BOU AVENUE
Mount Whymper
Under somewhat odd circumstances, Dan Millar and I found ourselves dragging along a total stranger on a scramble up Mount Whymper on 30 August 1997.  Michelle (I never did get her last name) was a visitor from Mexico who became acquainted with us through a co-worker of Dan's.  Dan and I have speculated that Michelle was perhaps some sort of mail-order bride-to-be.  She probably came to Canada to size up Dan's co-worker, and finding him boring, she decided to explore the Canadian Rockies instead.  Somehow, she got wind of our plans to go scrambling and probably thought it would be fun to tag along.  When we picked her up that morning, we were quick to point out to her the serious nature of our trip, but she was very enthusiastic and quite willing to follow Dan and me up any mountain despite her limited hiking experience.

As it turned out, she didn't make the summit that day, but she got remarkably high up the mountain.  About 100 to 200 vertical metres short of the summit, she decided to stop and wait while Dan and I continued up to the top.  After the usual summit chores, we rejoined Michelle, and a lengthy but uneventful descent ensued.  Despite being a novice, Michelle proved to be a competent scrambler, and her failure to reach the summit did not deter her from attempting another peak (Middle Sister) the very next day!
Mount Whymper Dan and Michelle hike toward the wide gully just right of centre.
Things get interesting... Michelle and Dan work their way up through the rock bands.
I wonder what Michelle is doing right now... Sonny and Dan stand on the 2845-metre summit of Mount Whymper.  Mounts Ball and Stanley dominate the view to the southeast.
Dear Diary... Dan writes a haiku in the summit register with Storm Mountain in the background.
Is he taking a leak in the corner? Michelle watches Dan descending a rock step.
F#*king garbage!! Dan and Sonny show their disgust at the amount of garbage they picked up along one side of a 500-metre stretch of the Banff-Radium Highway.