Trip Report - Mt. Elpoca East Ridge

I can’t find the words to describe how beautiful this minor ridge in the Highwood Pass was this past weekend. Even despite the cold biting 60 - 80km wind gusts, and some steep postholing en route to gaining the ridge crest, we agreed it was a super fun adventure. Check out the photos to see some of the interesting terrain we got to tromp around in.

Traversing this steep snow slope just below the ridge crest was probably the crux of the day.


































Eighty Eight Brewing Co's Hydration Station Hazy Pale Ale with Electrolytes. Almost too cold to finish, but still super yummy.

Blue skies, beers, and ... a buttplug

This weekend's summit adventure featured bright blue skies, beers, and ... a buttplug? More on that in a second. We took advantage of the still relatively snow-free conditions, and headed up Porcupine Ridge in Kananaskis. The approach to the summit was a relatively straight forward, but interesting hike with some minor bits of scrambling. Once at the summit, there was an interesting looking extension off to the south, that involved crossing a really narrow exposed ridge. Naturally, I couldn't help myself, so went to investigate. Thinking about the most difficult scrambles we've done over the years, this ridge was probably the most exposed one I've crossed yet. See the photos, and decide for yourself whether you'd have the cajones to cross it.

Anyways, back to the buttplug story. A dude we follow on Instagram has been putting up unofficial summit register containers on various peaks in the Rockies, and they usually contain a notebook, a mickey of Fireball cinammon whisky, a magnum condom, and some other random odds and sods. Well this particular summit box had those, plus a tube of pre-rolls (joints), and what appeared to be a gently used buttplug. Call me immature, but we guffawed for a lot longer than we should have. All in all, this was an awesome outing.

That little red dot in the middle of the spine is me, gingerly making my way back down. (photo taken by Keith)


This is what the ridge looked like from a highpoint to the east of the summit.


The ridge was thin, with steep drop offs to either side. With the intermittent wind gusts, I sat to take in the views before slowly making my way back across to safety. (photo taken by Keith)


This is what it looked like from my vantage point, as I was making my way back across.


The low winter sun created some beautiful flaring around Keith.




Looking towards the summit.










Summit brew: Snake Lake Brewing Company's Brighter Horizons Tropical Pale Ale.










We saw one other character decide to climb the tower. He made it to the top, which is more than I could say. I opted to turn around just below where he is in this photo, knowing that ascending this section would mean having to downclimb it after.








And finally... here's the aforementioned butt plug. Pro hiking tip: always bring sanitizer for mountain adventures. You never know what you may end up coming into contact with.

Trip Report - Mt. Hector, South Ridge

I'd been a bit of a lazy potato since getting back from the 'Stans a month ago, so it felt good to get out to the mountains this past weekend. We hit the Icefields Parkway for a snowshoe adventure up the south ridge of Mt. Hector. Unfortunately, on the way up, every step was a punishing bit of trailbreaking, as your snowshoes acted like shovels clearing a foot deep driveway. We gained about 550m of elevation before giving up at a high point, exhausted, and still a bit away from the summit. And on the way down, it was just puking snow on us, while I fell or tumbled down slopes more times than I could count. But hey, we didn't die in an avalanche, so there's that, right?