Linda’s Scrambles & Rambles

Tangle Ridge ~ Dec 31, 2005

 

ICEFIELDS AREA, ALBERTA

 

Summit  3006m (8,807')       Elevation gain: 1100 m        Total distance:  11km             Total time:  7:45

Quick rambles:

· Final summit for 2005!!

· Who would have thought a person could bag an Icefields Peak on New Year’s Eve?

· A deceptively long slog...the mountain is seriously foreshortened!

 

 

New Year’s Eve. What better way to spend the final day of 2005, than deep in the heart of the Rocky Mountains?  On invite from Sonny Bou to join him on an attempt of Tangle Ridge, I got up at 5:00am after having not nearly enough sleep. It seems Sonny had even less sleep than myself, 3 hours, so neither of us started our journey with much enthusiasm. We decided to make the drive out to the Icefields to see the conditions of our objective and take it from there.

 

Upon viewing the peak from the highway, and realizing it might just be climbable, we convinced ourselves to gear up and begin hiking towards it. (This parking lot humming and procrastinating may have been the real crux of the trip.) It all seemed like a great effort to get going, but once on the trail (at the crack of 10:30am) we began to feel better about the day and the scramble, and were excited to be potentially bagging one final peak for the year.

 

Old ski tracks had been worn into the Tangle Creek trail, but it appeared that no new snow had fallen in this region for some time. The snow encountered on the trail was shallow and crusty, so the hiking was fairly easy.

 

When the trail dipped to creek level, we were at the main drainage that runs off the south side of Tangle Ridge. This was the ascent route for the scramble. We hiked through the short forest and ankle deep snow, encountering small cairns on occasion. Resting frequently and snacking, I was still lacking in the energy department and was constantly hungry for some reason. It seemed Sonny was gaining steam for the trip though.

 

We wanted to avoid the upper reaches of the gully because of heavy snow and possible avalanche terrain, so it was not long before we climbed the steep walls of the west ridge adjacent to the gully. Here on the ridge, views to the south opened up and my enthusiasm to get higher and out of trees began to grow. Unfortunately, my speed and energy did not.

 

At the tree line we reached a rock outcrop I had noticed from far down in the gully itself. This outcrop, it turns out, is part of an undulating cliff band skirting the upper gully. Beyond the cliffs, the snow visibly deepened, and a cornice had formed on the gully’s boundaries. Evidence of a small avalanche could be seen in the bowl.

 

From where we stood at these cliffs, we were convinced another hour might do it. We began a tiresome plod up a mostly featureless slope, the views around us providing the necessary relief for our labors. The only other creature we saw up here was a Bighorn ram slowly moving across the same slope as ourselves, who then disappeared behind the mysterious contours of the mountain.

 

Half an hour went by. It appeared we were no closer to any summit. But it had to be close now! We continued on after a short break. Another hour passed somehow. The mountain’s summit kept its distance from us. We took out the crampons to deal we the slippery and crusty snow. Now we would make some time...

 

As we traveled the sun sank lower in the west. It was becoming obvious that we would be returning in the dark. A patch of blue sky above us expanded to form a circle of clear weather all around. The thick clouds kept enough of a distance to not spoil the views. Light ice crystals filled the air, and the low roar of distant avalanches in the Icefields punctuated the still air and sound of my breathing. There was something very peaceful about this slog. Still, no obvious summit could be seen. There is a repeater station on the top, so surely those antennas should be visible by now...?

 

Another hour passed before the very tip of the tower peaked above the skyline. Because of the curvature of the peak, it was not visible until we were pretty much at the summit. At least there was a top, I was beginning to wonder.  Sunlight now touched the very tips of the tallest peaks, and deep blues began to saturate the valleys. The sun was setting.

 

We hurried at the summit to take photos as it was very cold with a strong wind. We had not had to deal with any harsh cold until now, so it was somewhat shocking. We turned back so quickly, Sonny almost forgot his ski poles. We began a rapid descent of the slope, crampons still on. Sonny attempted a couple glissades but the snow quality was too poor to get going let alone pick up speed. A crazy carpet would have helped, except for the rocks sticking out here and there.

