| Trip report and photos for our Mt. Athabasca climb: And other activities: |
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Early
rise and breakfast at the campsite. The weather was clear and cool,
no less than 50F. We drove to Banff and spent about 2 hours shopping
for needed supplies, fuel, equipment, sun tan lotion, iodine, etc.
We drove another ~2 hours up the Icefield Parkway (towards Jasper) to the
Columbia Icefield Visitor Center, and began our discussion on which mountain
to climb. After much needed advice from the rangers, and further
discussion among the group, we decided to spend 5 days on Mt. Athabasca
(picture on the right) and Mt. Andromeda. The plan was to make a
high camp on Athabasca, summit Athabasca via two different routes on two
different days, and then summit Andromeda on the final day. One extra
day was assumed for weather or miscellaneous reasons.
The Icefield Center Ranger Desk was very helpful with climbing condition and route information. A large avalanche had crossed the standard Athabasca route the previous week, and the rangers were very wary of continued rock, snow, and icefall. They sell full topo maps and small (but useful) pamphlets describing each of the dozen or so routes on both Athabasca and Andromeda. There is a voluntary climbing trip register in the Icefield Center, and another at the Athabasca/Andromeda trailhead. The Icefield Center Rangers also provides a safety registration service. You provide them with details concerning desired route, schedule, tent and pack colors, people, etc. and they commit to a rescue search if you do not return by the agreed date and time.
It was 8pm when we finished organizing and packing our gear in the Icefield
Visitor Center parking lot. The trailhead for both Athabasca and
Andromeda is located at a climbers' lot, about 1 km up the 3km-long Snocoach
road that runs alongside the Athabasca glacier. There is a gate to
the Snocoach road that is normally closed during the day, and is opened
to climbers at 7pm (so that you can start a one day climb at midnight).
But, after discussion with the Snocoach radio dispatcher at the Icefield
Visitor Center, we were approved to follow a bus through the gate and to
the climber's lot. The gate closes fast, so follow closely! 
We
parked the two cars at the climber's lot, and began hiking up a clearly
marked trail on the dirt/rock moraine at 5pm. The trail follows the
dirt and rock along the northern edge of the glacier. My pack was
heavier than any previous trip, and just picking it up made me nauseous.
About 90 minutes and several stops later the trail reached the edge of the glacier. A previous party had constructed a very nice rock shelter at the edge. We decided to build our own snow shelter on the glacier, but still close enough to the rock to use the rock protection as our kitchen. After about two hours of shoveling and construction, our two-tent shelter was complete (see picture on the left). We made dinner, and hit the tents at about 10pm. We planned for a 6am rise, and a summit via the Silverhorn route on Mt. Athabasca.
Luckily there was a flowing water source only 100 feet from our camp, which spared us the chore of boiling snow. There were no additional water sources further up the glacier.
The
rain started at about 3am, and continued until our wakeup time at 6am.
After limited discussion we decided to abort our departure time, and went
back to sleep.
At 9am the rain stopped and I went outside to surmise the snow conditions. The snow was very soft from the rain and warm night temperatures, and we decided to make our first day a weather rest day. By 10am the skies were blue and the sun was glaring. We spent the rest of the day putting on sun tan lotion, eating, and trying not to roast in the sun. It was like a day at the beach. Todd even baked a apple pie-cake (see image on the right). We did a limited scout climb further up the Athabasca glacier, to get a better view of the first half of the route. The route looked fairly basic until the base of the Silverhorn. The Silverhorn ridge appears to be no more than 40 degrees, and looked a bit icy at the top.
5:30am
wakeup. Clear skies, and a nice cold night. The snow felt great.
We left at 7am, and begin the trudge across the glacier. The Silvberhorn
route is outlined in green on the right. The North Face route (which
we would do the following day) is outlined in purple, and the normal route
(which we used to descend on both days) is outlined in red. There
was limited crevasse danger below (to the left of) the route, near the
toe of the glacier. There was also limited avalanche danger above
(to the right of) the route, which faced several large seracs and icefalls.
We reached the base of the Silverhorn at 8:30am and 10,200 feet, and began
our climb up the Silverhorn ridge. We used a running belay of pickets
up the first 2/3 of the Silverhorn, and ice screws the last 1/3.
There was one small Bergschrund to cross - a boot belay worked very nicely.
We reached the top of the Silverhorn by 10:30am, and climbed an easy snow
ridge to the 11,400' summit by 11am. The view at the top was worth
more than our efforts...the Columbia Icefield, Mt. Columbia, Mt. Bryce,
Mt. Andromeda, and about 100 other peaks that I could not identify.
