Canmore

Canmore over the long weekend. Originally to do a bit of late season climbing with Ross. However, in a word, it was c-c-cold. Snowing when we arrived on Friday night and a low of -9 or something. So we did a couple of snowy scrambles and enjoyed the sound of snow crunching underfoot again.

Ross got delayed on a business trip so Brenda and I strolled around chilly Canmore on Saturday morning. After meeting Ross around midday we started up Fairview in the early afternoon. It only takes a few hours to hike up Fairview and we were quickly rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views of the area for very little effort.

I had my first view of the Aberdeen glacier since trying to climb Aberdeen about 10 years ago. We were pummeled by rock fall that day and were very lucky to walk away. Ross had a similar experience just this summer.

Aberdeen Glacier


Ross and Brenda on Fairview


Caution, rant below. Sorry Brenda.

Did you know that you can rent a canoe on the beautiful shores of Lake Louise in Banff National Park? That's right. You give the nice man forty-five dollars and you can paddle about for thirty minutes.

Wait a minute. Forty-five dollars? Forty-five dollars!? For 30 stinkin' minutes!?

That is mental. Banff is (supposedly) a national park, not some tacky tourist trap designed to fleece people of their money. It's undignified. It's pathetic.

Anyway, back to the weekend. On Sunday we tried to scramble up to the south summit of Mount Indefatigable in Kananaskis. First we got up late. Then we drove to a trailhead, thought we were in the wrong place, and then doubled back many kilometers only to find out that we had in fact been in the right place. Then after starting from the car we immediately missed the turn off to the trail and hiked for an hour in the wrong direction. Again we doubled back. A couple of hours later we blithely trudged past a trail junction for the south summit and instead headed up towards the north summit! It was comical.

Still, we had a nice day slogging around in the snow and mud. We didn't quite make the summit since it was plastered with wet snow and getting late.

Mount Indefatigable


On the way up I encountered a gentleman wearing an English football jersey but I couldn't tell which club it was. Upon inquiry he pulled a pack strap aside to reveal the word "Forest".

"Ah, Nottingham", I said, which left him pretty chuffed. He of course asked where my allegiances lay. At first he seemed dead suspicious when I told him Liverpool.

"What's your connection with 'em?", he asked.

"I'm from Liverpool", I replied.

"Oh". His expression softened. "That's all right then. I hoped you weren't like one of them prawn eating Manchester United fans is all."

It's the little things in life :)