Canyoneering: Goblin's Lair - Utah
May 2nd, 2017.
Nearing the end of our trip, we realized that we could still spend a half day doing something before starting our drive back to Calgary. As luck would have it, we met someone in Hanksville who offered to fly us to a distant planet to an area known as Goblin Valley. After exploring the area and dropping down into a cave/canyon known as the Goblin's Lair, the locals woke up and chased us away. Luckily we got back to the spaceship just in time. Once back in Hanksville, we were able to start our long drive back home. The next day we made a bunch of stops in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks before then continuing on back to Calgary. This was another amazing Utah trip, and we were all looking forward to returning someday soon.
8
views
Canyoneering: Alcatraz Canyon - Utah
May 1st, 2017.
After the North Wash canyons, our next excursion was Alcatraz Canyon in the Robber's Roost area. We weren't sure what to expect. From what we read, people claimed it's one of the harder canyons in the area. It ended up being a fantastic canyon, and we actually had to rappel off your vehicle just to get in. It also gave us a bit more confidence to go after more difficult canyons on future trips.
8
views
Canyoneering: Leprechaun Canyon (Left & Middle Forks), Plus Blarney Canyon - Utah
April 29th & 30th, 2017.
Tyler (who had been climbing at Indian Creek) joined us to do a few canyons in the North Wash area of Utah. He made a didgeridoo out of ABS pipe and decide to carry it with him though these crazy narrow canyons. It's fair to say he's got the first didgeridoo descent of the Leprechaun and Blarney Canyons.
Unfortunately I lost most of the video footage from these 3 canyons due to a faulty memory card. But I think this video turned out pretty good regardless.
2
views
Canyoneering: Birch Hollow Canyon - Utah
April 25th, 2017.
Our next outing was a canyon just outside of Zion called Birch Hollow. It was another pretty canyon with lots of beautiful rappels.
We then started to travel east, and over the next few days we did Bryce National Park, the Upper Red Breaks canyons, Lower Calf Creek Falls, and some hiking in Capital Reef National Park. Unfortunately none of us bothered to take any videos from those outing. So the next videos I'll post from this trip will be around the Hanksville area.
1
view
Canyoneering: The Subway (Top Down), Zion, Utah
April 24th, 2017.
Still in Zion, our next outing was the top down canyoneering route of the Subway. This was another very beautiful canyon. It's also really beginner friendly for anyone wanting to try canyoneering for the first time. Back then we had no problem getting permits. But since hikers can access to lower section of this canyon, permits have now unfortunately become very hard to get. I highly recommend the top down canyoneering route over the bottom up hiking route to anyone with even the most basic skills. It's so much better than simply hiking up from the bottom.
Technically the official name for this canyon is the Left Fork of North Creek, but everyone knows it as The Subway.
2
views
Canyoneering: Pine Creek Canyon - Utah
Seth, Amber, Parry and I did this Utah hiking and canyoneering trip years ago. We borrowed a friend's GoPro to see if we could get any interesting footage from in the canyons. The footage was interesting, but was so shaky that it was almost unwatchable. Years later, by using stabilization in the editing software, I've now been able to put together 6 fun videos from that trip.
April 23rd, 2017. After driving down from Calgary, our first outing was Pine Creek Canyon in Zion National Park. To this day, Pine Creek still might be the prettiest canyon I've been through in Utah.
3
views
Ptarmigan & Baker Lakes, Oyster Peak, Skoki Mountain, Skoki Lakes Valley - Banff NP
Back in mid September 2016, my friend Amber joined me on an outing to one of my favorite areas in fall.
0:00 Intro & Approach
0:16 Boulder Pass & Ptarmigan Lake
0:43 Baker Lake
0:50 Oyster Peak
1:08 Skoki Mountain
1:16 Skoki Lakes Valley
2:10 Outro Pictures
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
4
views
Rockwall Trail - Kootenay NP
Back in mid August 2016, my friend Julie and I went on this beautiful hike exploring the northern portions of the Rockwall Trail in Kootenay National Park. We went from Helmet Falls to Rockwall Pass, Wolverine Pass, and down to the Tumbling Creek. Parks Canada calls this the Ochre Loop. We then did a side trip up through Tumbling Pass, and finally all the way back down to the Paint Pots and Vermilion River. In my opinion, the northern portions of the Rockwall Trail are prettier than the southern portions (Floe Lake & Numa Pass).
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
7
views
Caldron Lake & Peak, Mistaya Mountain, Peyto Lake - Banff
Back in late July, 2016, Amber, Parry and I had an amazing trip exploring the Caldron Lake area in Banff National Park. We also climbed both Caldron Peak and Mistaya Mountain. It's such a beautiful area.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
5
views
Booming Ice Chasm - Crowsnest Pass
June 26th, 2016. Not knowing what type of restrictions will be in place once the Castle Wilderness becomes a provincial park, we decided to check out the Booming Ice Chasm now. This is truly an amazing wonder deep inside a mountain.
