The Canadian Rockies tick list had been circulating for some time now, and Mt Robson was at the top of each new variation. Mt Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at an elevation of 3959 meters or 12989 feet, and being isolated it creates its own weather. The combination of no easy routes up the mountain and frequent severe weather (the summit can only be seen for about 14 days out of the year), results in usually just a handful of successful climbs each year. In fact, I have heard that Mt Robson has the highest failure rate of any major peak in North America, Denali included.  I cannot attest to the veracity of that claim, although it sounds good. But even Dallas has failed twice on Robson. After a exploratory hike into Berg Lake at the base of the mountain last spring, I was hooked. I wanted to at least give it a shot.
    So Robson was on the top of the list. Scott had the month of August away from the fishing is Alaska, Kevin was already up north, and I had some time available for playing, so it was decided. Spend two weeks in Canada seeing if we can tilt the success rate on Robson to the positive side. We planned on doing the South Face route, which had a much easier approach than the more popular Kain Route, but a sketchier climb up some third to fourth class ledges threatened by seracs.
    Scott and I left Washington State headed north delayed by a day due to an untimely accident that left Scott’s Toyota in the shop for some major repairs. We had planned on nabbing Mt Sir Donald in the Selkirks near Roger’s Pass on the way up, but the weather was too poor to even consider an attempt. So we pushed on to Canmore where we shacked up at Kat’s, a friend of ours that graciously allowed her place to be turned into a climbing base camp. A quick check on the conditions verified what we suspected about Robson; the ledges were snow covered and the forecast was not good. We decided on local objectives until the route was in shape.
    The next day we teamed up with two friends of ours from Canmore, Michelle and Christina, to climb Mt Fay. Mt Fay is an impressive looking peak near Lake Louise that is easily accessible and has some classic routes. We had in mind one of the north face routes on the peak, which had me a little apprehensive since the last time I was leading steep ice I took a fall. The approach into the Colgan hut was a typical Rockies approach, steep and technical. It was actually rated 5.6, which was quite strenuous in boots and an overnight pack. Once up at the Neil Colgan hut, the highest permanent structure in Canada, we settled in for a comfortable night. A quick explanation of the hut system in Canada is in order. Huts have been constructed in Canada at places that have a high incidence of use. These huts can be reserved in advance and have propane stoves and lighting as well as all the needed cooking and eating utensils. It is truly luxury camping for those of us accustomed to the Cascades experience of having to lug a tent and cooking stoves to our overnight site.

The approach to the hut:

The hut

     The next morning, Kevin, Christina, and Scott left to do the Centre Ice Bulge Direct! Route on the north face of Fay, while Michelle and I scrambled up a few smaller peaks in the area. The next day, Michelle and I climbed the same route on Fay, while the others had a scramble day. The ice bulge has shrunk in the past few years, but it is still an impressive route. The lower pitches go up to 60 degrees, while the crux bulge is 80-90 degrees. I was glad that Michelle lead the crux pitch, since my ice climbing karma still was not in balance. We used eight screws, and topped out four hours after leaving the glacier. The ice was solid and the climbing was fun.

North face of Mt Fay.  The Centre Ice Bulge Direct! route goes up the ice sheet in the center of the picture.

Scott, Kevin, and Christina on route.

Michelle leading the crux; on the summit.

    After hiking out the next day and once again checking on the forecast for the Robson area, we decided to do another route in the local area. We decided on the Grassi Ridge on Wiwaxy peak, a rock route rated at 5.6 that the guide book called a Rockies classic, with rock that was solid for the range. The rock was supposedly better due to the fact that instead of the typical limestone choss, it was quartzite choss. To get to the climb we had to get ourselves to Lake O’Hara, which was only serviced by a bus that took a specific number of people per day, or walk the 11 kilometers up the road. No bikes allowed, so those were the only options.  The buses were booked up, so we showed up in the morning hoping on a cancellation. No such luck. We started walking, envisioning a long day. To our delight, a very nice park ranger picked us up in her pickup and gave us a ride to the lake where the approach to the climb started. We climbed the peak in 13 pitches, the last 8 or so being old school 5.6. This is the first time that I have ever climbed an overhanging 5.6! The climbing was enjoyable on (somewhat) solid rock with OK pro.

