Home»All Photographs»2018 Hikes»Whitetail Pass 09-27-18

Today, I was going after my 200th summit in the Canadian Rockies. What better mountain to pick than "The Judge"?
After taking a wrong turn on the 23 km-long access road and arriving at a dead end 7 km up a precipitous logging road, I found my way back to the correct junction. Somewhat delayed, I started up the trail at a good pace.
Within 75 minutes or so, I arrived at Diana Lake, where there is a seasonal backcountry lodge. I hurried on to Whitetail Pass with knowledge of a bad afternoon forecast.
Once at the pass, I had a clear view of The Judge. It looked snowy but do-able...I REALLY wanted to make my 200th summit!
Starting up the ridge, a wind came in from the west and blew in a thick fog. My view was disappearing (see photo #10). I figured I could still pick my way to the summit, despite the lack of a view.
Further up the ridge, the terrain steepened somewhat and the snow got deeper than it looked from below. What rocks did emerge were quite slippery. My scrambling abilities were diminished because of the snow and ice on route, and my routefinding abilities were diminished because of the fog. The guidebook described a central gully that was the key to accessing the summit...but was I in the central gully? I couldn't really tell where I was anymore in the thick fog. The only thing I knew for sure was the correct way down...so I took it. Summit #200 would have to wait.