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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 24, 2016 - 02:53pm PT
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3rd Ascent: Barry Blanchard and Greg Cronn, 1983.
By Gregg Cronn ( Mountain climber, Bellingham)
Barry approached me on a Saturday in the middle of a rock course with a crazy plan: Leave Sunday night from Canmore, climb the North Face of Alberta Mon-Fri, and teach the next scheduled beginning rock course the following weekend. We were not given much of a chance at pulling it off. "Everyone, said Chris Miller, walks into Alberta, no one actually climbs it."
We did get up the route, thanks to Barry's seasoning in Yosemite, brilliant climbing and our youthful drive and enthusiasm. It was a blessed experience that Barry has written about eloquently in his book.
A few memory's from the climb:
We were in awe at:
1. Tobin's last flight down the face. It was horrible to think about. The poor guy (RIP brother); and
2. George Lowe. We repeated and laughed over our favorite phrase during the climb, "George wasn't f*#king around." George got a chuckle out of that when I shared that with him on K2 in the summer of '86.
We actually did break 3/4 tools on the climb. It is comical to think that we would launch up these big faces with 70 cm Forrest ice axes and ice hammers. Although it did make walking easier on the glaciers.
Alberta is easily one of my best experiences in the mountains. Incredibly beautiful mountain with a lovely drape of alpine ice to complete the ascent. (I wanted to name my daughter Alberta but my wife refused!) Plus it cemented a lifetime friendship with Barry. We were in our early '20's and it was the start of some great days in the mountains through the mid '80's. Well before the losses of so many good friends and companions started racking up: Dave Cheesmond, Kim Momb, Ian Bult, Dan Guthrie, Catherine Freer...Some fine people who paid the cost of a frenetic period of Alpinism.
Folks in Canmore were quite worried for our well being. It rained hard all week in town and people grew concerned when we didn't come dragging back to town.
We did actually make it back for the next weekend's rock course. James Blench was kind enough to lead the Friday night session as we were driving back from the Ice-fields. Ah, the strength of youth, Barry slept in the back of van while I drove us back to Canmore-finishing the day that started at a bivy on the summit ridge in the bar at midnight. We were so proud. We took turns that weekend slipping off into the woods for naps.
Barry and I got to recently do what I would wish for all mountaineers: sharing some beers in the bar, long in tooth, telling stories. With love.
Great thread and stories. So impressed with some of the ascents cataloged here.
Thanks to Gregg Cronn
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Dec 24, 2016 - 03:28pm PT
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Great picture of the old alpinists Gregg and Barry
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 25, 2016 - 01:54pm PT
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4th Ascent: Ward Robinson and Dan Guthrie, Mid 80's?
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 25, 2016 - 04:19pm PT
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5th Ascent: Scott Backes and Bill Bancroft, 1990.
Bill Bancroft and I did the 5th ascent of the Lowe route in 1990. We started up the face around Aug 5th I think?? Roped up for the first couple of rock pitches and then soloed the ice. Bill took a rock through the top lid of his pack!! Rockfall was so awful by the time we got to the yellow band we stopped a the Lowe Bivy (which was pretty sheltered) and climbed the yellow band early the next morning by tying our two ropes together and not putting in any gear till after the knot. We climbed up to the crux which was a waterfall-no ice tongue for us! Tried another way and took a whipper aid climbing then it started raining. We gave-up for the day and bivied again in the rain. Next morning everything was soaking wet and we were going to bail-then the sun came out and by 10:30am the face was dry enough to continue. I took off all my fleece and in underwear and g-tex lead the crux pitch. Water pouring off me and scary expando for sure. We got to within a couple of pitch of the summit ice field and rain again. Bivied again! Rough night of lightning-we lowered the rack and everything metal and hoped for the best. Next morning same as the previous day we waited and waited then the sun came out and we finished to the summit. Here's the crazy part...On the summit we thought we heard voices and although it had been an arduous ascent we were not that wasted! Turns out Tim Auger was leading 6 other Park Wardens on a "Training" and had taken them up the Japanese route. We descended with them keeping us from being like every other party that had climbed the face before us and getting lost and bivying on the descent. Next day we walked out happy and satiated. All in all a proper adventure.