A typical pitch; on the summit.

    The next three days the weather moved in and we were stuck in Canmore sampling the local flavor. We did manage to get out cragging at Lake Louise one day. There are some impressive limestone cliffs with fun routes at the south end of the lake. By now we knew that Robson was looking like a long shot. We had agreed not to invest the time into the drive or approach without a good forecast and conditions. The recent spate of poor weather had dumped snow on the ledges, and conditions were poor. We decided on another objective.
    Athabasca. Just the name envisions a northern giant. Scott and I decided on the North Face, a steep ice climb to a rock band with some mixed moves to gain a steep snow face to the summit. After an early wake up and drive to the peak, we got our first look at the route. The upper snow slope looked loaded with the new snow, so we decided to do the Silverhorn, another route on the north face but less steep along a snow aręte to the summit ridge. After a long trudge up the moraine, and one covered crevasse fall, we gained the snow aręte. The climbing from there was up 40-50 degree ice and snow, and was very enjoyable.

Approaching the North Face;  the Silverhorn route.

    After a long descent and drive back to Canmore, we once again looked at Robson.  It was not going to happen for us this trip. A recent report verified what we already suspected; the ledges were snow covered and sketchy. The forecast was not great either. We decided to leave Robson for the next trip, and try for Assinibione, the Matterhorn of the Rockies, a popular climb further south. Kevin bailed due to his car getting hit while parked by a driver with no license. It was Scott, Christina and me on this trip.
    Due to our limited time (three days) and the 17 mile approach, we decided to take the helicopter option. The Assinibione Lodge runs a helicopter shuttle for their guests, and offers it to hikers and climbers for $120 per trip. I was somewhat reticent about taking the easy way up to the peak, but it was the only way we were going get a chance at the peak and make it back to Washington on time. My knees thanked me in advance.
    The helo took us to the lodge next to Magog Lake, which left us with a 700 meter climb up to the hut. (Those awesome huts again!) The approach was up the “G’moser's Highway”, a series of third and fourth class ledges up to a bench near a col at the base of the climb where the hut is located. There were five teams attempting the mountain the next day. One team of locals had attempted the NE Face, a mixed route that leads to the North Ridge, our selected route, and were going to give it another try the next day. The weather had been poor, but was forecast to improve in the morning.

The hut.

Approaching the mountain

    The next morning, we let the other teams get the alpine start and left the hut at 0700. After a slog up the scree, we started the real climbing. A lot of third to fourth class scrambling and a few low fifth class moves took us past a band of red rock to the base of a grey band of rock. Here, due to the amount of snow and ice, we roped up and donned the crampons. The rest of the climb was on an airy ridge with considerable exposure on both sides. The snow on the route made the climbing interesting and very alpine in nature. We summited about four hours after leaving the hut.    The only other team to summit were the locals on the NE Face. The other teams were turned around due to the snowy conditions on route. The descent was tedious due to the need to rap the ridge and the care needed to down climb some sections. Once back at the hut, we rested then scrambled up two of the close peaks, both near 10,000 feet tall.

The North Ridge

    The next day, a leisurely hike back to the lodge and a helicopter ride out enabled us to drive home that night. It was all three of us in the truck now due to Kevin’s car still being in the body shop.
    Overall, my first impression of the Canadian Rockies was excellent. There is a great variety of climbing to be had, and there are some great ice routes that are in shape all season. The rock, which is mostly limestone and shale, tends to be somewhat loose by Cascades standards. The scale of the mountains is much larger than the Cascades, but the approaches tend to be easier in the respect that they do not involve brush or a lot of time. Most, however, involve actual technical climbing and are more mountaineering routes that approaches. The hut system is great and does take a load off of your back as well as giving the experience a more social feel.
    More adventure to follow; Robson is still at the top of the wish list for next year!