Sunday, September 4, 2022

Mt. Athabasca!

It's about time I climbed the Mtn in the photos on our living room wall, from about 8-9 years ago! Mt. Athabasca, the peak on the LHS of the Columbia icefield. We don't much like the word epic, so I won't use it 🙂 What a great way to round out the summer. Summit views bit smokey, but just gobsmacked by the glaciation that surrounded us.
Of course, we scramblers go up the backside.


From Tom Amaral's trip report a few years back: 'Ten years ago the AA glacier probably spanned the whole valley but its shrinkage (and that of other glaciers in the area) now allows intrepid scramblers to sneak up beside the icefall and sidehill in tedious scree to the summit, no glacier travel required.'


Very happy campers


Vaughan on Silverhorn
Snowdome in the background, (3,451 m) is North America’s only triple continental divide. Snow and ice from its summit can melt into any one of the 3 oceans surrounding our continent (Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic).
Mount Columbia (3,747 m), the highest peak in Alberta and second highest in the Canadian Rockies.
Ready for the summit
Saskatchewan glacier
The 3 summits of Mt. Bryce to the right and below that is Mt. Castleguard.
Crazy icefall coming off of Mt. Andromeda.
Chillin' on the summit
Looking down on Athabasca's north glacier. Icefields visitor center below, Mt. Wilcox on the RHS.
Found the minecraft ducky on the way up, along with a pair of prescription glasses. Wonder if that person found their way down....
Athabasca/Andromeda glacier
Vaughan pointing to.....
The snowcoach bus and the tourists on the Athabasca glacier/Columbia icefields.
AA glacier and Mt. Andromeda.
Home free on the snowcoach road after a 12 hour day.