Mount Allan
December 29, 2001
Mountain height: 2819 m
Elevation gain: 1485 m
Hiking with Mark.
On the eighth
shortest day of the year and in the dead of winter, completing a 16 km
round-trip hike with almost 1500 m of elevation gain may not have been the most
logical choice for the day. However, we had heard great things about Mount
Allan and were very motivated to give the ascent a try.
Once above
treeline, the trip took on a life of its own, featuring:
1.
A super cool
inversion, with clouds forming below us
2.
Amazing frost coated
trees and ice crystals visible in the air
3.
A pack of
wolves stalking a deer
4.
Unreal rock
scenery throughout
5.
And a fantastic
summit view.
However, the
ascent did take longer than expected and a very hurried return was in order in to avoid
descending in the dark. Once back to the false summit, near the Nakiska Ski Resort,
we actually considered descending one of the ski runs instead of the trail. Fortunately,
the Centennial Trail is an excellent one, allowing for generally fast travel.
We stuck to it and made it back to the parking lot just as darkness set in.
Our high expectations
for the trip didn’t even come close to the reality – totally awesome trip!
The frosty trees and cool cloud layer
Mount Lorette (left) and Mount Baldy (right)
Awesome inversion
Views of Wind Mountain (the fourth peak of Mount Lougheed) are fantastic once half the elevation is gained
Also fantastic are a row of impressive pinnacles
The pinnacles from below
Looking back at the pinnacles and a section called the "Mushroom Garden"
The most spectacular of the pinnacles is informally named "The Claw"!
The End
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