Early in June Ken Young (one of the most experienced runners in our group) pop the idea of a trail run over some passes and a glacier in the Rockies starting at Lake Louise.. running three national parks in one day (Banff, Yoho and Kootenay). Without hesitation I was in for the adventure.. little I knew it was a major adventure and not just another trail run.. (well sometimes been naive isn’t a bad thing).
Ready to roll by 6:30 am at Lake Louise parking lot, Pete, Myron, Jody, Ken and myself were ready for the run. We were probably all carrying at least 10-15 pounds each in our backpacks, including harnesses, rope, axes, food, bear spray etc...
 |
| The route |
 |
| Grand Depart at Lake Louise |
 |
| River Crossings to Ross Lake |
The first 9 kms to Ross Lake is an easy trail, a bit wet with two river crossings, but with hardly any climbs, social chat took place along the run with some jokes to keep things fun.
From Ross Lake to Lake O'Hara we ran up the road (11kms uphill) with some views of the mountains side by side.. took it easy, but were running all the time with at least 2-3 shuttle buses passing by.
 |
| Road to Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park |
 |
Lake O'Hara, OMG how beautiful..
|
From the Lake O'Hara to Opabin Pass is around 5kms..
This is a uphill trail with beautiful views of the majestic valley been left behind us..
Passing through a stone walkway built by one guy in the late 1930's or so.. (I have to find more information about that for another write up).
Standing at the bottom of the Opabin Pass (Glacier) we were discussing the strategy to get over and across in a safe maner.
Ken brought with him 50' of rope and we all had harnesses and micro-spikes.
Oh boy, when I saw Ken getting all dress up and pulling out all the equipment from his bag I felt so unprepared for this...
 |
| Opabin Pass |
 |
| From the top of Opabin Pass and looking down into the valley |
 |
| Ken spotting out the way down from Opabin Pass |
Coming down wasn't fast or easy, but with 50' of rope to get down to a less inclined section it was doable.....
 |
| Coming down from the pass |
 |
| The colors and marks on the rocks was something I have never seen before ! |
 |
| The Eagle's Eyrie |
 |
| The Eagle's Eyrie |
 |
| The Eagle's Eyrie, this is an spectacular rock |
From here, there was our second climb of the day, a 400mts scree and boulder slope to take us to the top of Wenkchemna Pass that sits at 2,611m of elevation. I chased Pete all the way up, but was only close enough without possibilities to pass him...
 |
| Wenkchemna Pass |
 |
| Wenkchemna Pass |
 |
| Pete pointing the next trail to follow looking down Ten Peaks Valley |
 |
| This is the first time I have seen Moraine Lake, wow |
 |
| The third pass of the day was ahead of us, Sentenial Pass (el Zorro mark) as it is a Z figure of the switchbacks |
 |
| Almost from the top of Sentenial Pass |
I was barely able to keep up with Pete to make it to the top in second place ! another amazing view of the valley to come...
 |
| Sentenial Pass |
 |
| Coming down Sentenial Pass |
 |
| Annette Lake with probably 10kms to go.. |
|
| Ken insisted this was a shortcut and that we would be over at Lake Louise in no time, sure it was shorter, but steeper (500mts elevation gain) |
 |
| From left to right, Ken, Me, Peter, Myron (Jody on the camera) |
From this point there was a 2 miles steep downhill all the way to Lake Louise, it was a fast descend and we were all happy to see the achievement of the day
This is a uphill trail with beautiful views of the majestic valley been left behind us..
Oh boy, when I saw Ken getting all dress up and pulling out all the equipment from his bag I felt so unprepared for this...
Comments
Post a Comment