Thanks to Scott Backes and Will Sim
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 25, 2016 - 06:05pm PT
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6th Ascent: Andy de Klerk and Julie Brugger, 1992
Hi Avery,
Julie Brugger and I did do the North Face of Alberta in early September 1994.
I think it was the 4th ascent, but I'm not sure. The log in the Alberta hut book just before us was about an epic retreat in bad weather that Sean Daugherty had, so maybe that puts a time line to it.
We walked in over Woolly shoulder to the Alberta hut the first day.
Descended down to the base and climbed the ice field and yellow band and about 2 or 3 pitches of the head-wall on the second day. We found a nice small ledge for a sitting bivvy which was fine.
The third day we climbed the rest of the rock pitches and had a bivvy just under the summit ice field due to a thunderstorm.
The fourth day we summited and descended the Japanese route to the Alberta hut again
And the 5th day we walked out.
Weather was good except for the brief electrical storm, conditions were good, cold and clear, and we had a lot of fun.
Many Thanks,
Andy de Klerk (Mountain climber, South Africa)
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 26, 2016 - 12:56pm PT
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An Alberta Summer, by Joe Josephson.
Canadian Alpine Journal 1993.
Posted with the kind permission of Joe Josephson.
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 26, 2016 - 05:38pm PT
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Bushman
Social climber
The island of Tristan da Cunha
Avery,
As many know, Tobin Sorenson is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in our home town of Covina, California. I have always believed that my brother's heart and essence remain on the North Face of Mount Alberta. For all of the years since he perished there I have often wondered at the grandeur and allure of this enigmatic mountain. Being only proficient at rock-craft during my climbing years, I had never pursued mountains in a big way, and have been ever curious about the ascents on Alberta that have been done before and after when Tobin paid the ultimate price for pursuing his passion and love in the region that he so ultimately and ironically wanted to call home.
These past few weeks I have learned so much more about the history and legacy of the place through this thread, with all the climber's stories and photos documenting their forays on to the mountain. I am humbled as I read it and grateful to you for your work in compiling this history and chronology of climbing that face, and am looking forward also to see of any more accounts of ascents posted here.
Tim Sorenson
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 26, 2016 - 05:39pm PT
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Thank you so much Tim,
This for me is the ultimate approbation. When I first started climbing way back in 1981 Tobin was my hero and inspiration. By the time I found out he had died, almost eight months had passed. I found out from my friend Rob Hall, who has also joined Tobin and a whole host of others who found death in the mountains. I know Tobin, only by reputation and an almost universal affection from the climbing world of that time.
Brothers have unique bond, I know this from doing nearly all my climbing with my own brother. I know I would've be devastated if he were taken during those most exciting of years, when every day was so different from the last. I can only guess about the memories of Tobin you have, some 34 years latter. My experiences with Rob Hall are, sadly, nothing more than a slowly dispersing trail of memories. However, the unpardonable march of time still trips me up, from time to time, I'm happy to say.
Thanks again,
Avery
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 26, 2016 - 05:40pm PT
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chappy
Social climber
ventura
What a great thread. George's ascents of Alberta and North Twin (along with Jock and Chris!)introduced me to the Canadian Rockies. Their ascents were very inspirational to me and led to my taking trips up there for three straight years 75,76 and 77. I even managed to get up a few things--most notably the ramp route on Kitchener in late Sept. of 77 with Ron Kauk. We thought of doing the Grand Central as it was in perfect form (if there is such a thing in the Rockies). The Ramp route was challenging enough at that time. Still have a few scars to remind me! I have so much respect for anyone who has climbed any of those big north face routes--especially the remote ones like N. Twin and Alberta.
Chappy
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 26, 2016 - 05:41pm PT
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Cool thread, thanks Avery and to all who have posted.
Alberta is really one of those "mythical" mountains, that you really have to do, kind of like the N face of the Eiger, or maybe the Bachar-Yurian in Touloumne. A mix of both perhaps, add in a bit of the south face of the Marmolada in the Dolomites and some of the N face of the Courtes in Cham, mix them all together and there you go. Add some hectic rockfall in there nowdays to bring it up to date and the roulette wheel favours the house.
