| |
Date |
Ascent Time |
Descent Time |
| 1st Time |
22 May 99 |
incomplete |
incomplete |
| 2nd Time |
21 May 00 |
incomplete |
incomplete |
| 3rd Time |
20 May 01 |
incomplete |
incomplete |
| 4th Time |
03 May 03 |
incomplete |
incomplete |
| 5th Time |
12 May 04 |
incomplete |
incomplete |
| 6th Time |
03 Jun 04 |
12:30 |
7:00 |
Due to a lot of delays in getting to the Icefields, we didn't arrive until 23:00. We figured, why bother trying
to get some sleep. We just got out of the truck, had some coffee, packed up our gear, and started. Here we see
myself at 23:15 standing in the climber's parking lot. It wasn't nearly as dark as the picture makes out. For
the first week in June on the Columbia Icefields, the sun goes down around 23:00 and comes back up around 0430.
Add the bright full moon, and you've got nice conditions.
|
|
So, we left the climbers lot, and eventually made our way up the SnoCoach ice road to the ice parking lot. Here
we see Harvey taking his skis off his pack and getting ready to venture out across the Athabasca Glacier. Despite it
being 00:30, it really wasn't that dark. On the far left, some might think that is me, but it's really Dan's fat ass
getting in the way.
|
|
We didn't take a lot of pictures coming up the Athabasca headwall, but shortly after 0400, we were ready to start
our descent into the Trench. Here we see myself standing next to a large crevasse as the sun starts to come up
behind us.
|
|
We stopped for a break inside the Trench. Here we see Dan (middle of the picture) with the west side of the trench behind him. You can
see a crevasse behind him, and if you look closely, you can see the top of Mt. Columbia. Our ascent out of the Trench
goes left of the crevasse.
|
|
Here we see the Twins, as seen from the Trench, with the sun starting to come up behind them. South Twin is on the left,
while North Twin is on the right.
|
|
Here we are coming out of the Trench with the sun coming up. In the background on the left is Mt. Andromedia.
Just for reference, Dan was the front guy, with Harvey in the middle, and yours truly in the back. We kept this
order until we got close to the base of Columbia. We reversed the rope order for the last km of the approach.
|
|
The morning alpinglow was fantastic.
|
|
Here we are approaching Columbia. This section was a lot longer than it looked. We kept skiing and skiing, but
the peak just wasn't getting closer. At this point, the legs started to go into auto-pilot, and Dan and I both
experienced some dozing-off while in the walking motion. Very strange feeling. I'm sure a crevasse fall would
wake us up.
|
|
Here is a closer look at the east face. We just followed the red line. The horizontal line shows where we
ditched our skis. You could easily ski down this face, but I wouldn't want to do it roped up. Of course, then
it's dangerous because of crevasses. We just plunged-stepped our way down, and that worked out okay.
|
|
We stopped at the base for a 45 minute break. We had brought a stove, so we made 6 more litres of water (2 each),
which is what we drank getting to this point. We would take one litre to the summit, then use the other litre to
get from the base of Columbia, back to the truck. In the picture, we see myself with Harvey in the background.
|
|
With water melted, we started to pack up and head for the summit. Here we see Harvey standing next to me with our
route behind us. Harvey gives it the "thumb's up".
|
|
We all took turns leading the way, but Harvey, in the middle of the rope, led most of it... like here.
|
|
Here we see myself following up behind Harvey. SnowDome and Kitchener are in the background.
|
|
Eventually, the angle eases-off for a short bit. We took a rest at that point. Here, we see myself taking a rest with
Mt. Bryce peaking out above the clouds in the distance.
|
|
Here is Harvey just waiting for the rest of us to get going again. He was in great shape.
|
|
Here is Harvey topping out on the summit ridge. Harvey was much more stylish than I was. When I topped out, I
just bent over at the waist, completely exhausted.
|
|
When you top out, you have two summits about equal height. I'm standing on one, taking a picture of Dan and
Harvey heading over to the other one. About where Dan is standing (up front), there is a crevasse that I found
on the way to the other summit. Of course, then I sunk my entire leg in it on the way back. It's not like I
didn't know it was there.
|
|
So, here we are at the summit. From left ot right, we have myself, Harvey and Dan. Dan and I belong to an
informal climbing group called the "Old Goats Climbing Club". We just recently got some really nice CoolMax
shirts, which Dan and I decided to wear on top of Alberta's highest point.
|
|
Here is a nice picture of Kitchener and SnowDome, as seen from Columbia's summit. It's not every day, you
can look down upon one of the Canadian Rockies 11,000 fters. Snow Dome is more than 1,000 ft lower.
|
|
One more summit shot. Here we see Harvey with Mt. Alberta behind him.
|
|
Here we are, back at the top of the Athabasca Headwall. With the sun starting its afternoon descent, we were taking
one last break before starting our own descent. On the left, we have myself, and on the right, we see Harvey. In the middle,
we see Mt. Columbia.
|
|
While at the summit, I did a full panorama picture. Click on the image below to enlarge.
|
|
|
