Day 1 in the mountains ..............

[TMB]

So, every so often I have to make a “road trip” to visit clients.

I always leave room in the schedule to do some riding.

This week I have my regular sweep down the Columbia Valley. This is an are in South East BC, between the west face of the Rockies and the east face of the Purcell Range. A gorgeous spot, I think one of the prettiest places on earth, so named because of the major river system that rises in this valley.

Day one includes a stop in Golden, BC. Right on the Trans Canada Highway, at the west entrance to the Kicking Horse Pass. This is a pretty special area. Six of Canada’s National Parks come together right in this little corner of the globe; Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay; Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke. It is also the east entrance to the Roger’s Pass.

Three rivers come together in Golden and flow on north and west from here. Two of them are the Kicking Horse and the Blaeberry. We’ll come to the other one.

One of the things in the Golden region is Kicking Horse Mountain and the ski resort of the same name on the side of that mountain. When I’m in Golden I like to ride up that thing. Mostly because it feels good when you’re done.

Funny trip this time. I came through here a week and a half ago with my family and the skies were clear. Today they are full of smoke from the forest fires burning across BC so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get to the top of the mountain or not.

The day starts much the same as any other ride day ........

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIXaWwj6I/AAAAAAAADBU/HkC6RCcWLIQ/s800/IMG_6417.JPG

Actually colder than I expected since the sun was having trouble burning through the smoke. Believe it or not, this is a sunrise.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIYX1_zxI/AAAAAAAADBc/n8oiwRa5GHM/s800/IMG_6422.JPG

We are going over there, if you look real hard you may be able to make out the ski runs on the side that mountain in the distance ( a little lighter coloured)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIX3l0Z6I/AAAAAAAADBY/6eLBcpUoPl4/s800/IMG_6418.JPG


Ok, here’s that other river I was talking about. That little thing in the background there is just downstream of the confluence of the Kicking Horse and Columbia Rivers. That is the Columbia River, the headwaters. You people from the PNW refer to it as the “Mighty Columbia”. There it is in all its glory.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIZOGOKII/AAAAAAAADBg/lxuDO57Hd9w/s800/IMG_6425.JPG

And that single lane, timber deck bridge is the start of the final climb up to the ski hill.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIaLheUAI/AAAAAAAADBk/Kkb453knXLM/s800/IMG_6426.JPG
k3aBuNY/s800/IMG_6451.JPG[/img]

[TMB]

Six miles of this. Six miles and 2,200 feet. The bottom 3 miles are steep. Really steep.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIbSKCILI/AAAAAAAADBo/J7Q_STUiS5g/s800/IMG_6428.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIcY2mtlI/AAAAAAAADBw/xsvP8PTD2pk/s800/IMG_6429.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIeD7DU0I/AAAAAAAADB4/AOZ-oo3Oxc0/s800/IMG_6431.JPG


It took a while, but I got to here.


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIfdh0AVI/AAAAAAAADB8/vRf56DtBoAk/s800/IMG_6432.JPG

I did not dilly dally as much as I might normally as I started to see a lot of bear scat as I got closer to the top, and this is very definitely Grizzly country.

The good news is that I didn’t start to taste the smoke until the last half mile or so.

I fail the GG “shot”

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIg02UyNI/AAAAAAAADCE/2y-8FWN9oX0/s800/IMG_6442.jpg

[TMB]

Tonight I’m in Radium Hot Springs. Tomorrow morning I plan to ride the Sinclair Canyon and Vermillion Pass. Then head home again.

I hope to se lots of these tomorrow ............

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_QhwtCvS9cDE/TGtIkVxTVNI/AAAAAAAADCY/5cVZk3aBuNY/s800/IMG_6451.JPG

[AngryScientist]

nice, looks like some good riding.

[jmoore]

I give this ride report a :beer:.

[Karin Kirk]

Awesome ride report!
Sorry to hear about the smoke. That taste in your mouth while riding is not much fun. Aside from that it all looks awesome. Love that Kicking Horse logo.

