Back in snowy Calgary again, the weather never ceases to amaze me.
We had an amazing end to the camp, an epic hike.
Mike gave us a choice on what we wanted to do, 30 on, 30 off or a hike up Elk Mountain. The boys had their elk steak to prepare before we left.
At the bottom of the mountain, it was raining, the higher we drove, the whiter it got. When our van started slipping back downhill, we parked it and started our hike. The first little while was good; we were all laughing and throwing snow at each other. We stopped for a water break and then continued on. I’m glad Mike told me to wear pants, because the further we went up, the snowier it got. It was like Christmas, all over again!
At one point, I turned a corner and BAM! The incline increased to something unreal. It was no longer a hike; it was now a scramble of sorts. The snow would slip out from under you and you would grab on to something to steady yourself only to realize that it was snow too. Finally after about half an hour of this, the trees opened up and I could “see” a magnificent view and the perilous plunge I would take if I slipped too far.


An hour and a half after starting our scramble/hike, I was at the top of Elk Mountain with some of my team mates. We rested for a few minutes and then started, well slipped down the mountain. We ran as fast as we could and hopped for the best as the snow moved with us, causing mini avalanches every once in a while. I feel sorry for the next people that go up after us.
The way down was amazing, waaaaaay better than going up. The worst part of it was that you didn’t know what was under you, so you just ran and hoped for the best. It took us 30 minutes.
I’m sure that this hike was one of Mike’s most genius ideas, everybody went to bed early for the first time and on the long drive back to Calgary, our van was almost silent. Heck, even Seo, our always moving black lab mascot was napping for the majority of the time.
Mike kudos on this wonderful hike of yours. What mountain do we conquer next?
