We tried Mt. Assiniboine (3615m) in 2005, but we were'nt prepared. JD and me set off from Mt. Shark trailhead early Friday morning on September long weekend. 26km hike in to Assiniboine Lodge. We rendezvous with our climbing gear, which we had flown in via Heli, then continue around Lake Magog and the Gmoser Highway up to the Hind Hut. Set off at 2 am ahead of a few guides/clients, but are caught within a couple hours. We follow in behind. Very steep climbing in crampons over mixed rock and ice. This is some of the toughest technical climbing we've done on an Alpine climb.
By noon we are on the summit! The way down is slow. We reverse our route, sometimes downclimbing, other times rapelling where its too steep. Finally we stumble back to the Hind Hut at 6 pm....16 hour day, but very worth it. One of the best climbs we've done so far.
