Category: snow and ice

Posted on

paddling and hiking Alaska mid-winter

My favourite travelogue over the past few months has been Erin McKittrick and Bretwood (Hig) Higman’s Journey on the Wild Coast:

“From the Puget Sound to the Bering Sea: Four thousand miles along the edge of the Pacific, by foot, raft, and skis.”

After 8 months, they are only half way finished. (The original plan was 9 months for the entire 4000mi.)

The text and photos are terrific. But it was this video that really brought home to me the difficulty of travelling Alaska in winter.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It’s well worth checking out Erin’s post: Midway Reflections

Posted on

hiking the Canadian Rockies in October

Any guidebook will tell you yer crazy to consider hiking the Rockies in “winter”. Too dangerous.

Of course that’s nonsense. Tough Canadians ski, snowshoe and even hike year round.

For example, from Ewen on the Outdoor Video magazine site:

Length: Approx 23km
Time: 2 Days
Elevation Gain: 900m total (excluding sidetrip)
Max Elevation: 2330m, (2500m side trip up Saddleback Mt)
Rating: 7/10, some tedious spots though it was overcast and cloudy
Done: End of October 2007
Book: Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies, Graeme Pole

Route: From Lake Louise Chateau over Saddleback Pass, into Paradise Valley, up Paradise Valley via river bottom (lower trail), return via Lake Annette and Paradise Valley Junction.

Towards the end of October 2007, UAOC (University of Alberta Outdoors Club) headed to the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park for a late-season two-day backpacking trip. The target: Paradise Valley.

…

We finished off the drive along the Icefields Parkway and registered at the Park Office in Lake Louise. Then, after a quick drive to the trailhead at Lake Louise Chateau, we were ready to get going (you can start from Morraine Lake in summer, but the Morraine Lake road is closed to cars in autumn, winter and spring). Having assessed snow conditions, we decided to leave the snowshoes at the car…a good choice seeing as we barely had to hike through any snow at all! Yet at the same elevation on the Skyline a few weeks before, we had several feet.

paradise.png

… read more – Paradise Valley Backpack – Hiking in Banff National Park

There’s something about Ewen’s trip reports I like. They are succinct, honest and entertaining all at the same time.

Posted on

Branson treks Arctic – no mention of GLOBAL WARMING

Just kidding.

Would there be any point in a major expedition outdoors unless it was intended to cool the planet?

With the saturation media coverage of late, so many people have become “aware” of global warming that it’s tough to find anyone who doesn’t have an idea of what it is… But that doesn’t mean they’re all jumping up and taking action either. In fact, a recent poll showed that while overwhelming numbers of Americans agree that global warming is both real and human caused, 58% of those who think they understand the problem said no to a potential gas tax to help stop it.

And that’s why legendary polar explorer and lifelong environmental activist Will Steger is leading a team of top explorers out across the arctic ice this spring in an amazing journey to capture the arctic trauma while highlighting the need for immediate action…

The team includes Sam Branson, son of Virgin’s Richard Branson, and …… They’ll be documenting their journey in real-time, blogging and creating podcasts from the ice throughout the trip. They’ll also be leaving time-lapse video cameras in their wake to capture the ice as it melts away. …

ellesmere.jpg

Steger, Branson, Ekran Heading Across Arctic in Bid to Demonstrate Drastic Change In Real Time for Schools, Public : TreeHugger

Posted on

New Zealand Tramper photos

We named New Zealand the best hiking destination in the world on Christmas day.

I was expecting some heckling from the “California is the center of the Outdoor Universe” crowd. (Perhaps they’re still hung over from the holidays.)

Here’s more evidence that New Zealand is the real centre of the Outdoor Universe:

Looking across at Mt Tutuko and Madeline across a cloud filled Hollyford Valley. This is during a rest on the traverse from Lake Nerine to North Col …

f1010010_th.jpg
Location – Mount Aspiring National Park. By pmcke, 30 December, 2007.

more gorgeous pics from this tramp – Photographs | New Zealand Tramper

New Zealand Tramper is, overall, the best source of photos from that country. Unfortunately they post only one / page and the RSS feed does not include the image. Due to those barriers, I only have time to look at a few of them.

Posted on

scramble the King’s Throne, Yukon

From some angles the King’s Throne looks like a King’s Throne, hence the name. It’s an easy climb or a tough scramble.

10km (6.2mi) in distance to the summit, about 6hrs return, moderately strenuous.

