Rogans Gully

Climbed Rogans Gully on Cascade Mountain this weekend. Low snow accumulations in the terrain above this gully meant that it was free of avalanche risk. The route starts on low angled ice before a wide curtain of WI 2 ice. It then ascends a narrow 6 ft wide gully system with a mix of ice and dry-tool rock climbing. Turned around before the final ice curtain on account of darkness.

Chephren

Went back for the third try on Mt. Chephren (3307 m.) this past weekend, likely the last nice weather of the summer. First try in 2005 we floundered along the shores of Chephren Lake, taking the wrong shoreline. Second try that same year had us up 90% of the way, but only 1 of our team the making the top. This time I took 4 hours the first day to navigate the lakehore - which consisted of bushwhacking and hopping from rock to rock on a giant boulder field.

Camped a few hundred meters above the lake on an old snowfield, the only reasonably flat ground I could find. After a long cold night I was happy to vacate the tent by 7 am. 5 hours of steady climbing on steep snowy and rocky terrain put me on the summit by noon. By the summit register only the 3rd ascent of the summer. Fantastic view all around, including Howse Peak and Whyte Pyramid right next door. 7 tedious, careful hours got me all the way back out to the car, picking up the tent along the way.

Moraine Lake Paddle

Judging by the strange looks we were getting from the hordes of onlookers, we completed what might be the first paddle board crossing of Moraine Lake. At the very least the first of the day. Great views of the Valley of Ten Peaks from a brand new perspective.

Mount Baker

BW and I crossed the border for a try on Mt Baker, which you can see from downtown Vancouver on a clear day. Late afternoon sunny skies as we started out along Heliotrope Ridge hiking trail, which starts a few miles east of the town of Glacier, WA. The trail eventually climbs up to a spot just underneath the Coleman Glacier. We don the crampons and start up the glacier headwall around 6 pm, slightly hurrying to get up to our intended camp before dusk. We camp in a large basin on the glacier around 7000ft. By 10 pm we are asleep from a hectic day of travel and hiking. Back climbing by 7:15 am the next morning, we slowly wend our way around the crevasses int he large glacier. A cloud is over the mountaintop, so we travel in misty whiteout conditions. After reaching the saddle between Coflax Peak and Baker, we continue up a rocky ridge and then a steepish snow slope before coming out on the summit plateau - the Deming Glacier which caps the volcano. Crossing that easily we arrive on a small rocky outcrop at 1 pm. After a few summit photos we commence the long plod down, pack up the camp and make our way all the way back down to the trailhead by 7:15 pm.

Paddle Boarding the Bow

JD and me gave the brand new stand-up paddle boards a try this weekend. Put in at the Canmore Bridge in the early afternoon after dropping off a pick-up vehicle 20 kms east along Highway 1A. Worked our way downriver, passing fly fisherman, wildlife, campgrounds, logjams and mountain forests to a spot near Gap Lake.