North America, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Tumbling Glacier, Kootenay Park
Tumbling Glacier, Kootenay Park. On September 6 Greg Spohr and I pitched a tent on the meadows just south of the glacier. To avoid crevasses, the next morning we skirted around the south side of the glacier, then traversed underneath the rock wall to arrive at the start of the prominent ice couloir. The too-warm weather caused a steady fall of ice chunks up to fist size. After deliberation we ran out a hasty pitch to a stance on the left side of the couloir under protecting rocks. From here a rapid traverse to the right brought us to safer ground and we now began to enjoy the climb. In fact, climbing conditions were better than expected thanks to the snow cover left by miserable August weather. We progressed rapidly through the middle section leading to the great ice bulge. Here a narrow gully to the left led up for three pitches, after which the angle eased. We soon arrived on a snowy platform for lunch. Another 40 minutes of easy climbing brought us to the summit of P 10,240 with a storm rapidly closing in. We descended a long snow gully leading down to the southwest, from where an excellent goat trail led back over the pass between P 10,240 and its southerly neighbor P 10,020. After a long descent followed by steep, strenuous bushwhacking, we finally reached in the last light the trail down by Numa Creek.
Peter Zvengrowski, Calgary Mountain Club