alpine – Page 102 – besthike.com

October 15, 2010October 14, 2010

Asulkan Valley Trail, Canada

Rating – Expert
Distance – Approximately 13 kilometers one-way
Elevation Gain – 975 meters!
Duration – 10 hours round trip
When to Go – Mid-July to Mid-September. Any earlier, there’s avalanche risks.
How to get there – 4 hours from Calgary, 7 hours from Vancouver.

Another great hiking trip report from Scenic Travel Canada. This time Barry Taylor tells of his tough day hike near the Rogers Pass, in the Rockies.

It sounds spectacular.

One excerpt:

… Hoary marmots are basking in the sun on top of large boulders as they monitor my progress. Huge waterfalls are roaring straight down from the steep slopes of Abbott ridge on the other side of Asulkan Brook. The sound echoes and amplifies in the massive rock falls. I cross a removable wooden bridge over Asulkan Brook and the trail soon takes me past the junction for the Glacier Crest Trail.

As I break out of the forest again, the Asulkan Glacier comes into view far in the distance. The farther I hike, the more spectacular the views become. Roaring, rushing, milky water is everywhere. The sun is dancing on water and shadows shorten as the sun begins to fill the valley. I am feeling excited now and committed to completing the hike. …

click through to read the rest and see VIDEO – Hiking the Asulkan Valley Trail in Glacier National Park (Rogers Pass, BC)

asulkan-valley-hut-rogers-pass-bc — Asulkan Hut

Barry loved it. But bugs were still a problem there on Aug. 18th on a hot, hot day.

That’s the Canadian Glacier National Park, not that other one in Montana.
🙂

Who claimed the name first? … The Canadians established theirs in 1886. The Americans in 1910.

October 6, 2010October 3, 2010

Triple Crown of Waterton, Akamina

by site editor Rick McCharles

Day 2 of my last ditch attempt to complete the Triple Crown of hikes in Waterton National Park.

(If you missed it, click back to Day 1.)

I’d have to complete Akamina Ridge first, then go back to finish Alderson-Carthew:

Akamina Ridge is a round trip hike of about 20km and the maximum elevation is 8600ft. A lollypop loop trail.

Your journey starts at the Akamina Pass trailhead about 1km from Cameron Lake along the Akamina Parkway. The trail starts out on a gentle slope. About 2km in you enter Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park, shortly after this point and once you have taken the necessary pictures at the “Welcome to BC” sign …

… you will have the options to go to either Forum Lake or Wall Lake to continue your hike. The Ridge is accessible from both but the difficulty upwards vary. This is where the trail really begins. The choice varies from the constant but relatively steady uphill trail to and from Forum Lake or the gentle long trail to Wall lake and then the sudden steep rise all the way up to the trail. …

To save time I tented on the trail.

Like most other hikers, I chose to climb up the Forum Lake trail to access the ridge, descending to Wall Lake. That’s safer I was advised at the Park information centre.

Here’s Forum.

The ridge was signed. No problem.

… until I got to the final scree approach. The trail was covered with wind swept snow. I literally had no idea how to get on top of the ridge, having never done this hike before.

Blast!

Instead I made a frantic scramble back down the mountain to Wall Lake, thinking I would reverse direction, if possible.

That turned out to be a mistake. Time consuming and somewhat dangerous.

I was quite relieved to get to the bottom without injury.

And I’d run out of time.

I dropped a Summit Stone at this cairne, far side of the lake.

And turned back.

My Triple Crown attempt for 2010 was over.

Too bad.

Next year.

October 5, 2010October 3, 2010

Triple Crown of Waterton, Alderson-Carthew

by site editor Rick McCharles

Third time lucky?

My first two attempts this past summer to hike the Triple Crown: Akamina Ridge, Alderson-Carthew and Crypt Lake … went awry.

This was to be my last chance. Snow was threatening.

Arriving mid-day, Alderson-Carthew was first on my rushed itinerary:

… One-Way hike from Cameron Lake to the Waterton townsite. It is about 16km long and takes between 5 to 7 hours depending on your urgency.

The highest elevation is about 7500ft(2300m) …. It is recommended that you take a shuttle from the townsite or have a friend drive you to the start of the trail. …

Unfortunately for me, the shuttle only runs with a minimum of 4 people. And I was friendless.

