Among the trees

Nikayla and Efti make their way through the trees on the front side of Mt Yamnuska.

Another tree shot

Conor and Leon.. we were moving fast at this point and gained the shoulder in under an hour. It was my third time on this trail in three weeks, having climbed Yam, East peak of Wendell and now an attempt on Mt. Wendell

Views

The rest of us took a line that cut off a long switchback. Conor decided he wanted to take the long way around to enjoy the views.

In the trees.

There was a large dump of snow last wednesday and even though it's been warm and the slopes are south facing, there was still some snow in the trees. Here Conor rejoins the group after taking the switchback.

Fording Ford Creek

As at the base of the CMC Valley we had to cross a creek which was flowing strong with runoff.

Large landscapes

Leon went a little bit off track (like he does) and explored near the cliffs at the base of the east peak. Here he looks miniscule compared to the massive cliffs above him. At least he's wearing a brightly coloured shirt.

Pillars

Conor reaches the pillars.. we actually had to ascend out of the valley to reach the pillars below the east summit ridge. We'd give all this elevation back as we make our way up the CMC valley to the gully that leads to Mt Wendell's col.

Exploring

Conor exploring the pillars.

Beneath the pillars

Nikayla and Efti stand in the shadows of an awesome landscape.

Shadow

I commented to Nikayla that I loved how the light was hitting her head and that the rest of her was in shadow.. it made for an awesome photo.

Memories of Yam.

A few weeks ago I took a similar shot of Conor on the chain section on Yam. I'm glad he likes to explore mountains with me.

Up high.

Leon climbed up to this high point while we were exploring the pillars. It was also a nice place to have a bit of lunch.

Pillars

A view of the pillars. Mt Yamnuska is on the left there in the background..

Rock wave

Conor perched on a rock wave.. cmc valley and pillars behind.

Up the valley.

On the left is the face that you'd climb to get to the east peak of Wendell. On the right is Yamnuska. The bushwacking was about to get more intense as we continued up the valley. There is a distinct lack of a trail in this area.

Creek bed.

After hiking up the valley and turning climbers right into the correct drainage, we were finally out of the trees and starting to gain some elevation. The terrain here was rocky with a shallow layer of snow.

Leon

Photo of leon and his bright orange top.

Looking for the best way up.

We stayed low along the creek for quite a while. Leon, of course, was off a bit on his own. That's still Yam in the background, but it's far away now.

Looking down the drainage.

There was waterflow coming out of the drainage and a layer of new snow from wednesdays dump. We'd come from the valley and were slowly making our way along. Yam and Goat mountains in the background.

Runoff

Water was flowing down the drainage.. off the mountains and into the valley below.

Our group

Conor scouts out the route with everyone else making their way up the slopes.

Gulley

Before we could assess the gully, We had to climb up a slope so we could see it. Behind conor, there was a sizeable runoff that was feeding Ford Creek in the valley below.

ascent

looking up at the ascent. it seems both far away and steep..