I really liked climbing in the Canadian Rockies. I liked climbing there because everything is far from the road and all of it required a self sufficiency that is fast disappearing in this connected world. We had an epic on Edith Cavell that I remember far more clearly than our ascent of Alberta. I also liked following in the footsteps of Dave Cheesemond, a fellow South African, who is still sorely missed by many. (Just finished reading Barry's book. Great read, great letter to the Big Cheese) All I can say is that Julie and I had a lot of fun climbing in the Rockies, both in summer and winter. We might have been slow and steady, but we got there in the end and we enjoyed every minute of it.
I have only one regret and that is not climbing N Twin. Went there twice with different partners but the wall was badly out of condition both times. Such is life and these things happen, a strong sense of mortality superseded ambition. It was the wise and the happy choice.
Many Thanks
Andy de Klerk (Mountain climber, South Africa)
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 27, 2016 - 01:06pm PT
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7th ascent: Peter Arbic and Tim Auger, 1992.
Tim (Auger) and I planned it around the full moon. Belayed the whole lower bit cause we only had leather boots and there was tons of stone-fall on the ice field . We were past the yellow bands by 11 and would have moved faster if we had put the rock shoes on sooner . Rock is for the most part excellent. The crux pitch had a shitty belay and not great gear , Tim used a big hook . A few more pitches of good rock brought us a nice ledge. We fixed the last pitch before Tim did this wild king swing in fading light to a trickle of water out on the face. Comfy enough bivy, cook up by the full moon. Tim said I snored . In the morning we watched two climbers approach across the glacier just down and left of the face, unloaded a couple of boxcars worth of rock at them. They turned around. Some guy from Vegas? We had as leisurely a breakfast as you can , got up to the ice and on the summit around noon, stumbled euphorically in to the hut , before sundown. We were lucky, I had a very good , very smart , partner. He's pretty lucky too. (1992)
Peter Arbic
Thanks to Peter Arbic
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Dec 27, 2016 - 02:47pm PT
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hey there, say, avery... wow, saw this on the front page here...
wow, really nice! i just love this stuff, thanks so much,
yet again, for sharing with us all these finds...
:)
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 27, 2016 - 09:15pm PT
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
Our first close-up view of Alberta's north face was both scary and humbling. In 1970 Denny Eberl, Gray Thompson and I hiked up the Athabasca River with the idea of climbing Alberta and then Columbia. Our plan was to outfox Alberta by attacking the black rock band at what appeared to be a point of weakness - the northwest ridge. The note from a 1963 Vulgarian party we found at our bivi was not encouraging: "Go back, go back to the pass, you will all be killed." After some reasonable climbing we found ourselves at the foot of a pillar of black rock. (Looking at the marked photo in Steve Swenson's account in the thread above, in profile to the right of the north face one can see a lesser-angled arete abut the final steepness; I believe we were at this point). In casting around leftwards for a better way we suddenly came upon a deathly view across the north face of Alberta. Suddenly with thousands of feet of incredible exposure thrust upon us we were awestruck. No one of us had ever done anything quite like this!
Our route on the pillar to the summit icefield seemed so near, but the situation was bad. No anchor worth a damn, and no protection to speak of. We backed off.
But a year or so later, Alberta's north face became a climb I badly wanted to try. Sidelined by a ski accident in 1972, I was stunned when I learned that George Lowe, my old climbing pal from Chamonix, had seized the prize. I realized that the Rockies were no longer a quiet backwater and that I had better get on with it.
In Lowe's account of the Alberta climb above, there is a rather fraught picture laconically titled: "Approaching the second pendulum on the complex pitch: Jock Glidden follows." As the above account makes clear, Lowe did all the significant leading on the headwall. Talking about the climb one day, George said of this picture. "When Jock got to the belay I was amazed to see he was not clipped into the jumars." Glidden was not a climber remotely at George's level. He evidently did not know how to use jumars, and to my knowledge had never climbed in Yosemite and learned contemporary techniques; skills you needed on these new Rockies climbs. This confidence in his ability, and his willingness to lead all the hard climbing, sets George apart in that era. Certainly, if I had had a chance to attempt Alberta in 1972, I would have wanted the strongest partner known to me. And that would have been George, or his cousin Jeff Lowe.
