Gordon

July 19, 2024

The storm from last night blew over and another hot and bluebird day lay ahead. Andy, Damien, Bill, John, and I formed a long string on a single rope as we crossed the glacier towards Gordon. The Vulture col route, which I had hoped to climb this trip was not in shape, and the face did not look pretty either with the sloppy snow crossing a massive bergshrund, so we just set our path towards the west ridge which we reached after a couple hours of walking. We gained elevation walking along the massive wind scooped snow which brought us up onto the shoulder. This was followed by a short section of steep snow climbing which put us on the rocky ridge above a beautiful turqoise tarn. A quick scamper further and we were on top of the mountain, the highest point attained (3203m) of the trip.

Across the icefield in the early morning light

Sunrise over Crowfoot

Climbing Gordon's permanent wind scoop

Another mountaintop lunch as we enjoyed the views. The summit register here was in a pink box like the one on Rhondda however in place of pokeman, this one was covered in goats, pentagrams, and satan stickers. Inside the register box we found a sex toy and extra large condom. No end to the fun on the head of Gordon!

A monkey and dragon guard the devilish summit register

One for the calendar

On the descent we explored around the tarn along a sharp snow ridge leading up to a small summit which overlooked the Yoho Glacier. Another short break, and then we turned back, basically following the same path we had used on the ascent, arriving back at the hut in time for afternoon tea.

Exploring around the tarn

Looking down to the Yoho

Home sweet home

Total time: 6.75 hours

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