Sun, Aug 21 2016 - Emerald Peak (View Event Details) Event Coordinator(s): (To see who coordinated the hike, log in to the Member Area) Participants: (To see who hiked, log in to the Member Area)

Write Up:
Our group of nine fit and enthusiastic hikers, ladies mostly, started from Emerald Lake, which was teaming with tourists. Shortly after leaving the trailhead we met the only people during the whole trip – a couple making a short jaunt to Hamilton Falls, which was the only attraction on the good but arduous trail to Hamilton Lake. After a much deserved rest at the lake we climbed the steep slopes above to the south ridge of Emerald Peak. The ridge was broad at first but later narrowed, with a couple of minor bumps that could either be climbed directly, as some of us did, or bypassed easily on the left or right. For the final push to the summit we moved onto the East slope and climbed up on scree at first and then solid rock steps. All nine participants reached the summit. We were blessed with blue sky, warm air, and magnificent scenery. To the West we could see the rocky pyramid of Sir McDonald rising above Rogers Pass and the granite spires of the Bugaboos rising from a glacier. All around us lay the highest peaks of the Rockies adorned with white glaciers and below us lay the blue-green waters of Hamilton and Emerald lakes. But there was a price to pay for our enjoyment of the mountains. On the way up our lungs were hurting from the hard work and the way down was brutal on our legs because the group decided to descend directly to Emerald Lake down an avalanche gully. The lake looked deceptively close but the descent with 1,240 m elevation loss proved to be brutal on our legs, the quads mostly, even though the gully itself presented no major obstacles. Peter Minarik