We required 4 full (60-70m) rope lengths to get to the bottom of the main chamber. Other than a couple sets of bolts at the top, all the other bolt locations were still buried under the ice. So we had to make ice anchors the rest of the way. The ice was perfectly polished with an angle of 50 degrees at the top, and then mellowing out to around 35 degrees further down. So either ice climbing, or glacier mountaineering experience is a must. This is not a place for beginners.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
5
views
Marmot Fight UFC Style - Kananaskis, AB
July 25th, 2012. I captured a video of this marmot fight in the Three Lakes Valley in Kananaskis Country, AB.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
5
views
Skiing the 3/4 Couloir at Moraine Lake - Banff
May 26th, 2012. The first weekend the Moraine Lake road opened up for the season, Wayne, Ian and I boot packed up the famous 3/4 Couloir behind Moraine Lake. Wayne and I continued up Mount Fay to ski a steep chute off that mountain. We then met back up with Ian at the Neil Colgan Hut. After a long rest we skied a line off Mount Bowlen and then finally dropped down into the 3/4 Couloir. Unfortunately I didn't take any video footage this day. This video footage came from Ian's GoPro. Luckily he was able to capture a little bit of Wayne and I skiing down. I'm the first skier down in the blue helmet.
9
views
Janina's Pocaterra Ridge Hike, Plus Summit Hot Pot Cookout - Highwood Pass - Kananaskis
September 10th, 2011. After moving to Australia, Janina came back for a visit. So we arranged our 2nd annual summit hot pot cookout. After a successful inaugural summit cookout on Mount Indefatigable, this time we chose Pocaterra Ridge. Special thanks to Brendan, Ray and Chris for bringing and cooking the food, Janina for the dessert, and Amber for shooting most of the video. Also, thanks to everyone else who simply showed up.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
5
views
Mount Joffre - Northover - Warrior - Cordonnier - Aster Lake - Kananaskis Lakes
August 27th & 28th, 2011. We hiked into Aster Lake, and I climbed Mount Northover on my own that evening. The next morning, all three of us climbed Mount Joffre. Brendan then went back to camp while Amber and I climbed Mount Cordonnier, and Warrior Mountain. We then packed up camp and hiked back to the vehicle. Northover, Joffre, Cordonnier, and Warrior, plus spending the night at Aster lake, all in under 30 hours, car to car. Needless to say, I was so exhausted on the drive back to Calgary.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
4
views
Bugaboo Spire - Pigeon Spire - Snowpatch Spire - Eastpost Spire - Crescent Spire
July 29th - August 1st, 2011 & September 6th - 9th, 2012. We climbed the Bugaboo Spire, Pigeon Spire, Snowpatch Spire, Eastpost Spire, and Crescent Spire in Bugaboo Provincial Park. I marked all our routes with Google Earth clips in this video. Everyone should try to experience this area sometime in their life, as it's one of the most incredible places on earth. It's also not just for climbers. For hikers; I'd recommend hiking up past the hut and campground to the tarns below the glaciers & spires. Eastpost Spire and the East Ridge route of Crescent Spire are excellent scrambles as well.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
1
view
The President & Vice President Climb - Little Yoho Valley - Stanley Mitchell Hut - Emerald Lake
July 23rd & 24th, 2011. We climbed The President and The Vice President from the Little Yoho Valley. You can also see these peaks from Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park, BC. We had already set up camp when we realized that Stanley Mitchell Hut was unoccupied due to a mudslide on Kicking Horse Pass. So we stayed at the hut and had it all to ourselves.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
5
views
Cornice Front Flip - Mount Lawson - Kananaskis
June 19th, 2010. A front flip off a cornice on Mount Lawson.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
7
views
Powder Day at Kicking Horse and Lake Louise
A few video clips from Kicking Horse and Lake Louise.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
8
views
Mount Assiniboine Climb - Hind Hut - Matterhorn of the Rockies
August 14th & 15th, 2010. Mount Assiniboine, aka the Matterhorn of the Rockies. It had just snowed, so the conditions were pretty spicy. Lots of snow and veer glass ice on the route. But the amazing weather more than made up for the tricky conditions.
We approached Hind Hut from the British Columbia side of the mountain, up past Assiniboine Lake. To summit, we ascended a combination of the North Face and North Ridge. We then followed the North Ridge on the descent.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
4
views
Neil Colgan Hut, Moraine Lake, Mount Fay, Babel, Bowlen, Perren, Tonsa, Little, 3/4 Couloir - Banff
July 24th-26th, 2010. We spent 3 days at Canada's highest habitable structure. Neil Colgan Hut, high above Moraine Lake and near Lake Louise in Banff National Park. We climbed Mount Little, Mount Fay, Mount Babel, Mount Bowlen, Mount Perren, Mount Tonsa, and 3.5 Peak. There were also great views looking down the 3/4 Couloir, Larch Valley, and Temple Mountain.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
10
views
Mount Woolley & Diadem Peak, Columbia Icefields - Jasper
July 16th & 17th, 2010. We climbed Mount Woolley & Diadem Peak in the Columbia Icefields region of Jasper National Park. Since it was during Stampede Week, we went with a country theme. We also had amazing views of Mount Alberta all day.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
8
views
Mount Lefroy Climb, Abbot Pass Hut, Lake O'Hara - Yoho & Banff
July 1st & 2nd, 2010. We climbed up from Lake O'Hara to Abbot Pass Hut. The next morning we climbed Mount Lefroy. This beautiful area is in both Yoho and Banff National Parks near Lake Louise.
Please check out my website for quality outdoor gear at an affordable price.
https://www.wexgear.com/
9
views