New Page 1

Mount Olive – February 11, 2006

Mountain height:   3,130 m (10,269 feet)
Elevation gain:      1,160 m
Ascent time:          6:30
Descent time:        3:30

Ski mountaineering with Raff, Jason, and Vern.

This trip was Raff’s idea and what a great one it turned out to be. Perfect weather (clear, warm, and windless), good skiing conditions, fantastic scenery and views, and great company – all the ingredients for a thoroughly enjoyable day in the mountains. This was also an opportunity for me to finally meet Vern. Surprisingly, this was our first trip together, even though we had known of each other for about two and half years, through the Rocky Mountain Webboard.

To be honest, I spent the first several hours of the trip wondering why on earth I was even attempting this mountain. I had about three hours of sleep and was constantly plagued by flashbacks of our nightmarish descent of Mount Gordon , almost exactly one year ago. I quickly fell behind the rest of the group, the skis still feeling very awkward, even though Mark and I had spent several days at downhill ski resorts earlier this year, to try to get used to them and improve our downhill skills. The ascent pace was also quite fast (for me, anyway) and I was more than surprised to arrive at the Bow Hut in just over two hours – a solid hour faster than the Gordon trip. Unfortunately, I was also quite fatigued by then. A short break at the hut helped me to revitalize my energy level.

Atop the Wapta Glacier, the already amazing scenery really opened up and one-by-one, the stunning peaks of the icefield rose into prominence. I had already experienced this visually breath-taking panorama, on our ascent of St. Nicholas, a year ago, but it was every much as satisfying and stunning on this day. Raff, Vern, and Jason had not (their previous Wapta Icefield experiences done in whiteout conditions) and I’m sure their delight at the surrounding scenery was equally gratifying (of course, I was once again lagging behind and couldn’t ask them personally!).

At the St. Nicholas/Olive col, out came the cameras, followed by ten straight minutes of camera clicking and posing. Everyone was thoroughly impressed with the phenomenal scenery. It was a welcome rest for me, as I was feeling the strains of exhaustion and had struggled to keep pace with the MUCH YOUNGER members of the group (ie. all three of them) – a convenient, if misguided, rationalization!

The ascent to the north summit of Olive, was fast and relatively easy (some pretty deep snow on the east side and a little exposure on the west), and highlighted (or lowlighted, depending on your perspective) by Jason’s shirtless ascent – I’m sure Vern will have some revealing pictures on his site. At the north summit Vern suggested we return to the col and try for St. Nicholas too, however, when he found out that the south summit was, in fact, the true summit he vehemently exclaimed, “I’m not going to have some $%#@ tell me I have to go back to because I didn’t bag the true summit!”, and so off we went.

The traverse to the true summit again straightforward, however, there were a couple of trickier moves as we negotiated the heavily corniced ridge. Without crampons we wouldn’t have made it. Easier terrain led to the summit and yet another phenomenal panorama. For another ten minutes, it was like the paparazzi up there – cameras madly clicking as the four of us jostled for position to best capture the view (not a difficult task, given that the sky was clear and we were completely surrounded by a sea of magnificent peaks). Mount Balfour was especially breath-taking and after a length summit stay, we had to force ourselves to leave. There was still the possibility of nabbing St. Nicholas, but daylight was a concern – a concern for all but me: I was physically wiped-out by then and had no illusions of bagging any more peaks. Even if I hadn’t already completed St. Nicholas, my uncertainty regarding the descent and present lack of energy precluded at attempt.

Arriving at the col, the boys decided to go for St. Nicholas, while I started the descent. This turned out to be a great plan. I was worried that my limited skiing ability would hold up the group and this would give me a big head-start. Also, the group could see the entirety of my descent off the glacier, from the ridge of St. Nicholas, just in case I decided to ski into a crevasse

For me, this was now the day’s moment of truth – had the several days at a downhill resort paid off, or would I suffer a miserable repeat of last year’s Mount Gordon travesty?? Let’s such say that I don’t think Chic Scott has anything to fear yet! The answer to the question is a little of both. I made it down to the Bow Hut in good time and had a far easier and more enjoyable descent just above the Hut. Granted, the descent was far from spectacular (looking back at some of the “S’s” I carved, many of them were so big, they would have hardly fit into the state of Alabama !), but it was a huge improvement from last year. Just before I got to the hut, I saw a couple of figures near the St. Nicholas summit – the boys had done it: Olive and St. Nicholas in a single day.

Unfortunately, at that same time, I was also starting to struggle with the skiing. In my physically depleted condition, the very little amount of technique I possess went out the window, and I was getting quite sloppy. I did manage to complete the rest of the descent in somewhat respectable fashion, but there were certainly acres of room for improvement and on more than one occasion, I was glad there was no one around to witness my gracelessness on skis.

While I stumbled back to the car in a state of utter exhaustion, Raff, Vern, and Jason, arrived only 20 minutes after me and all seemed to have energy to spare. I was thoroughly impressed with their accomplishment: Olive and St. Nicholas, car to car, in a single day and all in less than eleven hours – hats off to you guys and well done.

Thanks Raff, Jason, and Vern for an absolutely fantastic day!

Click to see: Raff's page and Vern's page

Raff, Vern, and Jason and the end of Bow Lake, with St. Nicholas seeing some sun, at the left

Mount St. Nicholas, from near the Bow Hut

The incredibly photogenic form of Mount St. Nick again

The sun behind St. Nick, with the boys ahead

Jason breaks trail to the Olive/St. Nick col; the two summits of Olive (centre) and Mount Gordon (right)

Starting the ascent to the col; the true summit of Olive on the right

Mount Collie from the col

Mount St. Nicholas from the ridge of Olive; Mount Chephren just right of centre

Jason and Raff circumvent a small rockband on the ridge

Jason and more ridge scenery

Looking back to the continuously smaller-looking form of St. Nick

Raff (high up) approaches the north summit; Jason in front - no, he's not wearing a flesh-coloured top, he's simply half-naked, at this point! (more close-up picture on Vern site, perhaps to come soon? - if you're into that kinda thing!)