2007

This was my last day in Hampi. I woke up early and went to watch the sunrise over the Tungabhadra River. I then went over to Hampi Bazaar with Kim and Babette to do some shopping and get blessed by Lakshmi, the elephant at the Virupaksha Temple. Because I sprained my ankle the day before I spent most of the day just relaxing. My last moments in Hampi were spent on a giant boulder on the banks of the Tungabhadra River where we enjoyed Eran playing guitar and the sunset over the river. It was really beautiful, making it extremely hard to say goodbye.

Day six in Hampi. I woke up early and went across the Tungabhadra River to take some photos. I noticed an elephant walking down the ghats (later I found out her name was Lakshmi) and stuck around to watch her being bathed. I then went back to the other side of the river, rented a bicycle and rode around the country side. I joined Kim, Babette, Ramon and Florent for a hike up the Hanuman Temple and coming down the temple stairs I sprained my ankle. A good lesson for me to take it easy when traveling in the future.

A camel safari from Jaisalmer into the Thar desert.

A one day camel safari from Jaisalmer through the Thar desert. I heard a lot about these safaris and a friend described as one of the more memorable things to do in India. I'm not sure that I felt as strong about it, but it was fun. I felt quite sore riding the came after a while and wouldn't have wanted to do it for more than one day. The desert was quite cold at night and I would suggest a sleeping bag. The sunset was really nice.

A quick day in Bikaner before continuing on to Jaisalmer. I checked out the Junagarh fort which as not as impressive as I thought it would be. It's advertised as the best preserved fort in India. It has some beautiful displays but not worth a detour to Bikaner. Also had a quick look at the Lalgarh, the city palace which is now a luxory hotel. I didn't feel like going inside.

Sightseeing around Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. The real highlight was 11 km north of Jaipur, the Amber Palace and Jaigarh Fort.

A series of photos of the Taj Mahal from early morning to just after noon. I was found out that tripods were not allowed inside and spent some time in the garden just west of the Taj Mahal taking night photos before checking in my tripod in the security lockers next to the west gate.

A visit to Agra Fort & Itimad Ud Daulah. I met a girl by the name of Manuela at the Maya guest house and she joined me for the exploration of the fort. She then went to the Taj Mahal while I went to see the Itimad Ud Daulah

Sight seeing in Delhi. Photos of the India Gate, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Jama Masjid

First day in Delhi. I got a room at a guest house called "Hotel Unique" put my fish eye lens and went out taking some photos on the streets of the area known as Paharaganj, the main bazaar.

A hike up Wasootch Ridge. Just before the summit bad weather turned us around and only got worse as we hurried to our cars.

An outing to the Calgary Zoo, butterflies, wolves and tigers

An easy scramble up Midnight Peak with the Calgary Outdoor Club. Great company and aside from the wind, a beautiful day.

A hike and a bit of a scramble along Wind Ridge at Dead Man's Flats. We made our way through Deadman's flats and ascended the ridge from the north, followed it to a high point below Rimwall and then descended into the valley below completing a fun loop.

A walk through the zoo with the main focus being photos of lions and tigers

I've been a fan of MMA for a while, but this was my first live show. Most of the fights were dull, but there were a couple of great ones. It was also great to see fighters like Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko.

This was to be a hike along Zephyr Creek and Ridge but without much information on the trail we ended up following Cataract Creek and hiking up Mt. Mann. It was a beautiful day made adventurous by four freezing river crossings.

A hike up to the north and south Buller Pass with the Calgary Outdoor Club.

An easy hike along Heart Creek. We followed the creek for quite a while, past the waterfall, the spring and the canyon. Eventually the creek became dry and it looked like we still had a ways to go to reach the start of the creek bed. We decided to turn around, but not before building a cairn to mark the spot.

A sunrise over Mount Rundle. I tried to be at Vermilion Lakes for it, but about half way there is when the colours really came out. I stopped and took a few photos then hurried to the lakes. Unfortunately the sunrise was finished by the time I got to a good reflection spot.

Tisha and Paulo's wedding in Banff. The ceremony, some photos outside during a beautiful day and the reception/party.

A late season scramble up Gusty Peak. It was to be a nice day but it was pretty cold, windy and it was a white out for most of the way up. Unfortunately no views from the summit.

Searching for waterfall photos along Marmot Creek

This was supposed to be a picturesque autumn day in the mountains with emerald coloured lakes and beautiful views from the ridge. It didn't quite turn out that way but just being in the mountains with good company made up for it

After an easy hike through Grotto Canyon we went to Canmore for some food and then up to the Grassi Lakes for some photos.