No matter, I would dash up the trail from Waterton town, return. Then do the other half return next day from the other end.

It starts at pretty Cameron Falls.

Those are my two chocolate milk “hand weights” (nutrition and hydration). I would do it as a trail run to save time. … OK, a trail run down. I walked most of the way up.

Despite the snow, it was a gorgeous Autumn day.

I love the Fall colours.

It climbed up, and up, and up.

At my highest point it was, as the last time I was here (VIDEO), very WINDY.

see more photos from my half hike of Alderson-Carthew.

… I STILL have a chance to finish the Triple Crown this hiking season.

October 2, 2010September 20, 2010

Reel Rock Film Tour

This is the 5th year that the Banff Mountain Film Festival has sent a mini-festival of their best climbing films on the road.

Click PLAY or watch the extreme trailer on YouTube.

Ueli Steck, Paul Robinson, Daniel Woods, Lisa Rands, Dean Potter, Peter Croft, Chris Sharma, Cedar Wright, …

international calendar

official home page

September 30, 2010September 30, 2010

another death on Longs Peak

When I scrambled the 15th highest mountain in Colorado in August, I was surprised at how DANGEROUS it is:

… It gets hairy, quickly. Exposure. Potential rockfall. … Many have been killed on this mountain.
I slipped badly on black ice here, the rock still frozen. …

In fact, I slipped badly just past the Keyhole. (The sun had not reached the other side.)

According to the National Park Service:

A hiker along the Keyhole Route of Longs Peak has been killed in a fall of about 300 feet …

The was at least the third fatality on Longs Peak this summer, and the second that occurred near the Keyhole …

National Parks Traveler

September 28, 2010September 28, 2010

Rawson Lake Trail, Alberta

Eric on Scenic Travel Canada posted a hike in my own backyard … that I’d never heard about.

The Rawson Lake Trail is an easy hike to a scenic and secluded mountain lake in Kananaskis Country, Alberta. Perched in the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains, the Rawson Lake hike is a 5 kilometer trek with a rewarding view of a picturesque green lake at the base of a towering peak – a quintessential Canadian postcard picture.

Rating – Easy
Distance – 5 kilometers
Elevation Gain – 320 meters
Duration – 3 hours round trip
When to go – mid-summer to early fall (mid July to October); snowshoe in mid-winter (December – March) …

details – Rawson Lake Trail – An Easy & Rewarding Hike in Kananaskis

September 24, 2010September 17, 2010

future hike – Cottonwood, Yukon

I’ve only hiked once before, years ago, out of Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park. My memories are of distant views of Mt. Logan, alcohol buzz and lower body nudism on the summit of the King’s Throne.

Next time to the Yukon I’ll budget 4 days for this, perhaps the best hike of all in the Park.

The Cottonwood Trail is a difficult alpine route finding adventure that sees more Grizzlies than people.

• 85km (53mi) loop
• 520m (1700ft) elevation gain

Here’s the pretty Kathleen Lake trailhead:

More Cottonwood Trail photos on Webshots.

September 22, 2010

… hiking Akamina Ridge, Waterton

Tomorrow.

Part of the Triple Crown of Waterton challenge.

Wish me luck. … It’s late in the season. But the weather forecast looks pretty good.

Akamina Ridge is a round trip hike of about 20km and the maximum elevation is 8600ft. …

Triple Crown of Waterton – Akamina Ridge

related – TrailPeak – Akamina Ridge

September 22, 2010September 17, 2010

hike Alaska or Yukon?

I’ve been several times to both.

I’d recommend Yukon over Alaska for most serious backcountry hikers:

A. Fly into Whitehorse, Yukon.

B. hike #1 – Chilkoot Trail (permit required)

C. hike #2 – Slim’s River (trip) or Cottonwood, Kluane National Park

D. hike #3 – Tombstone (besthike video)

That would be a fantastic 2wk hiking holiday with very little time lost to travel or logistics. Yukon is dryer than Alaska. Has a better infrastructure. … In fact, you might even be able to do this itinerary on public transport.

Best weeks would be August / mid-September.

Leave a comment if you can dream up an itinerary as good in Alaska.