 

By the time we reached the trees it had both warmed up significantly, and become darker. I felt wasted from effort, lack of food, and tiredness, and like normal, I began to trip and fall over everything. Sonny was still moving quickly, but I was having trouble moving slowly. I rolled my ankles over several times on hidden rocks, and tripped over branches. We were both still wearing crampons, but their usefulness was pretty much past here. We decided to stop soon for a break to remove them and get out the headlamps. Of course shortly before this break, I managed to run straight into a branch. The branch stuck me directly in the eyelid and socket where it dug in deep before a tremendous snap announced my eyeball as victorious in that battle. Oddly my eye, though not overjoyed with the contact, was not injured in any way. Definitely time for the headlamps.

 

My headlamp has a bright green light which seemed to exaggerate our footprints on the snowy trail in, so I led the way. Even after the short break, I was still feeling weak.  Apparently I need a LOT more food in the winter.  We lost the trail a couple of times due to deadfall and lack of snow, but the headlamp always caught the glow of the broken snow and led us back on track. Needless to say, Sonny’s vehicle was a very welcome sight at the end of the journey.

 

Of course, as trips that Sonny and I partake in seem to go, we have trouble finding places to get real food afterwards. Both of us had a hankering for Wendy’s, but were unsure if  it were open due to it being New Year’s Eve. We raced back down the Bow Valley before realizing we were going to run out of gas soon. Pulling into Banff, we were suddenly faced with a line-up of vehicles at a police check-stop. Great.  After watching a man get searched as well as his vehicle, we grew more concerned. No need though, we passed through easily...only to be stopped a 100’ away at the railroad tracks by a passing train!!

 

After filling up, we drove through town, noting the tremendous amount of people walking about, but lack of open eateries. We continued on to Canmore. Here we encountered much of the same -  closed restaurants, meandering crowds, and another wait for a passing train (probably the same one!). Miraculously, we were spared from starvation by A&W, who were 15 minutes from closing. That was one tasty chicken burger. ~

Left: Starting out on the Tangle Creek Trail, just north of the Columbia Icefield. Right: A look at Sonny’s shiny new iceaxe, complete with leash. :-)

Left: After only 3 hours of sleep, Sonny breaks trail like a demon through 3feet of snow!! Just kidding! ;-) Right: While it’s true Sonny didn’t get much sleep, and he broke trail like a demon, this was about the extent of the deep snow we encountered.

Typical terrain ascending the left side of the drainage off Tangle Ridge.

You don’t even have to clear the tree line to get the good views!!! On the far left is Nigel , shrouded in clouds. The pyramid left of center is Wilcox. Right of center are peaks around the Columbia Icefield, including Snowdome (far right).

At the tree line, Sonny surveys interesting cliff bands. In the far distance is what appears to be the summit...it’s a lot farther than that!

The Slog. It always looked like the summit was right there. It wasn’t. Right: Is that the summit? Nope.

Left: Mt Wilcox displays a perfect form in the fading daylight. Right: An unknown peak to the west vies for my attention.

Above: Still nowhere near the summit. *shrug* Left: About halfway up we donned the crampons. These are Sonny’s new BD 10 points looking fierce against my six points.  These were a great help for the rest of the ascent, as well as on descent.

We made it!! As the sun sinks low, we celebrate the last summit of 2005. Happy New Year to all!!

Sonny clears the last of the scrubby brush, Snowdome in the background.

Left: Losing daylight and elevation quickly. We had to travel about 1 1/2 hours in the dark through the forest, during which I managed to break a branch with my eye. Ouch.  Right: I have a green filter on my Petzl headlamp, because it helps retain my night vision. I can look up from the illuminated area and still see into the forest without too much adjustment time. Another upside - the different snow quality of our morning footsteps glowed bright green, like a radioactive trail back to the car.

Looking back towards the tree line and the greet views.

From the summit, looking north into Jasper National Park.