Location: Central Alberta
Level of Skill Required: I rate this river at a 4 on a 5 scale for required skill. Not for beginners!!!
Time of Year: Season Starts at the beginning of June through to the end of September I believe.
Type and Size of Fish: Brown trout pin size to approx. 23 inches, Rocky Mountain White Fish pin size to approx. 17 inches.
Depth and Width of Stream: Depth ranges from 1/2 a foot to 8 feet, Width ranges from 6 feet to 20 feet.
Choice of Fly: Dry fly go with a size 10-12 “stimulator” (Stonefly imitator) if you are a beginner, Wet fly go with a size 12-1 Royal Prince.
The Stauffer Creek has been a ‘life safer” creek for those days when other rivers are just too dirty. The river clears up quicker because of its short length and abundance of vegetation on the banks. Access points to the river; just off the highway (you can walk down or up stream), turn west at the Stauffer store and head to the Buck for Wildlife bridge.
When fishing always fish upstream, so make sure you have a good “leak free” pair of waiters. My choice for waiters are the Hodgman lightweight breathables, they have extra padding on the knees for when you are crawling under those Willow bushes and trust me you will have to bend down a few times if you really want the “big fish” in the creek. It’s a good idea to always stay in the stream while fishing, Brown trout are very easy to spook. The one cast you should master for this stream is the “roll cast”, I do know some fisherman that don’t use it but it will make your day that much more enjoyable and less irritating. The other cast is the “bow and arrow”, you use this cast for getting under willows and banks (the toughest places to cast to are usually where you find the big guys!). So the type of rod for this river is a 6 to 8 1/2 foot rod usually around a 4 weight, but you can of course use whatever you want depending on your level. The types of dry flies I use for this river are: Stimulator, Caddis, Yellow humpys, Adams, Green Olive, Pale Morning Dove, Black Knat (male and female), Yellow Hopper. The size of the flies ranges from 4-18. The type of fly really depends on the what part of the season you are fishing, eg. Hoppers in mid august to late september. I try not to use wet flies, but when the fish are not surfacing you gotta go deep. So really the only dry flies I’ve used are the Doc Spratley and any bead head like the Royal Prince.
If you have any questions about the river or fly-fishing in general ask away!
This ride is out and back on 100% singletrack. It goes right along the shore of Lake Minnewanka, and it’s awesome fast, rolling, techincal (in places), rideable singletrack. Just don’t get too excited and knock a hiker off a cliff. Park at the North side of the Lake Minnewanka dam. Mountain bikes ARE allowed on this trail, so don’t take stick from the hikers.
There is not much to describe about this trail. It just goes on and on by the lake. But that makes it sound repetative and it certainly isn’t. The views are gorgeous of the mountains across the lake, there is lots of lake access if you want to cool off (summer only!), and the riding is never boring. Continually twisting and turning with rocks, roots and short rises and inclines there is nothing to slow you down or tire you out. It’s fast, continuous fun. I don’t know whether I was having a good day, or whether it’s the nature of this trail, but when I did it I didn’t tire at all and felt like I could ride forever at speed. The riding gets more techincal as you approach the warden’s cabin that marks the end of the ride. You then get to enjoy it all in reverse on your way back. It’s one trail I didn’t mind backtracking.
The “Happies” are part of the Volcanic Tablelands located just north of Bishop, California. The area contains hundreds of bouldering problems. There are lots of nice traverses and a lot of high problems too. Make sure you bring that extra thick crash pad. There are problems rated from VB to V14.
The video below is an extremely watchable bouldering video based in the Bishop area. Gives you a great idea of the best problems, and maybe a few tips for how to complete them too.
Also right by the Happies is the Buttermilks, at a higher elevation. In fact the name Buttermilks often refers to the Happies too. Bishop is just a bit of a climbing mecca really. Check out this awesome video by Momentum Video Magazine. Unfortunately the link won’t take you straight there (grrrr flash sites). You’ll have to hunt for it. I’m sure you’ll get distracted by the multitude of other awesome content though. Interestingly, despite the website being www.momentumvm.com, while we’re www.outdoorvm.com….there is no relation between us at all! I just came across their site the other day. Its a great site, keep it up guys.
