"The Rosinger File"  - trip pictures by Eva & Herbert Rosinger

To decrease download time, all images are "thumbnails" - Click on any picture to see it in full size.

Except as noted, all photos are by Dave McCormick; Fuji slide film, digitized and adjusted using Photoshop 5.5.

This introductory mountaineering trip is offered each year by the Alpine Club of Canada, Canada's National Mountaineering Organization.  It is guided by Peter Fuhrmann, an internationally certified mountain guide from Harvie Heights, Alberta.  Peter is a Past President of the ACC and is currently serving as Honorary President.  This year, the trip ran from July 22 to July 28, 2001.  The participants were:

  • Peter Fuhrmann - Guide (Harvie Heights, AB)

  • Dave McCormick - Camp Manager (Saskatoon, SK)

  • Eva Rosinger (Canmore, AB)

  • Herbert Rosinger (Canmore, AB)

  • Jim Barrow (St Albert, AB)

  • Jim Nelson (Grand Marsh, WI)

  • Duncan McLeod (Victoria, BC)

  • Peter Albinger (Toronto, ON)

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Group photo on summit of Mt Bowlen.  From left to right, they are: Jim Barrow, Duncan McLeod, Dave McCormick, Herbert Rosinger, Peter Fuhrmann, Peter Albinger, Eva Rosinger and Jim Nelson.

The trip began in leisurely fashion with a stroll along Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park.  Within hours, however, the group was sweating up the first 610 m (2000 ft) of elevation gain to the Fay Hut.  This attractive log hut was the first built and operated by the ACC.

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Group admiring Marble Canyon Struggling up to the Fay Hut The Fay Hut (1999 photo) The Fay Pot !! Knot Practice at the Fay Hut

The next day, after a short, steep climb, the group was able to wander over flowered meadows and interesting rock formations as they approached the Fay Glacier, en route to the Neil Colgan Hut, located over a kilometer above Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks.  This hut is the highest permanent, habitable structure in Canada, a full 30 m (100 ft) higher than the Abbot Pass Hut and sits on a narrow ridge between Mt Bowlen and Mt Little.

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Prospector Valley Fog Group on Fay Plateau Approaching the Fay Glacier Fay Glacier - Neil Colgan in distance

Two nights were spent at the Neil Colgan Hut.  While there, ascents were made of Mts Bowlen and Little, and the group also practiced self-arrest and crevasse rescue techniques.

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Climbing Mt Bowlen Mt Little from Mt Bowlen (can you find the hut?) Ascending Mt Little Peter Fuhrmann on high ground, descending Mt Little
sheisserlomas_jul25_rp01.jpg (82505 bytes) sheisserlomas3_jul25_rp01.jpg (49475 bytes) On the 25th, the group descended to the Moraine Lake valley via the Schiesser/Lomas route, a route marked by small orange dots, partly protected by chains and cables and very steep!

After a night at the Canadian Alpine Centre, the group hiked over Wenkchemna Pass, over Opabin Pass and Glacier, into Lake O'Hara, where we stayed at the Elizabeth Parker Hut.  Elizabeth Parker was one of the people most instrumental in the formation of the ACC.

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Wenkchemna Pass in distance Climbing to Opabin Pass on the Opabin Glacier Opabin Lake Lake O'Hara from Lake Oesa trail
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The next day, we hiked and slogged up to the Abbot Pass Hut, a stone building built in 1922, only slightly lower in elevation than the Neil Colgan Hut.
On the last day, the group descended the flanks of Mt Lefroy to a ledge system discovered by our Guide, often called the "Fuhrmann Ledge".   A rather exciting, narrow ledge running a few hundred meters above the valley floor, it avoids the "Death Trap" below Mt Victoria.  Refreshments were enjoyed at the Plain of the Six Glaciers Tea Hut before hiking out to Lake Louise. snack_lefroy_ledge_jul28_rp01.jpg (64508 bytes)