A high cloud front had rolled in around 10am, but did not hinder our view
in any direction. These were the last clouds that we would see for
the rest of the trip.
We climbed back down to the top of the Silverhorn, and then slogged
down the normal route to camp. The normal route was relatively basic, except
for the traverse above several large crevasses and an icefall. No
snow or icefall danger. By noon the snow was complete mush, and made
our descent very annoying. We arrived back at camp by 2pm, and spent
the rest of the day enjoying the clear weather and resting on the camp
rocks.
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6am
wakeup. Another morning of clear skies, and another nice cold night
- the snow felt great again. We left camp at 7:30am, and trudged
back up to the base of the Silverhorn by 9am. We then crossed the
flat snow area at the base of the bowl beneath the various north face routes,
and began the normal north face route at 10am. The normal north face
route is the furthest left of the visible routes. We followed the
50-60 degree snow to the top of the ridge, and used a running deadman picket
belay as we climbed (see the picture of Ken & Mark on the right).
The face was steeper than the Silverhorn, but had no surprises. There
was one small bergshrund near the base of the face, that we easily stepped
across. At the top of the face was a snow ridge that we followed
to the right for about 100 feet where it ran into rock. The route
went to the right of the rock, along a snow & rock ledge, with a significant
drop down to the bowl on the right. The ledge continued no more than
50 feet, where we found a gully on the left. There was one piton
in the rock at the base of the gully and another at the top of the gully
(both on the left side of the gully). We also placed two screws in
the gully. The gully was steeper than the north face, but not by
much, and is short - no more than 100 vertical feet. The top of the
gully ended along another mixed rock & snow ridge to the right, with
significant drops on both sides. Follow the ridge up to the summit
- there are two short (10 feet) rock sections, which provided the most
trouble for our group. The ridge was also very mushy by midday, and
we were slow to the summit. I would not do the route again after
10am - much of the ridge is a big cornice, and I was sinking 2-3 feet into
it without knowing the thickness. We continued with our deadman picket
belay along the ridge, but the softness of the snow made anchor placement
difficult.
Once on top at 2pm, we enjoyed the view for the second time in two days, this time without a cloud in the sky. We again slogged down the normal route back to camp at 5pm - a much longer day than first anticipated.
The group was tired, and was not enthusiastic about the significant
slogging that would be required to summit Andromeda the next day.
So, we made the decision to leave, at 8pm, and return to the cars.
By 11pm we were in our tents at the Columbia Icefield Campground.
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By 4pm we were fully practiced-out, and had a much greater appreciation for our anchors and the Z-pulley system. We even did a little ice climbing out of the crevasse, which was fun.
As we approached the toe of the glacier, we realized that all of the tourists has disappeared, and had been replaced by about 20 rangers and other rescue staff wearing orange jackets. A small boy had fallen into a crevasse while scrambling around with his father, was wedged about 30 feet down, and was covered in snow that had also dropped on him during the fall. We briefly stopped to watch the rescue and talk to other observing rangers. The crevasse was too narrow to lower anyone else down, and the boy was firmly wedged in the ice at the bottom. We found out later that the boy was hauled out (alive) four hours later, but died in the hospital due to severe hypothermia later that evening.
We drove towards the town of Field in Yoho National Park. After failing to find a campsite near the Yoho Visitor Center, we drove into the park and camped at the Little Yoho Valley trailhead, at the base of Takakkaw Falls. This was also the trailhead for our planned hike the next day.
We
woke up at 9am, and drove to the Yoho Ranger Station to pick up hiking
permits. Clear skies, as usual. After a hearty breakfast in
the town of Field we returned to the Takakkaw Falls trailhead, packed up,
and started our hike. About 6 hours, 12 miles, and a dozen large
waterfalls later, we reached the upper Yoho Valley campsite, adjacent to
the CAC cabin. We made dinner, chewed a little tobacco, and hit the
tents. The hike that day was very impressive, boasting panoramic
views of several peaks, glaciers, roaring rivers, large waterfalls, and
dense forest.
We drove to a car-camp site at the base of Castle Mountain, picked up food, beer, and other souvenirs along the way. We BBQed at the campsite, and ventured to Lake Louise at about 10pm. We snuck into the 5-star Lake Louise Chateau, went for a swim in the Chateau pool, had a few drinks at the chateau bar, and returned to the camp late that night.
Overall, a great trip with a great bunch of guys. We had good weather, success on the mountain, and even learned more about our skills along the way.