wiwaxy Gap where a rope and gear stash was left for tomorrows ascent of Mt.Huber and Victoria. Another 3am start and a nice slow walk back to Wiwaxy Gap with light packs in the cool dark morning. It was a much cooler day with overcast skies and moderate winds, making for a beautiful moody day in the mountains. They climbed Huber then Victoria at a steady pace and were back in camp by 4pm for a 13hr day.

As the delicious appetizers came out, Andrew had to catch the bus back to civilization for the next bit of guiding. They are already making plans for next year…

There is 7 spaces left for this week!

Just back from an awesome week at Selkirk Lodge!

I just spent a week March 5-13 at Selkirk Lodge with 12 great guests, fellow guide Jim Gudjonson, and asst guide Alison Dakin. We had the best of conditions with 3 days of good visibility allowing us to ski the magnificent broken glaciers of Sanctuary, Solitude, Pink and Primrose. With 25cm of cold powder on the second day we were enjoying perfect March skiing in the Alpine. Days 5 and 6 we received a 50cm dump, taking us back to the face shots and tree skiing of January! The storm came with strong winds, so we skied fun safe terrain away from any overhead threats posed by the building storm snow on weak layers. On the last day the skies broke open again and we got up high one more day to ski the Alpine and get a good look at the huge avalanches that came down during the storm.

Selkirk Lodge has it all with the luxury hut situated high on a ridge at 2200m/7260ft giving great access to all the Alpine terrain and skiing straight into the tree-line terrain. The amenities include excellent food, a sauna, hot showers, beautiful views, indoor/outdoor toilets, and comfortable sleeping arrangements. The terrain at Selkirk separates it from the competition with a vast amount of glaciated skiing and Alpine bowls that can be accessed in most conditions. There is also plenty of great tree skiing for times of poor visibility during storms.

Book Now for Selkirk Lodge in 2011

We have spaces available for a fully catered and guided week March 26th-April 2nd 2011.  Contact us for more details!