Thanks to Chris Jones
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:01pm PT
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8th Ascent: Jon Walsh and Chris Brazeau, 2006.
Mt. Alberta North Face The climb: We soloed the shrund (which was easy), and simulclimbed to the traverse ledge where we unroped. After the bulk of the ice-field, we angled right and traversed below a rib of the yellow band and found short WI 3 steps through it, that led to the base of the headwall, and a obvious natural system of grooves and corners. Here we roped up and swapped leads to the summit. The headwall pitches are described as follows: Pitch 1 - 25m: up the left facing corner (shattered rock) and slightly right to a small stance before the next corner... M6 Pitch 2 - 45m: Up the corner (better rock) for about 15 meters. When the crack pinches shut and the wall overhangs, make a delicate finger traverse right with no pro for 6 meters to a ledge (possible belay here). Continue up a hand crack to a pedestal belay stance below and right of prominent yellow rock scar... 5.10+ Pitch 3 - 55m: Up left facing corner and move left past prominent yellow rock scar. Continue up left facing corner past the roof (crux) and up the crack above (sustained) to another small stance... 5.11b Pitch 4 - 50m: Up the groove above (minimal gear), and follow the mixed weakness left, then right, to a finger crack in a corner, through a roof and step right to a good stance. We belayed here off two good ice screws in a pool of ice that formed below a small overhang, and a piton... 5.10 R Pitch 5 - 40 m: Traverse left in an arc with difficult gear towards a ledge and a right facing corner. Belay before the corner. One piton fixed midway - only gear left on route... 5.10 + / 5.11- (we tried going straight up but backed off on 5.11 R terrain with friable rock) Pitch 6 - Up the corner, and contour left towards the exit ice field. Continue up ice until out of rope... 5.10- WI3 Three more 70 meter pitches up the very brittle upper icefield (maximum 60 %) and some simul climbing up the NE ridge gets you to the summit. The Rack (what we brought - it seemed to be perfect, at least for us): 5 screws; cams: 2 each from #.3 camelot to #1 camelot, one #2, one #3 camelot; 1 set of stoppers; 9 pitons (mainly knife-blades and lost arrows); one pair of rock shoes (critical!). Other details: It's hard to imagine having better conditions than what we had. The rock was just warm enough for bare hands, and there was virtually no natural rockfall. It was cold enough that ice and snice provided good purchase for both tools and crampons. All pitches were on-sighted on lead, and most have run-out sections, and some marginal gear. The second and third belays were also on the marginal side, but might have been better with an extra piton or two. Although our feet were on rock 90 to 95 percent of the time, I wore my crampons the entire way, and Chris put our only pair of rock shoes on for two of his three leads (although both of those leads required some climbing in boots as well). It was just mixed enough that crampons were an important asset on the headwall. Being avid mixed participants, we're used to climbing a lot of rock in our crampons, however, others might be better off in rock shoes under the same or drier conditions.
Jon Walsh (With his kind permission) http://alpinestyle.ca/
Mt. Alberta, Brazeau-Walsh. (1,000m, 5.11 M6)
On September 6 Jon Walsh and I forded the frigid waters of the Sunwapta River with a bit of food, lots of fancy-wrapped processed sugar/caffeine products, and high hopes for good conditions on the remote and seldom visited north face of Mt. Alberta. After a few hours of fitful sleep in Lloyd Mackay hut, we woke at midnight to brew coffee and oats. A full moon greeted us as we made our way to the rappels to the base of the face. However, the moon snuck behind the bulk of the mountain and, despite Jonny Red having rapped to the base before (and sketching out the same way due to poor conditions), we missed the rappel line, lightened our already skimpy rack, and increased our doubts. What are we doing here? Why can’t we just sport climb in the sun? Or drink coffee in the sun, for that matter? But with dawn comes fresh thoughts and psyche, as we get our first look at the face, which appears to be in perfect shape. There’s a weakness to the right of the Lowe-Glidden 1972 route (nice work boys!) that jumps out at us, and we have no need to discuss it. What a magnificent day!