You have the choice of a 457m (1500ft) climb to rock glacier. Or — if conditions are good  — continue to the top, total ascent being 1,250-metre (4,100-foot) above the lake.  

The views are spectacular all the way up, so there’s no need to top out. Especially if it’s windy or you get “weather”.

You need to find transport to the Kathleen Lake campground 32km (20mi) south of Haines Junction, Yukon. We stayed there one night after our descent.

YukonHiking.ca

You will not feel rushed during the long days of the northern summer. It was light out until perhaps midnight when we were there.

Kluane National Park Hiking Guide

Kluane National Park Hiking Guide

Atop the King’s Throne you’ll be inspired to adventure deeper into this, the largest protected area of the world. But there are very few established trails. You’ll likely be bushwhacking. Or paddling.

Contributor Kelly Mock from Whitehorse suggests (instead) a spring ski tour of the most famous long trail in the park, Cottonwood.

 

Posted on

Ryan Jordan – Wilderness Trekking School

I wish I could have atteneded Backpacking Light’s Wilderness Trekking III Course.

From super hiker Ryan Jordan’s blog:

… food, water, avalanche gear, group gear, snowshoes, and all clothing worn and items carried. Our pack weights to start actually averaged in the 12-14ish pound range.

If I had to sing praise for the most merit-worthy benefits of this course, it was the cross pollination of experience, the joy of camaraderie in the face of wilderness stress, and the satisfaction of having achieved something meaningful as part of a group. …

Ryan Jordan’s Backcountry: Wilderness Trekking School Featured in Billings Gazette

_a130371.jpg

_a110134.jpg

see all the wonderful photos – Wilderness Trekking III Course

Posted on

snow is beautiful …

Well said, Laplandica.

I lived 10yrs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Cold, clear and snowy is the norm during the long winters there. Beautiful.

I’m planning on New Year’s Eve at Emma Lake, SK.

The best way to learn about snow is to play with it, doing this often. By playing with or in snow, one gains experience with the different types of snow and one can readily and enjoyably adapt to snowy conditions allowing more opportunities in being outdoors.

resize-of-winterforest02.jpg

Laplandica » Snow Is Often Considered…

Posted on

Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, Canadian Rockies

At the Banff Mountain Festival I bumped in Chris Hopkins, a friend I hadn’t seen for 17-years.

num.jpgTurns out he and his wife are managing beautiful Simpson’s Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, 40km north of Lake Louise on the Banff – Jasper highway.

Unlike many of the tourist highlights of the Canadian Rockies, winter is their favourite season. When I told Chris I was a hiker, he spoke of great trails out of the lodge. But that the cross country and backcountry skiing was even better.

I’d love to tour of all the Rocky Mountain lodges. This would be high on my list.

Stop summer or winter. The red roof, the blue lake, the green trees. This would be a terrific place to film your movie.

Num-ti-jah Lodge – official website

Posted on

hiking Skyline Trail, Jasper in OCTOBER

So, the University of Alberta Outdoors Club in Edmonton decided to hike the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park in the Fall.

That’s crazy, man!

This — our favourite hike in the Canadian Rockies — is difficult enough in August.

Did they survive?

Check the trip report by Ewen on his Outdoor Video Magazine site:

… When I awoke in the morning, I discovered the rain had turned to 4 inches of snow over night, and everything was frozen solid. A temperature somewhere between -5C and -10C coupled with the rain the night before meant people had to resort to licking tent poles to get them to collapse, and I had to spend nearly 10m de-icing the bear hanger before we could get our food down.

…

Outdoor Video Magazine » Hiking the Skyline Trail- Jasper National Park

skyline.jpg

We’ve linked to Ewen’s trip report from our Skyline Trail information page.

Posted on

PCT late season hike – Freezer Bag Cooking

Sarah’s Freezer Bag Cookingâ„¢ | Outdoor Food Simplified site is #1 for hiking food in my opinion.

But Sarah’s a hard core hiker, as well.

Check these photos from her latest trip report:

My friend Steve and I set out to do the section hike of Chinook Pass to White Pass on the PCT here in Washington. We headed southbound on this section. It is roughly a shy 30 miles. …

We left Chinook Pass in a snowstorm, the only vehicle besides us up there was the snow plow.

cwp4.jpg

bumpingriverme.jpg

Would you go out this late in the year?

Snow on the PCT – trip report and more photos