Skaha Bluffs Crag Sampler
Hiked around Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park today and photographed a random sample of some of the climbing areas....
Claim It All - "Father's Day" (5.9) and "Morning Thief" (5.10a)
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Hiked around Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park today and photographed a random sample of some of the climbing areas....
Elusive Edge - climber on "Golden Pie Crust Award" (5.10a)
The Belfry - no climbers here today (nesting Great Horned Owls). Everything in this photo is 5.12a to 5.14a.
Morning Glory - "Black Acid" (5.10a)
Maternal Wall - climber (in blue) hang-dogging on "Banana Blender" (5.11d)
Screeching Wall - climber on "Ascent of Mudman" (5.10a)
Blipvert - climber lowering on "Apricot Jam" (5.12c)
Grandstand Boulder (North Face) - "Basement Abortion", the 5.10a crack climb.
Grandstand Boulder (East Face) - "Goosepimply Bizarre" (5.10d) on the left side, and "Scraping a Living" (5.10d) - "Climbs the centre of the highest part of this face and doesn't have one solid or positive hold. Well, maybe a couple."
Fern Gully, with Tippling Tower in the distance.
Lower Red Tail Wall - climber surmounting the roof on "Hiking with Howie"(5.10a)
Claim It All - "Father's Day" (5.9) and "Morning Thief" (5.10a)
Rest day (from climbing) at Skaha, so I spent the day hiking about the park, checking out climbing crags, taking some photos, and generally relaxing.
Skaha has it's hazards, and I don't mean high first bolts, long run outs, or awkward anchors....no, we're talking about the big three....rattlesnakes, ticks, and poison ivy!
After my encounter with this guy, who was determined not to yield the trail to some out-of-towner tourist from Alberta, I dug a tick out of my scalp, then skirted several devious patches of poison ivy pretending to be innocent spring shoots!
Great views of Penticton, though...
...and throughout the park, the flora and fauna were amazing today. Unfortunately, I neglected to bring a bird book and a long lens.
I photographed a few of the climbing areas, and will put these up in another post.
A really great half-day hike (2-3 hours), but as with most hikes in Bryce Canyon, save some energy for the uphill workout back to the rim!
Darkness in the canyons and light on the peaks. April evenings in Zion National Park.
For a quieter hike in Zion National Park, avoiding the masses in Zion Canyon, we can highly recommend the easy 5 mile (round-trip) walk via Pine Valley to the Northgate Peaks Overlook.
From the town of Virgin, drive north on the Kolob Terrace Road to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead (at the 2nd hairpin bend, 15 miles from Virgin). This road is a beautiful drive, even if you don't plan on hiking.
The hike to Northview Peaks Overlook has essentially no elevation change and would be an ideal outing for families with young children. The trail is easy to follow and well sign-posted.
The view from the overlook is expansive, looking south into Arizona and northwest to the 10,000' Pine Valley Mountains.
Take the park shuttle to the Grotto Picnic Area in Zion Canyon. The trail to Angels Landing is about 5 miles return with 1500' elevation gain and ascends first from the valley to Scout Lookout via a marvelously engineered route including a series of switchbacks ("Walter's Wiggles"). Angels Landing is a hugely popular hike (for good reason) and you are unlikely to be alone.
The canyon views from Scout Lookout are spectacular. The next part of the trail is the ascent of the exposed ridge to the summit of Angels Landing. There is a chain in most of the tricky spots, and on a dry, clear day, this trail is straightforward (unless you are afraid of heights!). God help you if it starts raining or there is lightning about! People have plummeted to their death from this trail...so watch your step!
If you don't feel up to the Angels Landing stretch, then instead head north from Scout Lookout for a mile or so along the Lower West Rim Trail for equally impressive vistas, with a much reduced risk of sudden death!
Heading off to the desert tomorrow, back to Utah for some downtime and hiking.... "Desert Solitaire"
“Men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear - the earth remains, slightly modified. The earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break....I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun.”
- Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness
Skied the Surprise Pass circuit near Lake Louise February 12th with Todd, and guided by Greg Yavorsky (Yamnuska Mountain Adventures). The day was overcast, but visibility was good, so no problems with navigation or negotiating the steep terrain.
From the Lake Louise parking lot, we skied up to the Saddleback and traversed below Mt. Fairview. Some tricky route finding above cliffs brought us into the Valley below Mt. Haddo and Mt. Aberdeen.
Here's the view up to Surprise Pass - yikes, we have to ski up there?!
The view down to Lake Louise was.....steep.
The ski down was everything from "don't fall here, you'll cannonball into those rocks", to blissful untracked powder, to hardpack and crust, then powder again covering death rocks.
And the finish, back at the Chateau Lake Louise. A very enjoyable day on a classic Rockies ski tour. Great companionship - thanks Todd and Greg!
On Sunday, February 5th, I joined a University of Calgary trip, guided by Doug Latimer, to Crowfoot Mountain, above Bow Lake on the Icefields Parkways. As you can see from the photos, the weather was superb. Views of the Wapta Icefield area were outstanding.
Although we didn't make it all the way to the summit, the highpoint (pass) had great vistas in all directions. Great turns back down to the Bow Hut trail, then the always rather tedious sidestepping, poling, skating exercise back to the cars at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge.
Fun group, spectacular weather....doesn't get much better really.
An armchair-mountaineer pathologist with a passion for the outdoors/fitness and interests in travel, photography, medical education, German language study, London, and Scotland