Not a cloud in the sky, a pristine mountain environment, glaciers rolling down to valley bottom, seldom-seen and even less-visited alpine meadows and lakes, and not another soul for days.It feels so good to be here it’s a little disconcerting. I take a load off on the glacier as JR charges on, thinking (rightly, it turns out) that we won’t be sitting down for a while. By the time I catch up he’s racked and 15' off the deck, trailing a rope. Fired up! We simul the first few pitches to the big ice field, then put the ropes away and… what luck! The ice is perfect for one-swing sticks, and we move quickly to the base of the headwall. We rope up again and are engaged, swapping leads and finding perfect conditions: a fine balance of iced-up crack and good pick placements, warm enough for hands-on rock climbing but cold enough to keep the ice from delamming. What luck! How many factors had to come together to make for these conditions and for us to be here at this moment?
These thoughts roll around in my mind, tumbling with my doubts and fears as we slowly move upward. I don our one pair of rock shoes for a couple of pitches. Jon follows in his bootsand crampons; the aiders and ascenders stay in the pack. What luck! We top out on the summit ice field in the last rays of the day, only a few easy ice pitches to go. The fears and doubts ebb but leave that exhilarating buzz that will linger for days. Hugs on top, followed by some chocolate and a green tea brew. Jon finally gets to sit down after 21 hours on the go. The hazy sky dims the full moon, but the views of the Columbia Ice fields are incredible and inspire talk of future adventures. All we have to do now is get down one UGLY chossy descent, and watch the breaking of another new day as we stumble back to the hut 30 hours after leaving it.
How lucky we felt that everything came together and we were able to journey to the mountain, and on.
Chris Brazeau, Canada
Thanks to Jon Walsh.
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Dec 28, 2016 - 04:51pm PT
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amazing thread! thanks Avery!
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 28, 2016 - 08:34pm PT
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Thanks Wayne.
Best is yet to come!
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 29, 2016 - 03:46am PT
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9th Ascent: Steve House and Vince Anderson, 2008.(1st in Winter
conditions)
Massive Vinny
climber
Steve & I climbed it March 24-27, not in April & not (technically) in winter, though the temperatures (-10 F at the start) & snowy conditions (with avalanches on the descent) felt that way. The Aurora Borealis during the approach, the ridiculously good dry-tooling in a blizzard, the ancient, dragontail-like ice pitch in the dark and the second bivy (unplanned & our coldest ever): all moments forever etched in my memory. Climbing Mount Alberta's North Face ranks as one of the finest alpine climbing experience I've ever had.
The log book at the hut may as well be The Bible of North American Alpinism, if that is your religion. Not so much for the entries from who climbed Alberta, but from the numerous luminaries who did not: all untold stories & events, that had they succeeded, would've been well known.
Nice place!
Vince Anderson
Mt. Alberta, Anderson-House. (VI WI5+ M8 R/X)
At 4:30 a.m. on March 26, 2008, in bitter cold, Steve House and I left the Lloyd McKay hut and approached the ridge leading to the rappel station down to the north face of Mt. Alberta. A harsh breeze made it was hard to fully appreciate the beauty of the aurora display on the northern horizon, dazzling and ominous at the same time. After rappelling onto the northern slopes, my losing and then finding one of my ice tools, sometime between 9 and 9:30 we arrived at the base of the north face, roped up, and started the real climbing.