Be warned….summer is very very hot for climbing. The rock is black, you’re in the desert, in full sun. Fall, winter and spring are considered the best times to boulder in Bishop.
Location Getting there from Bishop: Go North on Highway 6 about a mile. Take a left on Five Bridges Road and continue until you get to the gravel plant, then take a left on Chalk Bluff road and go 2.3 miles. Park next to the kiosk and washroom.
Getting there from Yosemite: Take 395 south to Pleasant Valley Dam Road. Take a left on PVD and drive for a couple of miles until you hit Chalk Bluff road, just after the camping area on the left. Take a right on Chalk Bluff Road, parking is a mile or so further on by the kiosk and washroom.
Once parked the trail leading into the canyon is behind you going uphill.
Bishop Bouldering details more than 2000 problems at this internationally popular climbing destination, providing complete coverage of the Buttermilk Country (including outlying areas like Dales Camp and the Pollen Grains), The Happy and Sad Boulders, The Druid Stones, and Rock Creek and The Sherwin Plateau (north toward Mammoth). Bishop Bouldering also showcases the region s bouldering with hundreds of color photographs, including stunning action shots from pro shooters like Dan Pattitucci, Jim Thornburg, Stephan Denys, Simon Carter, and Wills Young.
I spent a few days at Edith Cavell Hostel this winter. Looking for a fun day trip on cross-country skis, I decided to venture along the trail towards Tonquin Valley, the Ramparts and Amethyst Lake. It is around 19km one way into the valley itself, so I knew I wasn’t going to make it all the way. We knew from speaking to the hostel guys that snowmobiles had been out on the trail, in fact the hostelling guy worked at the ACC Wates/Gibson Hut as well as the hostel, and often commuted back and forth (tough job huh?). I would NOT recommend this on cross-country skis if the trail has not been packed! It would be for touring skis only.
As it was, we had some 6 inches to a foot of fresh snow on the snowmobile tracks at first, which made for gorgeous “fluffy” skiing as I like to call it. We descended down a narrow trail through some trees, with good views of surrounding mountain peaks in the gaps. It was interesting skiing, with just enough ups downs and bends to keep you on your toes but not put you in the snow face first. Except once. After around 40mins we broke out next to the Astoria River. Here instead of following the Tonquin Valley hiking trail, the snowmobiles blazed up by the river. So we followed their tracks. It was a barely noticeable uphill gradient all the way, with stunning scenery in the form of snow-capped peaks and impressive cliffs. The valley is nice and wide, and there is no avalanche risk along it. We skied another 2 hours or so up this direction, and judged we had gone around 16km in total by the time we turned round. If you’re a very strong skier and you have a nicely packed trail you could make it into Tonquin Valley and back to Edith Cavell in one very, very long day.
Coming back the gradient is such you can double pole most of the way making for a nice quick return to where you joined the river. Then it is a bit of an uphill slog back to the hostel.
I think part of the reason we were lucky and had packed snowmobile trails to follow was because there was a group on the Waites-Gibson Hut who had food catered for them for the week. So the snowmobiles were probably shuttling food in and out. Check with the hostel people or with the ACC if you want to know in advance if the trail has been packed.
I think this would be a long, hard, flat day on touring skis with skins! I wouldn’t envy it at all, I am definitely going to remember to leave Tonquin Valley via Maccarib Pass instead if I ever get back there on AT gear.
I don’t know much about climbing, I only started in January. And I know even less about ice-climbing. So why am I writing on this topic you may ask? Well I’m not..it just looks like I am. I came across some cool ice-climbing videos on YouTube. They feature what is billed as the greatest ice climb in the Canadian Rockies. It’s the Polar Circus, located 27km North of Saskatchewan crossing in Jasper National Park. It’s a 700m V5 (that means its pretty hard I think, haha).
The videos linked below show some great climbing footage, and also a lot of background chit-chat and preparations. Something the avid ice-climber will probably enjoy. It is in 3 parts, each video around 6-8 minutes long. Enjoy!
Length: 26km Time: 4-5 Hours Book:Mountain Biking in the Canadian Rockies - Doug Eastcott Elevation: 1600m-2100m Date done: Oct 7th 2006 Effort: High Rating: 8/10 Technicality: Moderate Map: You actually need 4….but can be done without, route finding is easy.