A 30+ km hike/scramble to Rockbound Lake, Stuart Knob and Television Peak/Protection Mountain with Blanka, Joanna, Aarmaan, Charles and Mitko

A beautiful day and great company make this a fun scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club.

A scramble up Mount Storelk with the Calgary Outdoor Club. The group successfully traversed to Mount Tyrwhitt, while Marta and I went back down after getting to the Storelk summit.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/y30bp3wtx7qqy92/2007-09-09%20Mount%20Storelk.GPX

A scramble up Mount Burstall. The snow created a bit of challenge shortly after climbing up the "crack" where half of the group didn't feel comfortable continuing and wisely turned around
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8d8wy3jecngzf2x/2007-09-08%20Mount%20Burstall.GPX

Our plan was to do Little Hector but after three days of camping and scrambling in the rain, we didn't feel like doing it again. We decided to do something short and picked Tower of Babel. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a beautiful day.

A scramble with Blanka, Marta, Marko, Mike and Parry. We camped at the nearby Waterfowl Lakes. This has to be one of my favorite scrambles. The fourth tower was pretty easy. Finding the route up the third tower presented a little more challenge and was more fun in terms of scrambling.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ublhs7qnf1gtgt8/2007-09-02%20Dolomite%20Peak.GPX

A scramble with Blanka, Marta, Marko, Mike, Parry and Sandy. We left our campsite at Waterfowl Lakes on a cloudy/rainy day. We made it a little more enjoyable by avoiding the scree gully and scrambling up the rocks on the right.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0bnr838dq2n62p/2007-09-01%20Mount%20Weed.GPX

The plan was to get up to the summit of Mt. Temple but blisters and low clouds preventing views resulted in Peter and I turning around at Sentinel Pass while the rest of the group continued on.

A scramble with Blanka, Mike, Marta and Parry

A trip up Mount Rae with the Calgary Outdoor Club. This is mostly a moderate scramble. On the easier side if taking the trail below the ridge on the left and more difficult if taking the ridge. I got myself into some trouble taking a wrong route around the gendarme and had a was forced to do a very difficult down climb. The adrenaline rush from it left me pretty shaky for the remainder of the ridge. Unfortunately we did get very good views, it was pretty hazy due to forest fires. On the positive side I met Ken Takabe, who's website I've used for reference on a number of occasions.

A scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club up Mount Cory

This was the Yoho Rollercoaster, as Zeljko put it. We went through the valley, up to the Twin Falls, over the Whaleback, down to Glacier Des Poilus, up Isolated Peak, down to Little Yoho Valley, up to the Iceline and back down to the parking at Takakkaw Falls. A very long day! The hike was fun and this area is beautiful. The scramble up Isolated Peak was the worst scramble I've done. We went up the wrong route up terrible rock, short ledges, mud, snow, water, etc. Only two of us made it to the summit, the rest of the group waited at the bottom.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5pdwjeq9s02ckhc/2007-08-11%20Isolated%20Peak.GPX

A fun scramble up Gap Mountain with the Calgary Outdoor Club.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0lxed8j3hp2u218/2007-08-06%20Gap%20Mountain.GPX

A scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club up Cascade Mountain in some not so ideal weather. As clouds moved in some could feel their hair stand up on ends so we didn't stay on the mountain for long.

A scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club. A trip with nine people, probably the largest group to go up the fist together. Getting through the gully was a little tricky and slow.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9y7e3jkkyqo2s35/2007-08-04%20The%20Fist.GPX

A scramble up Mount Richardson and Ptarmigan Peak with Karen and Marta, after a night spent camping at Hidden Lake.

A beautiful scramble with Marta, Karen, Mike and Mitko, destination Redoubt Mountain a peak in the Skoki area.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/znw42lc1w3cw41d/2007-07-28%20Redoubt.GPX

A scenic hike to Rummel Lake and scramble to the summit of The Tower with Charles Brochu. A trip made more interesting with fresh bear tracks found not far from ours.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/14qfg4vuh1rjhqg/2007-07-22%20The%20Tower.GPX

A scramble up Storm Mountain with the Calgary Outdoor Club.
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6fh66a4y4bh9rcx/2007-07-21%20Storm%20Mountain.GPX

A scenic scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A scramble up Observation Peak off the Icefields Parkway with the Calgary Outdoor Club.