We climbed what we may be the common approach pitches, probably M5, though photos in the guidebook seem to put the normal start farther right, and where we went did not feel that “climbed.” Anyway, we reached the base of the ice (snow) field in three pitches. We put the ropes away and soloed the incredibly steep (for snow climbing) face, passing the occasional bare ice patch. Near the Yellow Band, the snow yielded to the typical steely, hard, gray ice you’d expect there. We got the ropes out again and did three easy but scrappy mixed pitches through the Yellow Band to the base of the steep, rock headwall. The weather deteriorated, and it started to snow and cloud over. We considered bailing to the Northeast Ridge, but continued convincing ourselves that retreat would still be feasible from a short ways higher. We could see the start of the Gladden-Lowe route nearby, but found a crack system 60m right that looked like better climbing in these winter conditions. Two long, difficult pitches (M7 and M8R/X) of high-quality dry-tooling led up and left to intersect the G-L above its third pitch, in the snowy alcove described for that climb. Here the G-L angles up and right onto a buttress, but we found a steep, narrow ice pillar above. It was now about dark, probably 9 p.m., and we hoped to find a decent bivouac spot above the obvious ice. After an exhausting bout with this pitch (cold, black ice) and one more short pitch through snow mushroom s, we found a bivy spot between mushroom s that was somewhat protected from the now-frequent spindrift avalanches. We fixed 30' of the next pitch, and by 1 a.m. we were finally settled in and ready to try to sleep. The night was cold, but tolerable. Our down sleeping bags had gotten a little wet, but we hoped to avoid another night on the mountain.We woke after 6 a.m. and slowly made our way out of our wet cocoons and back onto the climb. Steve had done the bulk of the hard leading the previous day, so I took the sharp end and started up a small ice corner to the end of the water ice. A small ledge system then traversed right, towards the G-L and the summit ice slopes. Deep snow covered the airy traverse, which required belly crawling and precarious tip-toeing to reach a niche with more moderate ground above. By now, most of our gloves were frozen hard and semi-useless from constant immersion in the snow, making it quite difficult to manipulate the gear. Another few pitches of good mixed climbing up flakes, corners, and slabs covered in thin neve (M7 and M6) brought us back to the G-L exit pitch. A short bit of moderate mixed terrain put us onto the upper slopes, from where we continued straight up on slabby mixed, because we thought the exit traverse onto the ice seemed convoluted. The ground we climbed, however, would probably be less attractive in summer conditions. A 150m pitch put us onto the summit ridge and gave us our first glimpse of the sun in two days. At 5:45 p.m. we stopped briefly on top before heading down the corniced south ridge toward the Japanese Route. Unsure of where to descend the east face, we guessed the wrong gully and spent a truly miserable night out, shivering in our frozen, useless sleeping bags, before brilliant morning sunshine greeted us on the 28th. By 10 a.m. we were safely in the flat basin and slogged back to the hut, where we could eat, drink, and rest a bit before heading out for Steve’s truck.
Vince Anderson, AAC
Thanks to 'Massive Vinny'
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Tom Patterson
Trad climber
Seattle
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Dec 29, 2016 - 05:51am PT
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This thread is fantastic, Avery! Thanks for posting, and keep it coming!
P.S.--love the pic of you (or is that Gregg Cronn?) and Blanchard at Feathered Friends. Nothing like that kind of camaraderie.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Dec 29, 2016 - 06:40am PT
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People who have climbed N faces of North Twin and Alberta:
George Lowe
Barry Blanchard
Steve House
Jon Walsh
If you include the Emperor Face the list is now down to Barry, Steve, and Jon
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Dec 29, 2016 - 02:00pm PT
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10th Ascent: Jay Mills and Dana Ruddy, 2009.
What makes Mount Alberta so impressive to me is how remote it is. It’s a full day from the road to the base of the North face and involves multiple glacier crossings and a rap to reach its base. There is a hut that sits at about 9500ft at the base of the East face of Alberta which offers climbers a warm night and dry spot in bad weather. As is common in the Rockies the long approaches often add to the challenge of the climb.
Alberta is also very hard to find in good condition. When I climbed it we were hoping for rock climbing conditions to allow fast travel. We found good conditions but not great, as the face had a thin layer of ice and snow which added to the challenge.
One thing many people don't know is that you can see the North Face of Alberta from Jasper town site. There is one spot on the very west end of town that on a perfectly clear day you can make out the pyramid shaped ice face that makes the NF of Alberta so indistinguishable. When I climbed the face we topped out on the rock climbing at about 1 am and took a short break. I will always remember looking to the north and feeling comforted by the lights of Jasper some 80 km away. Then we were up to the summit at about 4 am and made our way over the famous summit ridge in the light of the full moon as the sun rose over the Columbia ice fields. We got to watch the north face of the north twin slowly appear from the darkness as night turned to day. Good memories!
Thanks to Dana Ruddy
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