East End of Rundle attempt IV January 16, 2005

Mountain height:       2,590 m (8,495 ft)
Elevation gain:          900 m (we made it about halfway up)
Roundtrip time:         approx.
4:00

Scrambling with Linda.

Report by Linda Breton. 

Going to the mountains is going home.  ~  John Muir

Since it had been over a month since my last trip to the mountains, I was pretty desperate even to see their faces. A scramble would even be better, I thought. Drew suggested the East End of Rundle (EEOR), then graciously agreed to join me (thus foregoing his beloved football).

The scramble itself is not very difficult, quite short, and very close to a good hot meal afterwards (Canmore). Perfect for a cold winter’s day! Switchbacks through a forest, which was surprisingly fragrant despite the chilling temperatures, led to a more open ridge area. The ridge is filled with a myriad of routes to choose from, including fun scrambly bits over interesting rock outcrops. The snow posed very little problem in most of these areas, though that was probably due to someone breaking trail for me.

At an open point on the ridge, we came across a large boulder that had a log-lever installed under its north side. Concerned by somebody’s sadistic sense of fun, we carefully removed the log, allowing the boulder to stay at its panoramic viewpoint.

Shortly into the scramble, it had become obvious that this would be a very cold trip. The wind-chill was far worse than either of us had expected. As we gained altitude, venturing into more sparsely treed areas of the ridge, the full effects of the gale could be felt. Despite having trouble peering through a gap in the excessive headwear around my face, I still managed to freeze a small area of cheekbone. The condensation in my jacket iced up, and it felt more like I was wearing a soft-sided cooler, sadly minus the beer. Drew also began to suffer from a persistent problem of frozen digits. We made the call to turn around about halfway up, somewhat disappointed by the failure, but still happy with the lovely views even at this point. It’s always great to be out in the mountains again!

Ha Ling Peak (left) and Lawrence Grassi (right)

 

Looking to the south towards the Goat Range and Spray Lake; notice the log protruding from under the huge boulder - some absolute moron(s) was obviously trying to topple the rock from it's resting place; it would have gone hurling down the southwest side of mountain, destroying everything in its path (we did remove the log!)  

 

Linda, on the ridge and trying to stay warm 

 

Another look at Ha Ling Peak (photo by Linda)

 

The upper slopes of East Rundle (photo by Linda)

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