An easy scramble with Jen, Kim, Kheang, Karen and Sandee

A solo scramble (though more of a hike) up the south peak of Mount Kidd

A solo scramble up Mount Norquay

A scramble up to Bertha Peak with Phil while Franco stayed at the lake.

A hike with Sneha, Franco, Phil, Richard and Joe. We crossed the BC border into Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park to hike along the beautiful Akamina Ridge.

A hike to Crypt Lake in Waterton National park with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike around Upper Kananaskis Lake. What was to be a rain filled day turned out sunny and beautiful.

A scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club to the summit of Holy Cross Mountain

A scramble up Mount Hood with Kheang in some weird weather.

Some flowers near work, testing out my macro lens.

A fun but short scramble up Mount Galwey with Ben and Heather
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/374yjcseuw67qkx/2007-06-03%20Mount%20Galwey.GPX

A traverse of Mount Blakiston, Hawkins and Lineham with Ben and Heather
GPS Track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ostp66qr5htu17/2007-06-02%20Hawkins%20Horseshoe.GPX

A scramble up to the north point of Opal Ridge with Blanka and Jen

A hike from the Canmore reservoir up the Grassi Lakes Trail, along the dirt road and up Ha Ling peak

A hike along Marmot Creek

A hike with Kheang along Marmot Creek to Troll Falls and beyond. Unfortunately in very rainy/snowy weather.

A hike up to King Creek Ridge with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike up the south end of Opal Ridge with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A scramble with the Calgary Outdoor Club to Doorjamb Mountain and Loder Peak

A visit at Big Hill Springs Provincial Park for photos

A scramble up Cougar Peak with Aarmaan, Ben, Blanka, Dobby and Phil

A hike up to Barrier Lake Lookout with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike up to the abandoned tea house on Mount Lady MacDonald with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A scramble up Yamnuska with the Calgary Outdoor Club in not so ideal conditions for Gloria's birthday.

Driving back through Montana with Ben, on our way back to Calgary after a ten day road trip.

A hike with Ben to the Emerald Pools and The Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah

Driving from Bryce National Park we stopped a couple of times along the way to take photos and detoured to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park for a bit of a walk before going to Zion National Park.

These photos are taken in Canyonlands National Park, Utah during a road trip with my friend Ben. Canyonlands is divided into three sections and this section is called The Island of the Sky.

Driving down from Cortez, Colorado, Ben and I tried to explore and see as much as we could in Mesa Verde National Park in one afternoon.

Scrambling up Mount Baldy in not-so-ideal weather with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike up to the summit of Hailstone Butte and Sentinel Peak with Andrea, Ben, Blanka, Jen, Marta and Tom

A hike up to the summit of Mount Burke and the abandoned Cameron Lookout with the Calgary Outdoor Club

Our plan had been to go up to the summit of Black Rock Mountain. The approach requires going through some bad roads. We got past what is considered to be the toughest part of the road only to get stuck further down the road in a snow drift. It took us all morning to get out and the rest of the afternoon to find the rest of the group who went to get help.

A short hike up to the summit of Gunnery Mountain with Charles, Blanka, Phil, Mike, Marta and Parry.

A hike up to Powderface Ridge with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike up to Barrier Lake Lookout with the Calgary Outdoor Club

An early season scramble up the east peak of Wendell Mountain with Andrea, Ralph, Ian and the other Marko.

A hike with the Calgary Outdoor Club along Heart Creek on a beautiful sunny day

A hike to Troll Falls, Kananaskis and beyond, with Kheang. Found many good waterfall photo opportunities, but they'll have to weight until the ice melts

An unsuccessful attempt to scramble the East Peak of Wendell Mountain, but a beautiful day out in the mountains with Sarah.

A trip to the Calgary Zoo on a warm February day

A hike along Heart Creek with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A hike along a partially frozen Heart Creek, with Kim and Charles

Snowshoeing up to Lake Agnes with Kim and Charles

Night photos of the Family of Man statues. Testing out the new fish eye lens.

A scramble up Heart Mountain with Sarah, Owen, Ian and Steve

A scramble up South Opal Ridge with Jen and Kheang

An easy snowshoe trip with the Calgary Outdoor Club

A trip to the Calgary Zoo for some animal photos

Snowshoeing up a small part of Kent Ridge

A snowshoe/scramble up to Limestome Mountain with Charles

Blueberry Hill Snowshoe with Kim, Charles and Michal

Snowshoeing around the Boulton Creek area