BOU AVENUE
Mount Yamnuska

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On 17 July 2014, a small group of my co-workers and I spent the day hiking up Mount Yamnuska in Alberta's Bow Valley Wildland.  The participants included John Bourne, Lorianne Coursol, Tim Embree, Isabelle Landry, Eric MacDonald, Andy Paschke and myself.  Our original plan was to only hike up Yamnuska Ridge and stop at the base of the eastern cliffs of Mount Yamnuska, but we made such good time that it was only natural to continue up the backside of the mountain.  Smoke from forest fires in Banff National Park and British Columbia marred or obscured much of the surrounding distant scenery, but we were still able to marvel at the great cliffs of Mount Yamnuska itself during our ascent.  While most of the group finally decided to stop just before the crux, Isabelle and I continued up to the true summit.  When I climbed Mount Yamnuska 18 years earlier, traversing the exposed ledges of the crux was a memorable, white-knuckled experience.  A chain is now bolted across this same section rendering the crux a lot safer and perhaps even a little boring.  After tagging the true summit, Isabelle and I backtracked to rejoin the rest of the group, and together we descended the way we came.  It was perhaps a shame that we missed out on the great scree run at the front of the mountain, but we still had a fairly quick descent (round-trip time was a very leisurely 5 hours 15 minutes).  A fantastic lunch at a pub in Cochrane, Alberta capped off a very enjoyable day.

	The group gains elevation quickly on a good trail.
	L to R, Isabelle, Andy, Eric and Tim pause for a break at a trail junction.
	John and Lorianne are happy hikers.
	Wild bergamot
	Everyone is still in good spirits at a clearing which affords a good view of the eastern face of Mount Yamnuska.
	False dandelion
	Harebells
	The group reaches the east end of Mount Yamnuska's cliff face.
	The group continues up the crack that grants access to the backside of Mount Yamnuska.
	To the north is the East Peak of Wendell Mountain.  In the hazy distance at far right is Association Peak.
	Isabelle and Andy survey the scenery on the backside of Mount Yamnuska.
	The group stops at the edge of a cliff.
	The group scrambles up to a notch.
	The group stops again to contemplate how much farther they should go.
	The cliffs of Mount Yamnuska are an awesome sight.
	Lorianne and John cautiously look over the edge.
	Tim trudges up the trail with Andy and Eric just behind him.
	The true summit is finally visible at right.  The crux is just around the next ridge.
	Isabelle follows the chain at the crux.
	Isabelle descends from the crux ledge.
	The true summit is only a few minutes away.
	Isabelle and Sonny reach the 2240-metre summit of Mount Yamnuska.
	Isabelle descends from the summit.  East Peak of Wendell Mountain and Association Peak (distant right) are still visible despite the smoke in the air.
	This is the eastern half of Mount Yamnuska as seen from the summit.
	Goat Mountain is about the only peak that is distinguishable to the west on this day.
	Isabelle heads back to the crux (upper left).
	Isabelle traverses across the crux again.
	L to R are John, Isabelle, Lorianne, Tim, Eric, Andy and Sonny.
	John and Lorianne descend the crack at the east end of Mount Yamnuska.
	Lorianne's left boot is falling apart!
	Western wood lily