September
11, 2011
Scrambling
with Mark.
A
couple
of factors conspired to ensure we wouldn’t be seeing the summit of
Mount Fox on
this beautiful September day. Nevertheless, because of the magnificent
scenery
at Frozen Lake and some terrific views on the way up, I would put the
attempt
in our Top 5 Failures.
We
took
bikes for the approach, but I incorrectly chose to follow the hydroline
trail
instead of the hiking trail to Elk Pass. On the map the hydroline trail
had a
bicycle symbol on it and so it seemed to be the easiest way to go.
Arriving at
a critical intersection sometime later, we were then forced to lose a
huge
amount of elevation in order to get to the Frozen Lake trailhead. 
Although it
was fun coasting downhill, this little detour cost us valuable time and
energy.
An
easy
if not terribly scenic hike to Frozen Lake followed. Even though our
intel
(perhaps a little dramatic, but I love that word!) hinted that Frozen
Lake was
quite impressive, neither Mark nor I expected it to be so incredibly
spectacular as it actually was. We took an extended break to soak in
the
amazing views of the clear lake backdropped by the impressive, steep,
limestone
walls of Mount Fox. A
small, but
resilient glacier below those walls and the beautiful greens of grass
and trees
to the right completed this picture perfect view.
The
steep
hike up those grassy slopes was as equally impressive, passing by
striking
pinnacles and fins of glacially-carved limestone. At the top
of the slopes, we took
another quick break and started up the ridge. We were still optimistic
about
making the summit at this point.
Unfortunately, our pace up the steep ridge was slower than expected. Knowing the descent would take as much time as going up, we wisely decided to call it a day 350 vertical metres from the top. Continuing would not have been a recipe for an epic, but neither Mark nor I was in the mood for a long day. Mark was probably a little more bummed out about turning around, but this was his first time out in several months. Personally I was just happy to back in the mountains with my bro!
