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Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing, Backcountry Skiing

  • Avalanche
    • Avalanche Skills Training 1 – Canmore/Calgary
    • AST 1 (Classroom Webinar/Rockies Field Day)
    • Avalanche Skills Training 1 for Ice Climbers
    • Avalanche Skills Training 1 Refresher
    • Advanced Companion Rescue Course
    • Avalanche Skills Training 2 – Canadian Rockies
    • Avalanche Skills Training 2 – Rogers Pass
    • Avalanche Skills Training 2 – Purcell Lodge
  • Mountaineering
    • Beginner Programs
      • Scrambling Skills and Safety
      • Snow and Ice Long Weekend
      • Intro to Mountaineering
      • Women’s Intro to Mountaineering
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    • Intermediate and Advanced Programs
      • Yoho Peaks
      • Intro to Alpine Rock in the Bugaboos
      • Intro to Alpine Ice at the Columbia Icefields
      • Lake Louise Classics
      • Moraine Lake Alpine Classics
      • Rogers Pass Alpinist Camp
      • Bugaboos Granite
      • Tonquin Valley Alpine Climbing
    • Canadian Rockies 11,000ers
      • Mount Temple
      • Mount Willingdon
      • Mount Cline
      • Mt Woolley & Diadem
      • Mount Hector
      • Mount Athabasca
      • Mount Andromeda
      • Mt Joffre Expedition
      • Mount Victoria
      • Mt Edith Cavell
      • Mount Forbes
      • Mount Assiniboine
      • Mount Robson
    • Fast and Light Series
      • Castle Mountain
      • Mt Louis Kain Route
      • Bugaboo Spire – North East Ridge
      • Mt Sir Donald – Northwest Ridge
      • Mt Aberdeen
      • Mt Stanley
      • Mt Fay – West Ridge
      • Mt Temple – East Ridge
    • One-Day Crevasse Rescue for the Alpinist
    • Navigation 1 (Back to Basics with Map & Compass)
    • Navigation 2 (Digital Trip Planning & Electronic Navigation)
    • One Month Summer Mountaineering Program
    • Private Mountaineering and Guiding
      • Climb Mount Athabasca
      • Bugaboos Climbing Guides
      • Climb Mount Assiniboine
      • Climb Mount Robson
  • Skiing
    • Instructional Backcountry Skiing & Boarding
      • Intro to Backcountry Skiing & Splitboarding
      • Splitboarding Intro
      • Backcountry Freerider
      • Ultimate Steep & Deep Clinic
    • Guided Steep & Deep Programs
      • Rogers Pass Powder Skiing
      • Signature Series Splitboarding Camp with Justin Lamoureux
      • Kootenays Powder Adventure
      • Backcountry Powder Pass
    • Ski Mountaineering & Classic Traverses
      • Intro to Ski Mountaineering
      • Crevasse Rescue for Skiers & Splitboarders
      • The Wapta Traverse
      • Bow to Yoho Advanced Ski Week
      • Remote Ski Camp – Freshfields
      • Bugaboos to Rogers Pass Ski Traverse
    • 11’000ers Ski Programs
      • Mt Hector
      • The Lyells & Mons Ski Descents
      • Mt Columbia Ski Expedition
    • International Ski Trips
      • Troll Peninsula, Iceland Ski Safari
      • Rishiri Island Skiing in Japan
    • Navigation 1 (Back to Basics with Map & Compass)
    • Navigation 2 (Digital Trip Planning & Electronic Navigation)
    • One Month Backcountry Ski Program
    • Private Ski Guiding & Splitboarding
  • Rock Climbing
    • Rock Climbing Level 1 – Outdoor Rock Intro
    • Rock Climbing Level 2 – Learn to Lead
    • Rock Climbing Level 3 – Multi-Pitch Climbing Course
    • Rock Climbing Level 4 – Trad Rock Leader
    • Rock Climbing Level 5 – Rock Rescue
      • Foundational Rock Rescue
      • Advanced Rock Rescue
    • Signature Series Rock Leader with Sean Isaac
    • Hot Rock
    • Ghost Rock
    • El Potrero Chico Rock Road Trip
    • Beginner Experiential Rock Climbing
    • Multipitch & Instructional Rock Climbing
  • Ice Climbing
    • Ice Climbing Level 1 – Basic Ice
    • Ice Climbing Level 2 – Top Rope Management
    • Ice Climbing Level 1 & 2 – Ice Evolution
    • Ice Climbing Level 3 – Ice Leader
    • Ice Climbing Level 4 – Multi-Pitch Ice Leader
    • Steep Ice and Mixed Climbing Clinic
    • Drytooling Clinic
    • Rampart Creek Ice Camp
    • Ghost Ice Climbing Camp
    • ‘Hot’ Ice Climbing
    • Signature Series Ice Climbing with Sean Isaac
      • Early Season Ice Camp with Sean Isaac
      • Ice Leader Camp with Sean Isaac
      • Mixed Master Camp
      • Steep Ice Clinic with Sean Isaac
      • Mixed Climbing Clinic with Sean Isaac
      • Ice Lead Clinic with Sean Isaac
      • Multi-pitch Systems Clinic with Sean Isaac
    • Southern Ontario Ice Climbing
      • Southern Ontario – One-day Ice Climbing Essentials
      • Southern Ontario Ice Leader
    • Avalanche Skills for Ice Climbers
    • Beginner Experiential Ice Climbing
    • Private Multipitch & Instructional Ice Climbing
  • Mountain Semesters
    • 3-Month Mountain Skills Semester
    • 1-Month Summer Mountaineering Semester
    • 1-Month Ski & Splitboard Semester

