Wayne Robinson's highlight of 2007

For me, 2007 was an excellent year. I reached two peaks over 11,000 ft and climbed several lesser peaks as well. I was able to spend quite a few nights out on the trail both guiding and personal. I even spent a few nights with my wife in the wilds of the Dominican Republic wilderness, while attempting Pico Duarte, the highest peak of the Caribbean Islands (3129 m).

Wayne on the balcony of the 'Hall of the Gods"

The highlight of my summer is difficult to pin point down to one event; however, if requested to do so I would have to choose my trip to Ultra-Maligne Lake. Ultra-Maligne Lake is a small lake (a km wide) found over 600 meters above the south end of Maligne Lake, between Mount Charlton and the Llysifran Peaks. It is called Ultra-Maligne because the colour of the water is said to make Maligne's water look a dull blue.

I had heard about this lake for many years and longed to see it as few others had ever visited it due to the technical skills required to reach it. My friend Neil and I decided at the last moment to try to reach it and brought a wide array of rock gear, mountaineering equipment, and camping gear... not knowing exactly what we were going to encounter. It was a hot day, over 30'C during the first week of July. At 2 pm we started our 17.5 km paddle to the day use area, where we were to leave my Sunwapta cedar strip canoe behind. We reached this spot in an amazing 3 hours and started up the rocky terrain to the headwall guarding the lake. What we found was a small rock band that we easily climbed and then a snow gully over 300m high. We elected to climb the snow gully, roping up and utilizing our alpine axes while kick stepping our way to the top. The process was slow due to the weight of the overnight packs. We reached the top at 10:30 pm as the sun was setting. We struck camp quickly, cooked some food, and finished off with a night cap under a beautiful, clear starry night.

We awoke at 5 am and were treated to a glorious view of the land around us. The peaks were noticeably tall and rugged, Maligne Lake looked like a blue ribbon winding below. The only thing marring our experience was the fact that 90% of Ultra-Maligne was still frozen. We explored the area for a few hours but decided to descend the snow slope early as the day was heating up very fast. The descent was quick and we happened upon a spruce tree that would require four adults to wrap their arms around... very big for Jasper standards. The paddle back was perfect on the still, glass like surface of Maligne. All in all the trip was actioned packed and completed in only 26 hours... not bad for a day and a half off!