The longest trip I ever went on was in to Mt. Assiniboine in Mt. Assiniboine Park. Mt. Assiniboine is much higher than all peaks in the area and is a typical alpine shape. Mt. Assiniboine is 3618 m(11870 ft) in altitude. No,we didn't climb it.
A Venturer scout group ages 16 -17, wanted to do a five day backpack trip for one of their activities. We had nine Ventures and five supervisors...three man and two women. So off we went to Mt Assiniboine. Now these kids didn't need supervisors. They were super good kids. They were also in great shape.
We started at the Sunshine Ski Resort which is a few miles west of Banff, Alberta. We found a pickup truck that was driving to the top and threw our big packs in and he took them to the top of the ski area. We walked up the 9 Km with our day packs. We found our packs at the ski lodge on top. By this time it was 5:00 PM . We hiked three more kms and camped for the night.
The next day was a long hike over rough terrain. When they said Boulder Pass they really meant it. Boulders were the size of houses. We camped for the night and the next morning there was frost on the tent.
The next day was a short walk to Mt. Assiniboine. We camped there two nights and enjoyed the area. We were at an elevation of 7000 ft. We were across from the mountain and in the late afternoon large chunks of ice would break off the glaciers and fall into the lake below. Some of these chunks would start off the size of houses and end up completely crushed by the time they hit the lake. the peak was about 5000 ft above us.
Mt Assiniboine is one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the southern Rockies.
On the way out we went over Wonder Pass which is a very good name for it. One more camp over and then a short walk out to where we were picked up.
It was one of the most strenuous trips I was on but very well worth while. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The photos were taken by my friend Mike.
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| These kids would sing as they walked along. |
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| MT Assiniboine is the peak on the right |
