January 21, 2021, Mount Haffner
Distance: 10.4 km
Elevation gain: 1136 m
Have you ever had a perfect day? Thursday, January 21 was just one of those days for me.
With a high-pressure system settled over much of the Rockies and avalanche conditions at an all time best to climb (low, low, low), Fred and I wanted to climb a mountain, rather than merely a ridge. Too, we wanted to pick a mountain that started with the letter H, for our niece who at just 18, was headed into her second brain surgery in less than two years to remove another tumor. I had been incredibly stressed since hearing the news from my brother on Boxing Day, but for some reason I woke the day before knowing the surgery would go well. That said, I wanted to spend the day thinking of her in my happy place – the mountains. A quick look at the numerous post-it notes I have listing the endless names of mountains I want to climb left me deciding on Mount Haffner in Kootenay National Park.
Like other authors of trips reports I admire, I am going to start to include details about the mountains we climb. I love knowing the history behind the mountain names. Mount Haffner is named after Henry John Haffner. He was responsible for the first survey for the construction of Highway 93 South, also known as the Banff-Windermere road. Haffner died during WWI. Mount Haffner stands at 2535 m above sea level.
The drive in was beautiful as always. Even though much of the drive was in the dark, the clear night sky with all the stars glistening over the barely visible outlines of the mountains was incredible to witness. By the time we arrived where we would park by the side of the road, the sun had risen, and we gazed around at the many sun-kissed snow-covered peaks. I adore Kootenay – it is a photographer’s dream – but we did not linger for pictures on this day. It was a chilly minus 21 and so moving our bodies was much needed to survive the cold. We packed up our bags and got on our way.
There was a bit of trail that could be seen heading up the steeper part of the ridge lower down but after this piece, Fred and I forged our own path up the mountain. While the temperature remained brisk, the climb coupled with the sun warmed us up quickly. Needless to say, I made a number of stops to adjust clothing and jackets – oh and I made a few stops for pictures 😂.
While the Verdant Creek fire during the summer of 2017 had a devastating impact on the area, the burnt trees made for wonderful views as we climbed. Instead of a long forest walk, we were able to see numerous mountains all around us as we trekked up to the pass. A ridiculous number of pictures were taken, including numerous attempts at sun stars.
By the time we reached the col between Mount Haffner and Vermilion Peak, Fred and I both agreed the day was spectacular on all levels – both of us were feeling strong, the weather was perfect (sun, blue skies, no wind), there was not another soul on this mountain, and there was so much eye candy all around us that we were both feeling an incredible sense of gratitude and an amazing feeling of peace.
From the col we easily post-holed through the snow until just below the false summit. From here, we travelled up the wind-swept scree to the summit.
I do not think there are words to describe the summit views we experienced on this day. We saw peak after peak after peak – from Mount Biddle (huge surprise to see!) to the Good Sirs to Mount Assiniboine, etc. The sun was warm on our faces and made the snow all around us sparkle. I could have stayed on the summit for hours. Both of us kept taking pictures to try and capture what we were seeing. Way too soon, it was time to head down.
As we reached the false summit, I noticed skiers heading up the backside of Vermilion Peak (picture 104). Having taken avalanche safety training, we were both impressed by how wise the skiers’ choices were on this day. Certainly, attempting what they did would be outside of my risk tolerance level, but for those with a higher risk tolerance, I think they did everything right – from climbing the “ridge” or high point, stopping to communicate all the time, staying apart as they traversed to the break in the cornice on the ridge, etc. We watched until they made the ridge via the section where the cornice was broken before continuing down the mountain we were on. I would have loved to watch them ski down but time was not on our side if we wanted to get back to the car in the daylight.
The trek through the pass and through the burnt forest was truly one of the most peaceful times in my life. There are no words to describe the feeling. I was the perfect temperature, the sun was twinkling at us through the trees, the snow was glistening, the mountains were clearly visible through the burnt forest, and Fred and I were just in sync.
On the drive home, we received word my niece was out of surgery and the procedure had gone well. Nic called to share he had a fabulous day skiing with friends and sent us a bunch of videos that I will treasure. And then we finished the day with Sam, with a wonderful nacho dinner, an amazing 2-hour conversation and then a show.
Yup, a perfect, perfect day 😊!
