The day started out sunny and as I parked
my car on the southern extremity of Blairmore and
prepared to leave I was looking up at the ridge knowing that the
views would come fast.
There is a small
amount of scrambling to get on the ridge, then the going is easy.
The ridge is just a hike and is very pleasant. About half way up the wind picks up, same thing on the way down. The
summit was relatively calm.
On the first summit
things get more interesting. You have to scramble down and across a
jumble of broken rock. Once on the main summit, just relax and enjoy
the views. I could see the wind turbines in Pincher Creek and I more or
less had the whole mountain to myself.
The view to the west
was spectacular with Crowsnest Mountain
looking conspicuous and the Crowsnest Pass spread out like a great
serpentine valley.
Mini
Panorama of the Frank Slide from the summit of Turtle Mountain
If you are in the
pass it also pays
to go to the Frank Slide interpretive center to get the historical
perspective on this place. The people of that time were a hardy
folk. A trail takes you through the slide area and is enjoyable on a
warm sunny summer afternoon in some airy sandals.
That summer
afternoon is only two months back, yet it feels like an eternity.
The Crowsnest is a special place. It's like a laid back Banff.
Crowsnest Mountain alone makes this valley comparable to the Bow
Corridor. Turtle Mountain and the Frank Slide are just thrown in for good measure.
The history of the
Crowsnest
Pass is rich and you can feel the old times echo when you pass
through Coleman.
he
most successful career must show a waste of strength that might have removed
mountains, and the most unsuccessful is not that of the man who is taken
unprepared, but of him who has prepared and is never taken. On a tragedy of that
kind our national morality is duly silent.
Edward M. Forster
1879-1970, British Novelist, Essayist
took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Till the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life
Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
Oh, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down
Landslide
Fleetwood Mac
British/American Music Artists
he
most successful career must show a waste of strength that might have removed
mountains, and the most unsuccessful is not that of the man who is taken
unprepared, but of him who has prepared and is never taken. On a tragedy of that
kind our national morality is duly silent.
took my love, I took it down
