Most ACC members in Calgary will perhaps not have heard of
the Beaverfoot Range; however, it is a major massif in the
Rockies, being the chain of peaks running from Golden SE all the
way to Radium.
I am in the middle of trying to knit together the various sections
of this lengthy traverse. I have at this point completed two of
them, one from Hatch Creek NW to Coral Peak, the second from
Coral Peak NW to the second valley beyond Mt. Kapristo.
Last year we bailed at this point rather than finishing the
traverse for a number of wimpy reasons. Now I want to go back
and finish this gorilla off.
We can start either at Golden or where Alistair and I positioned a
truck last year at our SE exit point; however, I think the second
option is slightly the better.
In which case, we first position a vehicle just S of Golden, then
return to drive up the logging road that branches off from the
Beaverfoot just after the bridge over the river; we'll drive as high
as possible and then bushwhack up a drainage to timberline, at
which point we will contour to the right NW until we can drop
down into an unnamed valley near Kapristo. The night of Day 1
we will camp on the shores of a beautiful unnamed lake.
Day 2 will be the hardest: we will have to scramble up
boilerplate for perhaps 700' to the crest of the ridge to the NW
and from there find a reasonable descent for the same elevation
(or more) into scrub trees, following which there will be about 4
km of execrable sidehill gouging. We will camp between two
unnamed summits on the N end of the ridge in trees and
meadows.
Day 3 will be long but easy: after breakfast we will climb the
summit to our right, then return to our packs, hoist them up,
and motor on up the summit to our left. From there we should
pick up an old fire road which in 11 km will lead us N and down
to our waiting vehicle.
Two opposing problems always exist with these traverses: 1.
Choosing a date when there still exists pockets of snow for
water and cooking; 2. Choosing a date when the snowpack has
melted sufficiently that travel is neither impeding by postholing,
nor rendered dangerous by ice.
I already have one photo from my contact in Golden that I could
send anyone interested in this trip, and I will try to gather
further beta this week.
Which means: both weather and snow conditions may force a
change in dates. If we do not have appropriate conditions for
this traverse over the days posted, we will not go (or we will
postpone).
Required Items to Bring:
Overnight gear, food, warm clothes, rain gear, hiking poles; stove,
fuel; tent, sleeping bag, thermorest; helmet. I am not going to
recommend a rope or harness or any gear -- trip members should
be competent scramblers at exposure.
Recommended Items to Bring:
Headlamp, sun screen.
Chocolate
How to Get There:
Event Directions:
See above
Carpool Departure Time:
08:05 AM
Carpool Location:
Shouldice arena
Carpool Directions:
Give me a call at 246-8246 if you need directions
Notes:
This is a tough trip, but it is also non-technical and passes through
absolutely gorgeous countryside, abounding with wonderful views
of the surrounding peaks
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Registration for this event closed on Friday, June 04, 2010 at 02:00 PM.