Tszil Peak – Scrambling Practice – July 26, 2014

After weeks of nagging Ryan about wanting to learn more technical skills in terms of hiking, scrambling, and mountaineering, he finally took me out.

This is one of those hikes I should have done long, long ago, but never really got around to doing; nor was I too interested in the high traffic trails. I made a failed attempt at snowshoeing in the area years ago, but didn’t make it back until this trip. I was surprised at how beautiful it was – this seems to be happening quite a bit lately!

We decided to drive up the Duffey Hwy and car-camp near the Joffre Lakes parking lot in order to sleep in a little on Saturday morning:

Ryan Tending the FireCar camping

The next day we took our time packing up and headed over to the Joffre Lot, I was surprised at how packed the lot was. We quickly made our way up the lakes.

Views:

Gummy BearJoffre Lakes Provincial ParkJoffre Lakes Provincial Park

As we continued past the lake, views opened up:

Boulder Field

Our marmot friend:

DSC00657

More views:

DSC00659

The moraine was a very cool section of the trail. Parts of it were very narrow and not having the best balance, I was very careful with my footing.

Ryan on the moraine:

Ryan on the Moraine

Looking back at the 3rd lake:

Third Lake

Ryan and I along the trail:

Blood sugar check:

Blood sugar check

Last view of the third lake:

Third Joffre Lake

Shortly after the moraine, we reached the col between Tszil and Taylor peaks. The views were outstanding:

View from Taylor-Tszil ColAshika gains the Tszil-Taylor colView from Taylor-Tszil Col

View of Two Goat Ridge:

View from Col

View of Mt. Taylor:

View of Taylor Peak

Next up was some scrambling practice!

Mt. Brunswick was my first scramble last June and I haven’t been up much steep terrain since. Technically, this was my 2nd ever scramble.

The benches were cool:

Ryan Scrambling the Benches

Ryan’s shots of me scrambling:

Tszil Scrambling PracticeTszil Scrambling Practice

Tszil Scrambling PracticeTszil Scrambling Practice

View of Ryan and a future goal, Slalok Mountain:

Ryan and Slalok

More views:

Final ascent:

Views from the top:

Tszil SummitTszil SummitTszil SummitTszil SummitTszil SummitDSC00704

Summit Selfie:

On our way back, we caught sight of the sunset reflecting on the glaciers:

GlaciersGlaciersPhoto op

Blood sugars were a little more tough to manage in the heat. I had a few spikes and I was a little nervous to correct, knowing my blood sugars would drop quickly. No serious highs or lows (4.9mmol – 17.2mmol range). Next time, I’ll be careful to drink more water before and during the hike.

I had no problems on the scrambling bit and I’m excited to get into areas with more exposure.

Another fantastic day in a new area!

Post hike:

Ryan’s photo-set:

http://realaworld.zenfolio.com/p541931076

I hope everyone’s getting outside and enjoying the Summer!

 

– Ash

1 Comments on “Tszil Peak – Scrambling Practice – July 26, 2014

  1. Love your posts, just wondering if it’s possible for you to post GPS coordinates for the hikes you’ve done. I’m particularly interested in Tszil Peak.

    Thank you

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