This ride is an out-and-back on wide single track and single track, that takes you pretty high on to Fiddle Pass. You start from the Whitehorse Creek equestrian staging area, 6km South of Cadomin. It is a good ride with awesome scenery and interesting riding. There is a campsite right at the start of the ride at Whitehorse Creek which makes things nice and easy.
I did this ride in early October, and rather unexpectedly got a dump of 3/4cm snow the night before while we were camping. It wasn’t forecast at all. We were totally unprepared and a little cold while setting up our tent and grilling steaks in a major blizzard and plummeting temperatures….remember kiddies, it’s the Rockies…be prepared! Although the snow made the riding difficult (and ultimately we turned back), it did make it very beautiful.
The ride starts off following the Whitehorse Creek. The riding is fairly easy, and the terrain quite flat. The scenery keeps it interesting and there is enough mud and rocks to keep it reasonably exciting, if not actually challenging. After 7.7km the trail leaves the creek and starts to climb to the pass. Here the riding gets a lot more technical and very steep. Lots of roots and rocks make the going tough, and this is where we turned back. There was just too much snow here for going uphill to be possible. However I believe if you continue all the way to the pass (some pushing involved, and some serious hard work) you are rewarded with a fine alpine setting and stupendous views. And then there’s the ride down that would make all the effort worthwhile. It would be steep, rideable, with roots twists and turns along a tight tree lined path. Awesome. I’ll be coming back here on a less snowy day sometime.
Location: Central Alberta
The types of dry flies I use for this river are: Stimulator, Caddis, Yellow humpys, Adams, Green Olive, Pale Morning Dove, Black Knat (male and female), Yellow Hopper. The size of the flies ranges from 4-18. The type of fly really depends on the what part of the season you are fishing, eg. Hoppers in mid august to late september. I try not to use wet flies, but when the fish are not surfacing you gotta go deep. So really the only dry flies I’ve used are the Doc Spratley and any bead head like the Royal Prince. 
This ride is out and back on 100% singletrack. It goes right along the shore of Lake Minnewanka, and it’s awesome fast, rolling, techincal (in places), rideable singletrack. Just don’t get too excited and knock a hiker off a cliff. Park at the North side of the Lake Minnewanka dam. Mountain bikes ARE allowed on this trail, so don’t take stick from the hikers.
mountains across the lake, there is lots of lake access if you want to cool off (summer only!), and the riding is never boring. Continually twisting and turning with rocks, roots and short rises and inclines there is nothing to slow you down or tire you out. It’s fast, continuous fun. I don’t know whether I was having a good day, or whether it’s the nature of this trail, but when I did it I didn’t tire at all and felt like I could ride forever at speed. The riding gets more techincal as you approach the warden’s cabin that marks the end of the ride. You then get to enjoy it all in reverse on your way back. It’s one trail I didn’t mind backtracking.
we turned round. If you’re a very strong skier and you have a nicely packed trail you could make it into Tonquin Valley and back to Edith Cavell in one very, very long day.
I think this would be a long, hard, flat day on touring skis with skins! I wouldn’t envy it at all, I am definitely going to remember to leave Tonquin Valley via Maccarib Pass instead if I ever get back there on AT gear.
This ride is an out-and-back on wide single track and single track, that takes you pretty high on to Fiddle Pass. You start from the Whitehorse Creek equestrian staging area, 6km South of Cadomin. It is a good ride with awesome scenery and interesting riding. There is a campsite right at the start of the ride at Whitehorse Creek which makes things nice and easy.
unprepared and a little cold while setting up our tent and grilling steaks in a major blizzard and plummeting temperatures….remember kiddies, it’s the Rockies…be prepared! Although the snow made the riding difficult (and ultimately we turned back), it did make it very beautiful.
lot more technical and very steep. Lots of roots and rocks make the going tough, and this is where we turned back. There was just too much snow here for going uphill to be possible. However I believe if you continue all the way to the pass (some pushing involved, and some serious hard work) you are rewarded with a fine alpine setting and stupendous views. And then there’s the ride down that would make all the effort worthwhile. It would be steep, rideable, with roots twists and turns along a tight tree lined path. Awesome. I’ll be coming back here on a less snowy day sometime.
