Mount Rhondda

Mount Rhondda – April 26, 2008

Mountain height:         3015 m
Elevation gain:            1100 m
Ascent time:                8:40
Descent time:              4:40

Snowshoe mountaineering with Mark.

I’m sure a ski ascent of Mount Rhondda is a sweet, smooth sail. On snowshoes, however, it was a soul-sucking, slog! Actually, I think even those on skis might have been cursing the snow conditions on this given day.

We made it to the Bow Hut in 2.5 hours and took an extended break, due to severe sweating! Though the air temperature at the parking lot and in the canyon was very cold, it increased dramatically on the final ascent to the hut. We arrived at the hut depleted and sweating profusely….and we were not the only ones. Just as we were about to leave, an individual of unknown identity, burst into the hut and asked which one of us was “Andrew”. I pled guilty to the charge, at which point the man identified himself as none other than fellow RMBer, Kevin Papke. It certainly was a pleasure to finally Kevin and also to surprisingly find out that his daughter attends the school in which I teach.

Kevin wasn’t the only RMBer to arrive at the hut. Right on his heels, in walked Bill Kerr and T.J. Neault, both sweating like the rest of us. Kevin, Bill and T.J. were on their way to Mount Gordon. After some pleasant conversation, Mark and I left, as we were expecting a very long day. Again, we were ready to depart when along came Raff (the Pole), and Vitto. Their objectives were far more ambitious: Mount Gordon and/or Mount Thompson and Baker. We agreed that if our paths crossed during the day, we would attempt Thompson together.

Finally, on our way up the Wapta Icefield, we right away encountered two problems: the excessive heat was draining and also was causing the snow to melt and ball-up on our snowshoe crampons. This made travel slow and very strenuous. Kevin, Bill, and T.J. passed us only a short distance above the hut, while our troubles continued. Fortunately, a reasonably cold, west wind picked up, as we gained the Icefield, in essence resolving both our issues. The ascent should have been easy from this point on.

It was not! About 20 cm of fresh and very unsupportive snow covered the glacier. Trail breaking was slow and extremely arduous. At some points, we were barely covering 500 metres of horizontal distance each hour – now that’s slow!! Travel up the steeper slopes of Rhondda’s southeast ridge was even more exhausting, with about 30-40 cm of penetration on each step, even with the snowshoes. During this time, we observed Kevin, Bill, T.J., Raff and Vitto not only complete their ascents of Mountain Gordon, but also come down too.

Gaining the ridge on Rhondda was sheer relief and sheer wonderment. The view was absolutely incredible and only improved as we snowshoed the final kilometre to the summit. The panorama was magnificent in all directions, but Mounts Collie and Ayesha to the west were particularly beautiful. The Presidents, both half in shadow, were the also one of many highlights.

The descent was easy, taking about half the time as the ascent, but still the last hour was mind-numbing, as we passed hour 13 of the trip. From near the top of the southeast ridge, we did see two individuals setting up camp near the base of Mount Thompson and surmised it was Raff and Vitto. Unfortunately, there was no way we were in any physical condition to even make it to their camp, let alone attempt Mount Thompson. We headed directly for the Bow Hut for another break before completing a very long and tiring day.