An instance of time a lifetime of memories

in #photofeed3 years ago (edited)
Authored by @Dave Markel

By now you have likely seen me posting this early morning photo from before a climb in the mountains This photo signifies that start of an adventure up Mt Alpha Centauri, a 3150m peak in the Purcell Range of southern BC

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Alpine Start

After coffee and breakfast we gathered our gear and set off into the dark. As the first light falls on the peaks we could see our objective ahead.
Our route is to follow the glacier to the left and then gain the ridge to make the summit.

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First sun of the day falling upon our objective. So far the going has been pretty good mostly travelling the valley bottom on our way to the glacier.
We ended up gaining the ridge on the spine above the person in front of me.

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Ascending the glacier. We weren't roped up at this point because there are no crevasse hazards on this part of the glacier but we did have crampons and ice axes.
We were captivated by the views but nervous about the crux of the climb, getting off the glacier and onto the ridge

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Finally the real climb starts. We chose our route based on other trusted trip reports and this is the best way to access the ridge. A bit steep but straightforward scramble.
Photo credits to my brother. That me ahead of him and our buddy in the lead.

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Summit views, snacks, photos, fill out the summit register and since there was full LTE service we went online as well.

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Finally off the summit and on our way back down. This is typical of how it looks after getting to the ridge above the glacier. The second crux is down climbing off the ridge back to the glacier.

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We decided to take a different way off the ridge. There was mention of a route further down the ridge that was easier to down climb so we went for a look. It was better than the route up as I had already decided I would only rappel that one. This one was a moderate difficulty

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Finally, once we were on the main glacier we decided to just walk it down to the toe. It was a warm day and with crampons we descended with ease.
Photo credit to my brother getting me navigating the few crevasses on the lower glacier

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This is the following morning. We were woke by a massive electrical storm in the night and the following morning there was 5cm of snow. We had about 12km and 900m descent from the alpine into the forest and back to the truck.

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Behind the Scenes of Alpine Start. An instant of time from four strenuous days in the mountains with friends. Thats me in the front, my brother behind me and our buddy Lukas in the back. I took this as we were getting ready to leave the mountains.

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You had such an amazing time even if it was probalby freezing cold! Pictures look amazing and it was definitely memorable trip 👌🌻 How many degrees was then?
Have a nice day!