Day 98 - Jasper Indian Ridge

The Skytram near Jasper Town carried me up 1000 meters to the near-top of Whistlers mountain (named for the whistle call of marmots). I then hiked to the summit 150 meters up further but then struck off down the other side toward Indian Ridge.

I passed through the wet valley and ascended the ridge on the left, making the my way up quickly, with the only challenge being a scramble detour to avoid snow, up loose rock to the left of the peak. The view was great in every direction but I especially loved the mountains to the south, with Mount Edith Cavell as a main actress.

As I slowly tramped along the wide ridgetop, sharp arete mountain ridges to the south and the snowy cone of Mount Robson, tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, far in the distance, came into view.

Arriving at the far right ridge peak after an hour or so, I began my descent, following the guidebook instruction to "walk down the shale slopes to the stream." About a quarter of the way down, I realized I had descended one chute too soon as this route was too steep for waking, more like controlled sliding. I brought out my hiking poles and skied down the rock, letting my feet slide like you would on snow. This was my first real test using this technique and it worked brilliantly. Once down, I crossed boggy fields then countless little streams, climbed the hill back to Mount Whistlers and returned down the Skytram express to the van.

Still with daylight left, I drove the 75 km west to Mount Robson, the snowy cone I had seen in the distance. The cone was much larger from just below.

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Day 170 - JMT Forrester Pass

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