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On top of North Twin, 1991. The summit then was one big
symmetrical mass of snow and ice, unlike the previous photo taken in 1999. Mount Alberta
is to the right. Spectacular Mount Bryce lies a few kilometres
south while Edith Cavell was visible to the north.
Twins Tower as seen from
North Twin. You ascend the crest of the steep snow arete. Exposure? About 1000 metres drop
on either side. This ascent took us about 2 hours return from North Twin's summit.
Ascending the ridge up Twins Tower from the col. We had firm
snow for step-kicking, which is exactly what you need. It was not necessary (or possible)
to place protection.
Looking back up
North Twin's ridge, which we have descended to the intervening col. Our tracks are just
visible.
Taking great satisfaction in
summitting Twins Tower, our 4th 11,000 footer that day. The other two we
ascended were East and West Stutfield Peaks, and these are very easy to ski up from camp.
In a crevasse! We four skied back unroped and just before camp, I removed my skis carrying one in each hand to walk the last 200 feet up the glazed ski-track. Suddenly, I fell into a crevasse up to my waist, suspended only by a ski in each hand. Heart pounding, I gingerly hoisted myself out, knelt delicately on the skis and pushed forward about 30 feet before clipping into them again. Whew!! At least 20 people had skied by there that day and all were unroped on return. I still wonder how far in I could have fallen...
This trip to Columbia Icefields was a grand success due to good weather brought about by an all-too-rare weather pattern known as an Omega block. This is a huge high pressure system that occasionally forms and parks itself over British Columbia, diverting any storm systems far to the north of both B.C. and Alberta. It is the best good-weather guarantee you can have in the Rockies. For more information about ski ascents check the guidebook page of my web site.
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© all photos copyright by the author 1999.