Needle Peak, December 5 :)

On Saturday, Dave Beeke, Dave Delooff and I went hiking at Needle Peak, just before the old toll booth on the Coquihalla. The weather was amazing, some of the best winter scenery I've ever experienced! An awesome experience.


Our view from the parking lot!




The sun shining on layers of ice that encapsulated every tree on the mountain.

Dave out yonder experimenting with snowshoes.

A much needed lunch break...too bad the food was frozen solid!

These are compacted footprints with the surrounding snow blown away in the wind. The shadow effect was cool. The sun was just emerging from the horizon.

The first humpbacked obstacle. Sheer ice under teh snow. Insanely slippery conditions!

We couldn't traverse over the rocks as normal (in the summer) so we had to side track on this STEEP cliff. With each step you had to slam your foot into the snow to make a good foot hold. It was quite amusing when Dave Beeke slipped down half the slope, and had to use his hands to construct these foot holds.

Other hikers taking a lunch break. We met about 12 people on the hike. Check out the mountain chains in the background! A lifetime of exploration awaits!!!

Some sections demanded hiking on all fours :)

The needle in the background. We made it to the base of the needle, but the ice prevented us from a summit.

Awesome hike, awesome weather, awesome views!