Tag Archives: Epic

Yamophilia

Yamophilia /jæmˈoʊfɪliə/ (noun) A love of or obsession with the mountain officially known as Mount Laurie (better known as Mount Yamnuska: a name borrowed from the Stoney Nakoda name Îyâmnathka, meaning “flat-faced mountain”). Yamnuska (abbreviated as “Yam”) is the birthplace … Continue reading

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What makes an alpine climb a classic? [Revised January 2025]

Introduction This essay and collection of trip reports were originally published in VOCJ66 (2023-24, pp. 62-80). Since publication, I’ve had a chance to refine the ideas in the essay portion; I now think that my previous category of an “aesthetic classic” … Continue reading

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Red Heather Debacle 2024

Trip date: November 24th, 2024 Condolences to Ross who dropped his phone into the parking lot outhouse. The sound of the splash will forever live in our hearts. May he get pants with more secure pockets. This is a trip … Continue reading

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The Greenwood Jones [V, TD, 5.10, 1300m] on the North Face of Mt Temple

§1 | INTRODUCTION The North Face of Mt Temple provides one of the more dramatic views along Highway 1. It rises ~1300m from base to summit, providing a world-class backdrop for visitors to the Lake Louise area. Often likened to the … Continue reading

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A Ski Descent of Mt Robson (Kain Face via the Patterson Couloir)

Trip Date: May 7th-10th, 2024 Participants: Noah Macdonald, Charles-Antoine Leblanc Summitting and skiing Mount Robson has been a dream of mine for longer than I can remember. On May 9th, I finally made that dream come true. Brevity is a virtue … Continue reading

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Groundhog Day and Garibaldi Lake

Participants: Nadine Bruneau, Oliver Capko, the legendary Christian Veenstra Back when we were replacing the roof on the Brian Waddington Hut, we had a bunch of VOC volunteers, who were there for the weekends, Jacob, who stayed the whole time, … Continue reading

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!GURI |AIB (The White Streak)

Learning to Route Develop and Big Wall Climb in Spitzkoppe, Namibia Preparatory Ramblings     Preparatory Ramblings It has taken me some time to submit this report. On my return from Namibia, I was greeted by a series of emergencies … Continue reading

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A Long Walk in the Cold: A Single-Push Neve Traverse

Trip Date: Feb 23rd-24th, 2023 Participants: Noah Macdonald, Zach Bloom [Below is a trip report written by Zach. My comments are appended on the end. I’m posting this on his behalf because he isn’t a VOC member, though he is … Continue reading

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A Feature-length Pinecone Burke Traverse

Trip Dates: June 30th – July 4th, 2022 Ever since stumbling across Richard, Birgit, Vincent, and Cassandra’s 2017 trip report, the idea of doing an extended version of their “Pinecone Burke Traverse” had been kicking around my head. During a … Continue reading

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Daughter of Ice 2022

My Daughter of Ice experience started late Friday night when Linda and Mason arrived in Vanthony to collect me. I was their last passenger and so together with Seton, Anelia, Anton, and Jeffery and approximately one fuckton of gear in … Continue reading

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