This time, I came better prepared, lugging my ice axe and crampons in addition to my photography gear. As is often the case when one carries a rain jacket, simply carrying the item prevented the need for their use.
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| The slog up the Dragon's Back. |
Thankfully, it was a somewhat cloudy day, which lessened the impact of sun reflecting off the white rocks and baking you from both the front and the back. The Dragon's Back was in great shape, with no snow or ice to be found, and while somewhat loose was quite reasonable and a lot easier than Mount Lawrence Grassi.
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| Three scramblers working their way to the summit. We met them on their way back down. |
It was a busy day on Rundle, and I saw at least a dozen other people (mostly from far away). However, almost no one came all the way to the summit, instead choosing to stop at the large cairn / rock shelter. I figure, if you're going to scramble up1579m, you may as well finish the job and do the final traverse to the summit. The traverse is a little exposed, but not much more difficult than what needed to be negotiated to get up there in the first place.
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| Angie contemplating the south summit of Rundle, 409m lower than the true summit. |
It was cool on the summit, maybe around 5C, but not as windy as I feared, so we spent some time relaxing and enjoying the solitude (the true summit and the main cairn are not visible from each other).
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| An airy view over the other side. |
The dropoff on the north side of Rundle is very steep. Normally, a mountain looks steep from the bottom, but once you get to the top, you realize that things are pretty rounded and the exposure is not that bad. Well, the top of Rundle is sharp. It's a good place to build faith in the rock you are standing on.
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| Lake Minnewanka and the Banff Dragon Boat Festival. |
By the time we got back to the car, 7 hours had passed. 3h45m up, 30m break on the summit, then 2h45m down. Pretty good time and a beautiful day.
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