Traditionally, we spend the Heritage Day long weekend celebrating in Nordegg's Shunda Creek hostel, for the last few years. This year it was the weekend from Jul 31 (FRI) until AUG 3 (MON).
It was a nice group of hiking friends, consisting this time of Basia W, Mike, Roman, Witek, Basia K, Julian, Gosia, Bozenka, Grazynka, Ania from Banff, Jacek and Agnieszka from Calgary.
We decided to hike to the Kinglet Lake, which is 11 km return and 785 metres vertical, according to AllTrails.
Andy Rutkowski's film from the recent hike to Wasootch Ridge (15 minutes) - lovely as usual!
(PR)
Our recent trip to Kananaskis (July 17-19, 2026) was undertaken by the members of our Club with the intention to hike to the Ribbon Lake, which is a long and demanding hike of more than 22 km and around 1000 metres elevation gain.
However, we found out at the Visitors Centre that the trail to the Ribbon Lake is closed , due to flooding, therefore we needed to find an alternative. But Beatka quickly cheered us up by showing her new spectacular sunglasses.
Great things took place during this trip to Raspberry Ridge Lookout Loop, combined with the birthday celebrations of our Dear Mike. On the summit, perhaps a combined result of altitude, the presence of his beloved Barbara, and the champagne consumed, our Birthday Boy reached such the levels of elation that it looked he could have been taken to the heavens at any moment! (To see it all on the film, click: https://youtu.be/SwllDe-Ku3M).
On the last day, having only half a day for some activity (the rest reserved for the drive home), we followed Pani Przewodniczka (Lady Guide) to the launch pad on Mount Seven. Here we befriended a Bulgarian (!) paraglider, Branko, who kindly agreed that we take a few photos with him.
Gorman Lake is a beautiful lake not far from Golden, BC. It was hiked by a group of our Club Members on 30 August 2025. It was a great experience, but a few "scandalous" things took place, which this story will talk about. If you haven't noticed who is in charge in our Club ... it is Pani Kierowniczka!
"### **Year 5 - Day 23 – 1283 – August 31, 2025 - The Day the Horse (Did Not Actually) Kick Me**
Let the record show that on this day, we were functional, semi-punctual human beings. The mission: rendezvous with the Polish hiking contingent at 10 AM sharp at the base of Kicking Horse Mountain. The wake-up call: 7:15 AM. The target departure: 8:00 AM. The actual, real-life, no-take-backsies departure: 8:10 AM. I consider this a blistering victory against the universal forces of entropy that usually govern our mornings. We were basically astronauts.
Beauty Creek definitely lives up to it's name
On 16 of August the Relaxed Group, including Ela Tomczyk, known in some circles as "Pani Kierowniczka" (Madame Boss), Bożenna Pomorski, and this writer attempted to reach Nigel Pass in Jasper National Park. This all started however the previous day ...
Some people were "really" flying on the Coliseum Mountain, near Nordegg! Do not miss it!
(PR)
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| From the left: Piotr, Bożenna, Ewa, Marianna, Elżbieta, Nicholas (Germany), Zbyszek. Front row: Marek, Barbara, Roman. Taking picture: Andy. |
We started the hike to the Eagle Mountain, 5 km east of Nordegg, as a whole group of 11 participants. The hike is considered to be hard. It has 15.1 km with 844 m of altitude gain.
... is short hike (3.1 km, +180 m) 45 km west of Nordegg. The Relaxed Group, consisting of Bożenna, Marianna, and this writer, did it on 3 August "just to stretch our legs." The hike was not without some challenges and overall quite rewarding ...
... as the falls happened to be quite picturesque.
A beautiful full-feature (1 hr 5 min) movie by Andy Rutkowski showing the scramble to Mount Yamnuska, a cultish mountain near Canmore in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Narration is mostly Polish. Don't miss it!
(PR)
12 July 2025
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Yamnuska is a "cultish" mountain in Bow Valley, near Canmore. Long-time Mecca of climbers, predominantly from Calgary, Yamnuska is also popular with scramblers (those willing to do the whole traverse of Yamnuska) and hikers (those finishing the hike at Raven's End).
Yamnuska is so attractive that the song related to it has become the Club's anthem. Not surprisingly, this time Yamnuska was visited by over 20 members of our Club, including the cream of it - all these beautiful women!
By Boris Bokov
June 28, 2025 – Flood Mountain, Grande Cache, Canada.
After a long absence, I finally returned to Flood Mountain—one of Grande Cache’s iconic Bronze Peaks—nineteen years after my last visit during the Canadian Death Race. This time, however, I wasn’t racing against the clock but hiking with friends, taking in the stunning alpine scenery, and reliving memories of past adventures.
19 May 2025
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| Nancy and Barbara nearing the summit, followed by Gaggi. |
Our New Year's Eve wasn't exactly a pre-dawn alpine start. We were operating on a more civilized 10 AM departure from the ACC lodge. After all, Ha Ling, while worthy challenge, wasn't Everest. We weren't expecting to summit by brunch.
Waking
up at 8:30 allowed for the usual lodge morning rituals: the mad dash for a
vacant bathroom (a small victory in itself), the kitchen scavenger hunt (where
*are* the plates this time?), and breakfast with the other intrepid
adventurers… or, well, just us. It seemed everyone else was either already
conquering some other peak or wisely choosing to sleep in.
4 October 2024
Facebook photo-story from the hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
(PR)
2 October 2024
Facebook photo-story from the Narrows and Emerald Lakes hikes in Zion National Park.
