Family Fun at Abbot Hut Story and photos by ACC member Rani ...
Family Fun at Abbot Hut Story and photos by ACC member Rani ...
Family Fun at Abbot Hut Story and photos by ACC member Rani ...
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<strong>Family</strong> <strong>Fun</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>Abbot</strong> <strong>Hut</strong><strong>Story</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>photos</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>ACC</strong> <strong>member</strong> <strong>Rani</strong> Palo of Camrose, AlbertaTuesday, August 17, 2004 dawned clear <strong>and</strong> chilly <strong>at</strong> Yoho N<strong>at</strong>ional Park’s LakeO’Hara campground. The Scott, Anderson <strong>and</strong> Palo families awoke <strong>at</strong> 6:30 a.m. – fouradults with their four children – Carlann Scott, 13, Phaedra Palo, 11, Nicola Scott, 10<strong>and</strong> Colden Palo, 7.We emerged from our tents about 45 minutes l<strong>at</strong>er <strong>and</strong> began the laborious task oforganizing our backpacks, preparing breakfast <strong>and</strong> locking up our leftover gear <strong>and</strong>food. Everything took longer than anticip<strong>at</strong>ed which, with children involved, was derigueur. Nonetheless, we were ready to head out <strong>by</strong> 11 a.m., our goal to hike <strong>and</strong> climbup to <strong>Abbot</strong> Pass for an overnight stay <strong>at</strong> the fabled <strong>Abbot</strong> <strong>Hut</strong>.According to records, including recent inform<strong>at</strong>ion, no one Colden’s age had everstayed <strong>at</strong> <strong>Abbot</strong>, nor had there been many other children even slightly older. Th<strong>at</strong>however, was not why we were aspiring to reach the pass. Two of the adults hadconsiderable experience with <strong>Abbot</strong> Pass <strong>and</strong> the surrounding Rockies <strong>and</strong> our childrenhad all proven their mettle scrambling, skiing, biking <strong>and</strong> hiking. Fitness wasn’t aconcern, but safety was. With appropri<strong>at</strong>e precautions, we deemed the children ready toappreci<strong>at</strong>e the thrill, beauty <strong>and</strong> historic charm of <strong>Abbot</strong> Pass <strong>and</strong> hut. The immedi<strong>at</strong>eforecast, which called for a continu<strong>at</strong>ion of the high-pressure system we had enjoyed formany days, was conducive to our <strong>at</strong>tempt.As weascendedaboveLakeO’Hara wepaid ourrespects inwords <strong>and</strong>thought tothe l<strong>at</strong>eLawrenceGrassiwho, in alabour ofHerculeanlove,
constructed the nonpareil trails of the area. We took a break <strong>at</strong> Victoria Falls, whichissues out of the superb tarn of the same name <strong>and</strong> arrived <strong>at</strong> Lake Oesa (‘ice’ in theStoney language), where we wolfed down our packed s<strong>and</strong>wiches, took some pictures<strong>and</strong> lolled in the warm sunshine. The children appeared a little daunted <strong>by</strong> their firstglimpse of the steep scree slopes of the gully we would ascend, <strong>and</strong> their excitementwas palpable.“Helmets on!” We left the lake <strong>and</strong> followed the system of ledges to the new routePeter Fuhrmann had established a few summers earlier, <strong>and</strong> took a break <strong>at</strong> the top ofthe ledges where the scree slog would begin. The children were initially disconcerted <strong>by</strong>the movement of the rocks – the two feet up, one foot down, ball-bearing scree – <strong>and</strong>everyone was making excellent progress until I heard a cl<strong>at</strong>ter of rocks <strong>and</strong> yelled,“Rock!”A football-sized rock was bounding down the slope directly under the frowning wallsof Mount Victoria, the northern guardian of the gully opposite Mount Lefroy. Suddenlythe calm <strong>and</strong> confidence th<strong>at</strong> had marked our progress eroded, <strong>and</strong> there was concern<strong>and</strong> some fear, which was accentu<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>by</strong> the continuing loose n<strong>at</strong>ure of the scree wetoiled <strong>and</strong> navig<strong>at</strong>ed over <strong>and</strong> through.After a while – th<strong>at</strong> seemed longer than it was – <strong>and</strong> with positive shepherding <strong>and</strong>example <strong>by</strong> the adults, the children’s trepid<strong>at</strong>ion ab<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>and</strong> we proceeded withoutincident. About halfway up there is a spot where briefly, a corner of <strong>Abbot</strong> <strong>Hut</strong> may bespied silhouetted against the sky. My son Colden saw it <strong>and</strong> shouted, “There it is!” Th<strong>at</strong>energizedall of us<strong>and</strong> therewas newfocus <strong>and</strong>resolve <strong>and</strong>with nervescalmed wescrambledup theremainingslopes <strong>and</strong>emergedfrom thegully toarrive <strong>at</strong>the pass <strong>at</strong>6:45 p.m. – a time we thought excellent considering our group’s aggreg<strong>at</strong>e short legs.
Our arrival was dram<strong>at</strong>ic – yelps of joy co-mingled with a sense of profoundachievement.The children quickly staked out their sleeping places in <strong>Abbot</strong> Pass <strong>Hut</strong>’s <strong>at</strong>tic – somewould sleep in Alberta <strong>and</strong> others in British Columbia! Meanwhile, the adults preparedsupper (a veritable feast in the making), getting ice from the glacier to melt for w<strong>at</strong>er(with Colden’s help) while I, oper<strong>at</strong>ing with the stealth of 007, buried cans of pop <strong>and</strong>beer in the glacier leading down to the De<strong>at</strong>h Trap on the Alberta side, also making suremy bottle of Chilean red remained hidden until suppertime. Making things even moreexciting for the children was a group of experienced mountaineers who arrived shortlyafter we did. As they made their supper they began preparing their gear for an earlymorning assault on Mount Victoria.The children loved the hut <strong>and</strong> the pass <strong>and</strong> each visit to the str<strong>at</strong>egically <strong>and</strong>beautifully situ<strong>at</strong>ed outhouse some metres behind the hut was replete with excitement.As well, sleeping on soft foamies be<strong>at</strong> the heck out of our r<strong>at</strong>her skinny sleeping m<strong>at</strong>s <strong>at</strong>the campground.The climbers quietly got up <strong>and</strong> left <strong>at</strong> 5:45 a.m., <strong>and</strong> we arose a couple of hours l<strong>at</strong>erto good we<strong>at</strong>her as promised. After breakfast we explored the upper reaches of thepass, touching mounts Lefroy <strong>and</strong> Victoria <strong>and</strong> snapping lots of pictures. The Mount
Victoria climbers returned safely <strong>and</strong> successfully shortly after 1 p.m., while a new partyarrived moments l<strong>at</strong>er.The Anderson, Scott <strong>and</strong> Palo group of eight began our descent soon afterward,taking the centre line with a couple of the adults showing how to heel-kick <strong>and</strong> glidethrough <strong>and</strong> above the scree. A few nervous jitters were quickly overcome <strong>and</strong> thedescent to Lake Oesa became a truly joyful <strong>and</strong> fun experience. Gorgeous sunshineb<strong>at</strong>hed us once again <strong>and</strong> we soaked in the views <strong>and</strong> basked in the sense ofachievement on the shores of the scintill<strong>at</strong>ing icy high mountain tarn. The return to LakeO’Hara, though anticlimactic, was picture perfect in terms of scenery, putting a lilt in ourcollective step. Everyone slept well th<strong>at</strong> night – even on our skinny m<strong>at</strong>s.