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Date |
Round Trip Time |
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| 1st Time |
05 Jan 02 |
5:05 |
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These are all John's pictures. I haven't got mine developed yet, but I should have them soon.
We actually put cars at both ends of the circuit. This saves the 5km walk back up the icefields parkway. It seemed
that a lot of people hitch hike back up the road, but this could be difficult in the afternoon because most traffic is
heading south at that time. The trail starts nicely through the trees, then out into open slopes. You zig zag your way
to the shoulder on the north side of Dolomite Peak. Here we see everyone getting ready to go again after a quick
water/snack break. Weather that day was really nice.
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As the morning went on, the day warmed up. Here we see myself taking off a layer. The uphill grind and the warm
temperatures made for a very pleasant body temperature level.
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Here we see Alan, Andy and Steve making their way over the north shoulder of Dolomite Peak.
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Looking back toward the highway from the crest of the shoulder, we see Andy and myself coming up.
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As you come over that shoulder, you have the choice of following the circuit or detouring left
and making a quick run above Katherine Lake. As you can see from Alan's track, we chose to make
the run. It probably added about 200 ft of height gain and maybe 15 minutes to our journey, but
it was worth it. Steve was saying that you can often get a really good run in right there.
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High above Katherine Lake, this is where we took the skins off and prepared for our quick run. Steve
and I both hit a rock, but everybody else was fine. Snow coverage was pretty good, and the run was very
enjoyable. Behind us, you can see Cirque Peak. The winds have kept the snow off that peak.
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After crossing Katherine Lake and rounding the north end of Dolomite Peak, we found ourselves in the shade.
The wind picked up a little bit, and the temperature dropped significantly. It was chilly. Here we see Steve and Andy
putting their skins on. In the very background, you can see me still chugging along.
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Here we are making our way to Dolomite Pass. Once there, the ski down the wide gully on the south side of the pass
is great. Eventually, you will get to some tree skiing in pretty tight trees. This is more like bushwhacking than
common glade skiing. Once through that, the trail is a series of rolling terrain. Five feet up, five feet down,
five feet up, etc. John and I were the only two on AT gear. Alan, Andy and Steve were on tele-gear, and we were able to
keep up with them until this point. Without wax on our skis, they left us in the dust. Overall, it was a great day.
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