Monday, August 3, 2020

Milestones on Dolomite Peak

This past Sunday, we tagged Dolomite Peak in the Icefields Parkway, and achieved a pretty big milestone in the process. I hadn't been keeping count of my peak bagging numbers, but did a quick tally on Friday night and discovered that I had scrambled up 99 unique peaks in the Canadian Rockies. It felt rather appropriate then, that checking off number 100 would happen on a difficult scramble that would scare off most others. The route was very technical, and involved climbing up a steep and narrow chute full of loose rock, that required a lot of carefully coordinated movements on both the ascent and descent to prevent unleashing deadly rockfall onto each other.

I was super proud of the fact that Anita bagged this peak like a champ, despite a very slow and difficult descent that involved a few moments of terror and sliding uncontrolled down a steep slope. As it turns out in retrospect, we discovered that this was Anita's 60th unique peak scrambled in the Rockies. So it feels extra special that we both hit personal milestones while conquering such a difficult and technically demanding mountain.

Trust me on this one, you'll want to check out the photos.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-17
Anita and I, looking towards Mt. Hector.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-3
The imposing cliff bands of Dolomite peaks 3, 4, and 5 loom above.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-2
Taking a breather, before the technical scrambling begins.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-4
Climbing up towards a narrow chute.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-5

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-6

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-7
Just below the summit, but still some route finding and scrambling to go.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-8

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-9
Summit of Dolomite peak 4.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-10

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-11
Stunning views from the summit.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-12

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-13

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-14
Summit brew: Cabin Brewing's Cool As Cucumber Lime Gose. Super refreshing for a hot day.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-15
Looking further up the Icefield's Parkway, with Cirque peak in the foreground

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-16

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-18
Starting the descent.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-19

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-20
Taking in the views from an adjacent high point before dropping back down to the descent gully.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-21

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-22
A whole lot of technical downclimbing involved on the descent.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-23

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-24

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-25
Some awkward movements needed to bypass a loose ledge.

Dolomite Peak - Aug 2020-1
The 7 imposing peaks of Dolomite, as seen from the below the ascent gullies.

1 comment:

  1. Wow!!!! Congratulations on your personal accomplishments and especially on this particular challenge! Your pics tell the story well!

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