Sir Douglas with the East Ridge facing the camera.
The month started with a solo ascent of the East Ridge on Mt. Sir Douglas (III 5.6). This proved to be a really fun climb, and the rock was alot better than the guidebook made it sound. The setting near Burstall Pass in Kananaskis made the views incredible. I managed to reach the summit in 4 hours from the car but the descent down the West ridge and walk out took another 4.5 hours. Using a bike on the first 7km's was well worth it, especially on the way out!
On the Via Ferrata.
In the following week I led a caving trip, guided 2o people up Alberta's only Via Feratta, led some beginner rock climbing days, attempted the very loose NE Face of Haddo (IV 5.8) with my girlfriend Jody, and climbed my first 5.12 gear route.
An easier section on Mt. Haddo.
After all that I drove out to Jasper to meet up with Dana Ruddy & Eammon Walsh, two of the best local alpinists. Our grand plans were mostly squashed by the weather but we did end up climbing a super fun rock route on Mt. Sorrow, the peak sitting in front of Mt. Edith Cavell. The East Ridge offered climbing on great quartzite up to 5.9. The next day we walked into the unclimbed North Face of Mt. Fryatt where we lay like sardines in a 2 man tent while it rained outside. The lightning show was quite spectacular!
The East Ridge of Mt. Sorrow is the skyline of the closer peak, starting in the middle of the picture.
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Dana on one of the many excellent pitches on Mt. Sorrow.
The unclimbed N. Face of Mt. Fryatt.
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Our beautifull campsite near Mt. Fryatt.
The next adventure was a hiking trip with Jody in the Mt. Assiniboine area. We hiked in via Bryant Creek and stayed in the Naiset Cabins. Despite not doing any climbing it was a beautifull area to visit and Jody took about 10 million pictures.
All in all it was a fun few weeks and I discovered a couple of new excellent guiding objectives, Sir Douglas & Mt. Sorrow that I'm sure I will climb again in the future.
J. Mills
CRAG Owner & Head Guide
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