Sunday, October 28, 2007
Ha Ling Again
I've been kind of preparing to be done for the season, but from the city, the snow appeared to be receding. And the Sulphur Mountain webcam showed a snow-less south face.
A friend who claims to be an avid hiker has never gone for altitude, so I suggested Ha Ling. It's an easy one, with enough challenge, and a spectacular payoff view-wise. And if one's assessment about their level of fitness was a little optimistic (as mine certainly was the first time I climbed), it was still attainable with a little patience.
We got an early start, arriving in the Goat Creek parking lot about an hour after the sun came up. We weren't going to see it for a couple of hours, given that we were tackling a westward slope. Only two other cars were in the lot as we set out, while there was steady traffic heading down the Smith-Dorrien Spray Lakes trail.
We climbed up the slope across from the parking lot, and crossed the canal. Once in the forest, it was smooth going. The ground was frozen, and my trekking poles often slipped. Henley kept her distance while she followed.
A foursome of young locals caught up to us about twenty minutes in, and we stepped aside to let them pass. Meanwhile we kept a pretty good pace. Even with a few stops to check out the scenery across the valley, we were at the tree line quite quickly.
A few minutes more and we were at the col overlooking Canmore. Here, the wind had a bite, and we dug out the touques and heavier gloves. We zig-zagged our way up the slope to the left, along the edge of the ridge, finally finding ourselves a few metres below the wind walls just below the summit. From there it was straight up to the top.
A few pictures, and then we started down. With the cold temperatures and the wind, it was a little too uncomfortable to stop for lunch, and too early. We meandered downward toward the col again, then followed the trail back into the forest below.
I finally found a spot that was reasonably flat to park for a snack and we dug out our lunches as the sun came out for a few brief moments. And after we started down again, we started running into traffic. Perhaps a couple of dozen hikers heading up for a late season climb.
We were back in the parking lot in short order, munching on the remains of my trail mix.
Ha LIng
Starting elevation: 1658 m (5440 feet).
Highest elevation: 2491 m (8173 feet).
Lowest elevation: 1658 m (5440 feet).
Elevation gain: 833 m (2733 feet).
Distance: 6.7 km (4.2 mi).
Time: 3:32.
A friend who claims to be an avid hiker has never gone for altitude, so I suggested Ha Ling. It's an easy one, with enough challenge, and a spectacular payoff view-wise. And if one's assessment about their level of fitness was a little optimistic (as mine certainly was the first time I climbed), it was still attainable with a little patience.
We got an early start, arriving in the Goat Creek parking lot about an hour after the sun came up. We weren't going to see it for a couple of hours, given that we were tackling a westward slope. Only two other cars were in the lot as we set out, while there was steady traffic heading down the Smith-Dorrien Spray Lakes trail.
We climbed up the slope across from the parking lot, and crossed the canal. Once in the forest, it was smooth going. The ground was frozen, and my trekking poles often slipped. Henley kept her distance while she followed.
A foursome of young locals caught up to us about twenty minutes in, and we stepped aside to let them pass. Meanwhile we kept a pretty good pace. Even with a few stops to check out the scenery across the valley, we were at the tree line quite quickly.
A few minutes more and we were at the col overlooking Canmore. Here, the wind had a bite, and we dug out the touques and heavier gloves. We zig-zagged our way up the slope to the left, along the edge of the ridge, finally finding ourselves a few metres below the wind walls just below the summit. From there it was straight up to the top.
A few pictures, and then we started down. With the cold temperatures and the wind, it was a little too uncomfortable to stop for lunch, and too early. We meandered downward toward the col again, then followed the trail back into the forest below.
I finally found a spot that was reasonably flat to park for a snack and we dug out our lunches as the sun came out for a few brief moments. And after we started down again, we started running into traffic. Perhaps a couple of dozen hikers heading up for a late season climb.
We were back in the parking lot in short order, munching on the remains of my trail mix.
Ha LIng
Starting elevation: 1658 m (5440 feet).
Highest elevation: 2491 m (8173 feet).
Lowest elevation: 1658 m (5440 feet).
Elevation gain: 833 m (2733 feet).
Distance: 6.7 km (4.2 mi).
Time: 3:32.
# posted by Kelly @ 8:16 p.m. 
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