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.
On 7 October, taking advantage of fantastic weather, a group of our club members hiked Grass Pass/Bull Creek Hills in Kananaskis. It is 6.6 km return, +427 m, to Grass Pass. Add another 4 km, +265 m to Bull Creek Hills. The highest point is 2134 m.
It was still chilly in the morning, so we warmed up chanting "Dusia, Dusia!" before she joined us for the group photo. Standing from the left are: Andy, Barbara, (her dog, Max), Piotr, Maya, Mike, Basia, Roman, Dusia, Adam, Joasia and Honorata.
Mt. Burke, 2542 m, is a fine summit at the very south part of Kananaskis Park, with a very characteristic old Cameron Lookout on the top. It is perhaps because of its remoteness that the peak is not visited more often. It took us 1:15 hr from Kananaskis Wilderness Hostel to reach the trailhead, the last 16 km being on a gravel road. Access to Cataract Creek campground was closed, which added 2 km to our trip. Most of our GPSs showed around 14 km for forth and back trip, with around 890 m of altitude gain.
These lucky people took advantage of a wonderful day and a truly enjoyable trail: back row: Piotr, Roman, Adam and Monika. Front row: Andrzej, Beata, Asia, Honorata, Maya and Ania. Missing (taking picture as usual): Andy.
Impressions from Vision Quest Ridge near Abraham Lake, Clearwater, Alberta, Canada.
