|   Another weekend in Nordegg | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 3:58 PM | | Spent the last four days in Nordegg biking some of the local trails. I was determined to ride up Coliseum Mountain, (trail 215 in Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies) one of the harder climbs in the area. I'm not known for my climbing prowess, yet I'm not
at the sucky end of the spectrum yet. Give me a few years. Sitting in an office behind a desk doesn't help much.
Coliseum Mountain sits on the North end of Nordegg looking over the Shunda basin. The ride or should I say hike up took a little under two hours. It's ridable going up but very hard due to the cobble sized rocks and loose shale that line the trail. Once you break the alpine tree line you realize you've still got plenty of pedaling to
go. From here you gather up all your fear of heights and put them aside. Up and over a very large scree slope. Pictures do not do this area justice. I past several hikers on the slopes and they all thought I was nuts for riding up it. I guess most people Heli bike up and ride down. Once you pass over the scree slope you ride the narrow ridge over to the summit. A short hike and bike up onto of the wind swept summit and it's time for lunch. What a view. 360 degree view of the Rockies. Time to celebrate why we bike.
The trip down was out of this world. I'd highly recommend it to the speed freaks out there. Just beware of hikers on the way down. it took me twenty minutes to descend 2700' and reach my camp about 3 clicks away. Not bad for an old fart. The o'l disc brake pads need to be replaced after this ride.
The local gang is going to try and get together and scout out a few more trails for a mini gathering there in 2003.
I'm not much for formatting photo's with text under them. Wish I knew how as it would add a little more ummph to this post. Any way heres a few shots of the climb and a shot of FakeKelli and the kids for Celly. As I looked at my picture I realize how much my forehead has grown over the last few years. Oh, what little hair I have I cherrish :-)
Rob |
| More Pic's | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 4:04 PM | | Not sure how to post multiple photo's. Need PC Geek Help |
| Summit and Ridge | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 4:09 PM | | What a great ride over this ridge. A must for everyone |
| Nice shot of the trail back | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 4:13 PM | | Shot taken on the way down. Something about this picture reminds me of the old west. |
| Me and my cycle | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 4:18 PM | | C-c-c-c-c-c-oold up top with the wind. And i even did it without packing one of those energy beers up too. |
| Fakewife & FakeKids for Celly | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 4:24 PM | | Or they could be cut outs of some axe murdering tourist magazine?
Photo taken on the Bighorn Dam before a nice long swim in the glacer fed lake. "Can you say shrinkage" Yikes that waters cold. Kinda freaky...I was wondering what kind of prehistoric giant fish are in this lake as I took a dip.
Rob |
| shrinkage can be a GOOD thing in those cold lakes | AK Ken
Jul 14, 2002 6:11 PM | | keeps those prehistoric fish with the rows of razor teeth from nibbling off any important bits.
Good looking fake family. Fake dog is a nice touch.
Ken |
| Awesome pics.... My machine loads them one at a time..... | Battman42
Jul 14, 2002 6:26 PM | | So no worries about multi pic posts...
Tim |
| Great Photoshop work! | celly
Jul 15, 2002 3:54 AM | | Where is that place, anyhow? |
| Bwa ha ha ha! | Spike
Jul 15, 2002 1:02 PM | | Even a Tomahawk doggie for the little endos! I guess we'll have to believe you now. Thanks for the nice pics; it sounds like a cool challenging ride. Glad the prehistoric fishies didn't snarf you. Ogo Pogo's cousin probably lives there.
Spike |
| Looks like my kind of trail! | skogan
Jul 14, 2002 4:51 PM | | I would have loved to join you but unfortunately I had to stick around for a 24hr team meeting/beer drinking session... Can't believe I signed up for another go at that silliness, oh well, at least I have a team this year...
I did get up to some fun saturday though, hiked up to Old Goat Glacier which is the closest glacier to Canmore, only 25km away. If you and the missus want to do a real nice hike while you are up for the gathering I totally recomend it...
The waterfall at the headwall, you scramble up easy slopes to the left...
Looking back from the top of the lateral morraine, the glacier is down to the left...
And yes I'm teasing you by doing a multi pic post :op |
| multi pic posting showoff | AK Ken
Jul 14, 2002 6:41 PM | | You picked good pics to tease with, anyway. There's a fat tire festival in Chitina/McCarthy August 3-4 that we hope to attend. That's iffy because the state has suspended maintenance on the McCarthy road as well as the Denali Highway, and swear that they won't even fix washouts (one happening as we speak on the Denali).
If we make it to McCarthy, I'll try to get some bike related pics on the Kennicott Glacier. Your "lateral moraine" (i LOVE that kinda talk) photo reminded me of the Kennicott.
Ken |
| McCarthy/Kennicott | skogan
Jul 14, 2002 7:32 PM | | I really wanted to visit that area when I did my Alaska bike tour a few years ago but just didn't have enough time to fit it in. I wish now that I would have squeezed it in since I rode right by the turn off.
Well, I hope you make it out there and take lots of pictures to share! |
| I think you'd like the area | AK Ken
Jul 14, 2002 11:32 PM | | what with the glaciers, and 17,000 foot smoking volcanoes, and the Copper River, plus the Kennecott (I'm spelling it both ways so I'm sure to be right half the time) mine operation.
Someone who destroys mountains for a living could appreciate the amazing amounts of human effort required to produce a mining operation the size of Kennecott way back when steam power was the up and coming thing.
That would have been a pretty good jaunt, though. Must be 20 miles or so from the turnoff at Kenny Lake over to Chitina, then another 60 from there to the end of the road at McCarthy. Then it's 4 miles of railroad grade up to the mine/mill site. There's a nice lodge there now, too.
Ken |
| WOW !!! this last one amazing. (nm) | Spiff
Jul 14, 2002 8:54 PM | | nm |
| Nice shots..boring place to live though :-p | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 8:55 PM | | I showed FakeKelli the shots and she said she'd love to hike them. I'll have to get her out for a walk prior to any real hills or I'll be collecting her life insurance from the heart attack she'll have climbing up to the glacer :-)
Gota ride Landside next.
Rob |
| good job. | AK Ken
Jul 14, 2002 5:54 PM | | check your e for multi pic instructions.
Ken |
| Thanks (nm) | TomahawkRob
Jul 14, 2002 8:42 PM | | . |
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