July 28, 2010 By Sylvia Watson Leave a Comment

Kananaskis Alpine Traverse

It has taken a couple of days for my body recover from a fantastic hiking and mountaineering challenge – The Kananaskis Alpine Traverse with Dave, Nick, Duncan and Karen. What a great physical and mental challenge we had! We endured weather, long days, and big packs. To start the trip off we started our hike with heavy packs and hiked up to Three Isle Lake where we set up camp in the rain and snow.

After we ate one of Brian’s delicious meals we crawled into our warm dry tents for the night to see what mother nature would give us the next day. Waking up at 6:00 am it was still snowing and blowing – ahhhhh… July in the Canadian Rockies!

We decided to stay put for the day since we needed to have good weather to traverse Northover Ridge to Aster Lake. This area is stunningly beautiful so to enjoy the area we did a day hike up to Beatty Pass. This was a good decision because it snowed all day and we made our packs lighter for the Ridge walk by eating a days food.

On day three we woke to almost clear skies and a fresh blanket of July snow on the alpine peaks. As soon as we gained the col from Mt. Worthington onto Northover Ridge, the cloud set in and we had a long challenging day navigating the ridge in a whiteout. Just as we made our way over to the col where we descend into Aster Lake, the clouds lifted and we had a nice 300m bum slide down the mountain side. This was well deserved for our tired legs!

We hit camp at Aster Lake after a nine hour day. The forth day revealed blue skies making us excited for a summit attempt of Mt. Joffre. We charged right up to the North Face of this classic 11,000 footer. The conditions were just right for us to step kick our way up to the summit. But as we were just cresting the 11,100ft level the summit disappeared into the clouds and unfortunately stuck to the mountain. Given the time of day and the fatigue level of us all, we made the decision to turn around.

A true summit success was not registered but it sure seemed liked the top of the world from our vantage point. Then on our last day we hiked out to the trailhead and reentered civilization anticipating a warm shower and cold beverage. However, it was nice to feel remote and removed from the hustle of the Bow Valley during the summer time. This beautiful area of Kananaskis is rarely travelled given the long days and heavy packs required to carry all food, camping gear and mountaineering equipment for 5 days.

If you are looking for a physical and mental challenge, this hike may just be for you. It is not a walk in the park. This trip is one of our most physically demanding adventures and is recommended only for experienced hikers who are very fit and used to carrying heavy packs. The mountaineering is not technical but when combined with big travel days my hat goes off to those who power through this mountain adventure.

Nicholas Rapaich

Filed Under: Trip Reports

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