We set out the next afternoon for a shorter hike starting from a trail-head at Lake Louise itself. 300m above the lake was a junction branching off to numerous trails and we took a partly snow- covered path to Little Beehive, an abandoned fire lookout.
At the summit I emerged victorious in a very brief snowball fight although, given Jo didn't actually throw any snowballs, i guess it was less a fight and more just me being a bully. It started hailing as we descended, so we took refuge at a remote tea house built right up on the mountain with a fantastic view over a frozen lake.
The staff live on site for up to 2 months at a time, hiking the 2 hours or back to Lake Louise a couple of times a week to dump garbage and pick up supplies. Although the place didn't have electricity or running water, they made a mean pot of tea, earl grey, hot.
The next morning we headed south from Lake Louise, stopping briefly at Banff - the most touristic city in the area - before heading just outside of the national park to the much friendlier town of Canmore. Jo was all hiked out so I headed to Chinaman's Peak alone.
The mountain got it's name back in the 1800s when Ha Ling, a lowly mining cook, climbed the the peak 3 times in 10 hours to win a bet. The trail to the summit heads through forest behind the mountain for the first 500m before breaking out of the treeline into rocky alpine for the final 300m climb to the top. I found out the hard way that when Canadian mountain climbers quote distance they actually mean elevation.
The trail was short but painfully steep, averaging a 35% gradient. The last 100 meters involved scrambling up rocks, not my strong suit, but i made it without any hassles for a great view of the town and nearby Mount Lawrence Grassi.
Coming down was a little more tricky and i had to slide down quite a few sections, taking a small avalanche of rubble with me. It was easy going once i reached treeline and I made it safely to the car park in a bit over two and half hours. I think i could manage it a couple more times if there were a few thousand dollars on the line - any takers? :)
At the summit I emerged victorious in a very brief snowball fight although, given Jo didn't actually throw any snowballs, i guess it was less a fight and more just me being a bully. It started hailing as we descended, so we took refuge at a remote tea house built right up on the mountain with a fantastic view over a frozen lake.
The staff live on site for up to 2 months at a time, hiking the 2 hours or back to Lake Louise a couple of times a week to dump garbage and pick up supplies. Although the place didn't have electricity or running water, they made a mean pot of tea, earl grey, hot.
The next morning we headed south from Lake Louise, stopping briefly at Banff - the most touristic city in the area - before heading just outside of the national park to the much friendlier town of Canmore. Jo was all hiked out so I headed to Chinaman's Peak alone.
The mountain got it's name back in the 1800s when Ha Ling, a lowly mining cook, climbed the the peak 3 times in 10 hours to win a bet. The trail to the summit heads through forest behind the mountain for the first 500m before breaking out of the treeline into rocky alpine for the final 300m climb to the top. I found out the hard way that when Canadian mountain climbers quote distance they actually mean elevation.
The trail was short but painfully steep, averaging a 35% gradient. The last 100 meters involved scrambling up rocks, not my strong suit, but i made it without any hassles for a great view of the town and nearby Mount Lawrence Grassi.
Coming down was a little more tricky and i had to slide down quite a few sections, taking a small avalanche of rubble with me. It was easy going once i reached treeline and I made it safely to the car park in a bit over two and half hours. I think i could manage it a couple more times if there were a few thousand dollars on the line - any takers? :)
1 comment:
snowball fights.... the one that hit you right in the face i see you declined to mention?!?! xx
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