Rhonda S
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We will be joining a group from the COC for this trip. Brent and Rhonda will be meeting up with you all from Calgary. Ben of Mountain Madness Tours will be bringing the EOC attendees in from Edmonton to rendezvous with the COC group at 11:00AM. Ben has strict instructions to leave by 5:45AM at the very latest in order to meet up with the COC group. If you are not at the meeting place by 5:30 to load your gear, you will miss out on this trip and will NOT receive a refund. If you wish to meet the group out there rather than coming in Ben's shuttle van, please contact Rhonda to arrange to register through the COC group rather than through the EOC group.
Distance: approx 10km
Elevation gain: 300m
Sorry no jeans allowed.
This will be a combined trail/off-trail snowshoe. Please come ready to explore :-) We'll start off following the cut-line up the hill at the end of the parking lot. Once we reach the top of the hill we'll look for an unofficial snowshoe trail off to the right, and more directly up Blueberry Hill. We'll be using Marko's GPS track as a guide as well. As long as we find the trail, we'll have a relatively short trip to the top. Since it's an unofficial trail, some exploration may be required. The trail is likely to be quite steep in places.
Once we reach the top of Blueberry Hill we'll have a tremendous
view of Mount Fox to the south, the Elk Range to the east, and
the Kananaskis Lakes to the north.
Participants should have
previously snowshoed. Please note that there is no defined trail
- this is an explorer trip.
Ref: GemTrek's Kananaskis Lakes map.
Photos from past COC events:
Most of the route up is in the trees:
We may encounter some obstacles:
Fun with obstacles:
Sometimes the obstacles find us:
Group shot:
Some of it can be very steep and require breaking
trail:
Oh yeah, baby:
The rest of us got to follow him up:
Some needed a bit of help:
Yes, we're going STRAIGHT UP that:
More of the steep stuff:
NOTE that Brent and Rhonda have
found an alternate route
that is NOT quite this steep!
It's a winter wonderland - you can see why we do it!
Ah, the winter wonderland (note "Legendary Ed" in
the back row... 85 years old when this pic was taken... now 87
and still going strong):
View from the top:
Bumogganing Down (walking often isn't an option -
too steep):
| Required Items to Bring: - Larger snow shoes than your usual. If you own a pair of snow shoes that are "adequate for most trails", we strongly recommend renting a pair that is one size larger than what you normally use. Snow Shows must have excellent bindings and crampons, and must provide as much floatation as possible. The hill is steep, and snow deep. We have seen people not be able to make it up the hill due to inadequate snow shoes. - X-C Ski Poles or Hiking Poles with baskets - Multiple layers for top and bottom. NO cotton clothing - winter fabric of death! - Lunch & Water | | Recommended Items to Bring: Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need. - Personal first aid items - Camera |
From South Edmonton Common, Ben will take you south to Calgary, and then take the Trans Canada Highway west from Calgary for approximately 70 km, then turn south on Highway 40 for approximately 50 km. Turn right onto Kananaskis Lakes Trail then turn left into Elk Pass trailhead parking lot (approximately 12 km).
If we don't have nine PAID attendees (ie. NOT Rhonda and Brent who will be driving in from Calgary), we will have to make a decision as a group to either cancel the event, or have each attendee pay a bit more in order to run the event. We need to collect $600 (plus EOC txn fees) to pay Ben.
- Registration is NOT COMPLETE until you've signed up and paid by the registration cut off date. The money must be in the EOC's possession by that date. No exceptions.
- When a minimum group size appears, this is to let you know that the event will be cancelled with refunds to those who have already paid, if the minimum number of registered participants is not met. For any events where EOC needs a minimum number of participants, there will be absolutely no refunds of money if you cancel.
- We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines at all times while participating in EOC events.
- Please scroll through and read the entire online waiver when you sign up.
- Details of this event are subject to undergo a change at any point in time, with or without warning.
- EOC Transaction Processing Fees
Suggested donation amount for this event is: $2.00/Person.
Cancellation/Partial Attendance:
Please review our Cancellation Policy carefully!
*Note: If you cancel out of this event AFTER the cut-off date, you will receive a refund ONLY if:
- someone takes your spot
- the event is postponed or cancelled due to conditions