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Alpine Classics Barry Blanchard

Alpine Classics Barry Blanchard - 3 day

Cost: $2495 CDN

Includes guiding, hut fees, Lake Louise Hostel, out trip meals, Park Wilderness Pass and use of technical equipment.

Three-day program: $1395 CDN - Join us for the first three days of this program.  Includes guiding, hut fees, lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 3, Park Wilderness Pass and use of technical equipment.

Not included: Pre and Post program accommodation, personal hiking equipment, Gratuities & taxes.

Trip Cancellation Insurance is available through Travel Guard.

Optional pre and post trip accommodation packages  are available from $80 per person per night for shared room lodging ($160 for single occupancy). Purchase with booking. Subject to availability.

Is it for you?

This is a strenuous and demanding program involving lots of height gain, not only to the peaks but also to the huts. So you need to be in good shape as this program involves multiple days of alpine climbing. You should have at least basic mountaineering experience. In the context of Yamnuska's program we suggest you have at least Snow and Ice Long Weekend or Intro to Mountaineering.

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Home >> Mountaineering >> Intermediate and Advanced Programs >> Alpine Classics with Barry Blanchard

Alpine Classics with Barry Blanchard

The Lake Louise group is one of the jewels of Canadian Mountaineering. A true Canadian treasure, there are so many good days to be spent in the mountains here. We've put together a week with the aims of getting up some of the finest routes in the group, and sharing those experiences over casual dinners with our fellow climbers. On the third night I'll present a slideshow on some of my finest days in the mountains from Mt Robson to Mt Everest, with stops in most of the major mountain ranges in the world. Join me, I know that we will have a grand time!

 

Barry Blanchard
Associate Director
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

Day 1:  We'll meet at the Yamnuska office in Canmore at 7:30am check equipment and food, and then drive west to catch the bus into Lake O'Hara. We'll walk the shores of Lake O'Hara and Lake Oesa, two of the most beautiful lakes in the Rockies. Then we'll put on our helmets and thread our way up the steep talus and scree gully that leads to phenomenal Abbott Pass Hut. Built by Swiss Mountain Guides and Italian stone masons in the 1920s, this limestone mountain hut sits at 9598 feet astride a col that links Mt Lefroy to Mt Victoria. The hut is a National Historic Site, where else can you sit on the john with one foot in Alberta and the other in BC!

Days 2 & 3:  Our objectives will be the West Face of Mt Lefroy and the Southeast Ridge of Mt Victoria, the later being one of the finest alpine ridge climbs in Canada. The mountains will decide which ascent we'll try first. However it plays out, we will be descending to the Canadian Alpine Centre in Lake Louise on Monday night. This may be via the Fuhrmann Ledges on Mt Lefroy, or by the Huber Ledges after an ascent of Mt Victoria, and possible ascent of Mt Huber, or we may opt to go down the way we came up. That night we'll share dinner in Lake Louise before collapsing into bed.

Day 4:  A day to recover and relax. The best rock climbing in the Rockies is a half hour walk along the shore of Lake Louise. The hiking is as good as it gets, and there is the option of more mountaineering for those who have the energy. We'll enjoy another team dinner, then Barry Blanchard will present a slideshow "Good days in the Mountains on a Global Basis".

Days 5 - 7: We'll dedicate these days to more climbing around Lake Louise. Lake Louise is steeped in Canadian Alpine history and we'll take in as much of it as we can! There are a number of options depending on conditions and how energy levels are but a few of Barry's favourites are listed below:

  • The traverse of Haddo Peak and Mt Aberdeen - a fine walk in the sky
  • The North Peak of Mt Victoria
  • Popes Peak
  • The East Ridge of Unamed Peak
  • Mt Collier
  • Mt Whyte
  • The Southwest Ridge of Mt Temple
  • The North Glacier of Mt Hector
  • The traverse from Mt Collier to the Narao Peak another fine walk in the sky, but a long one, one that will require an alpine bivouac. How exciting is that?

What we don't get this camp, we can save for the future.

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