[dancinkozmo]

..thanks for the report....i really miss being there !!

[Matt-H]

Looks like some beautiful riding! I've never been to that part of BC, but it has definitely been on the list.

How much do you want for the bike??

[1centaur]

Looks like you are more flexible than GG.

If that Garmin's running on top of the car you'd have great defense against a speeding ticket...or not.

[ckamp]

Beautiful! I love kicking horse. That mountain is amazing for ski and board and a lovely cycle in the summer. Thanks for the report! :beer:

[TMB]

Looks like some beautiful riding! I've never been to that part of BC, but it has definitely been on the list.

How much do you want for the bike??


More than $500.

[TMB]

Looks like you are more flexible than GG.

If that Garmin's running on top of the car you'd have great defense against a speeding ticket...or not.

I can assure you, it would not have been a defence.

[TMB]

Awesome ride report!
Sorry to hear about the smoke. That taste in your mouth while riding is not much fun. Aside from that it all looks awesome. Love that Kicking Horse logo.


Thank you. The logo stems from how the pass got its name.

One of the first expeditions that really mapped out the western mountains and passes was the Palliser expedition. They had a surgeon and geologist on the expedition and the story is that when he was kneeling over some rocks on the river bank, his horse picked that moment to send him for a swim.

And so - the Kicking Horse River. And the Kicking Horse Pass, and ........

[GuyGadois]

Looks like you are more flexible than GG.

If that Garmin's running on top of the car you'd have great defense against a speeding ticket...or not.

HEY! He just has shorter arms.

Very cool photos!

[rustychain]

Last time I was in that area I saw more bear then cyclist. Great riding but I was not inclined to stop to much. Next time I'll travel with a slower companion so he can be the bear bait ;)

[Karin Kirk]

Thank you. The logo stems from how the pass got its name.

One of the first expeditions that really mapped out the western mountains and passes was the Palliser expedition. They had a surgeon and geologist on the expedition and the story is that when he was kneeling over some rocks on the river bank, his horse picked that moment to send him for a swim.

And so - the Kicking Horse River. And the Kicking Horse Pass, and ........

So, was the surgeon/geologist the same person?
I'm not sure I'd want surgery from someone who's primary tool is a rock hammer. (I'm a geologist.) I can completely sympathize with the need to stop and look at rocks anytime/place. Poor horse probably got tired of waiting around.

[TMB]

So, was the surgeon/geologist the same person?
I'm not sure I'd want surgery from someone who's primary tool is a rock hammer. (I'm a geologist.) I can completely sympathize with the need to stop and look at rocks anytime/place. Poor horse probably got tired of waiting around.


It was.

The Palliser Expedition is one of those bits of history that fascinates me.

The "surgeon" was James Hector.

He was described as a Naturalist. Geologist and as the expeditions surgeon.

Given that this was in 1858 I suspect their definition of surgeon was somewhat different than ours may be.

[fiamme red]

Given that this was in 1858 I suspect their definition of surgeon was somewhat different than ours may be.Here's an interesting bit of trivia (sorry for the thread drift):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon#Titles_in_the_United_Kingdom

In 1800, the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) in London began to offer surgeons a formal status via RCS membership. The title Mister became a badge of honour, and today after someone graduates from medical school with the degrees MBBS or MB ChB, (or variants thereof) in these countries they are called "Doctor" until they are able, after at least four years training, to obtain a surgical qualification: formerly Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons but also Member of the Royal College of Surgeons or a number of other diplomas, they are given the honour of being allowed to revert back to calling themselves Mr, Miss, Mrs or Ms in the course of their professional practice, but this time the meaning is different. Patients in the UK may assume that the change of title implies Consultant status (and some mistakenly think non-surgical consultants are Mr too), but the length of postgraduate medical training outside North America is such that a Mr (etc.) may be years away from obtaining such a post: many doctors used to obtain these qualifications in the Senior House Officer grade, and remain in that grade when they began sub-specialty training. By contrast, physicians and surgeons in countries other than the UK are always addressed as "Doctor."