Mount Fernie - we made it!

WARNING: Gratuitous picture blog and lots of text. Sorry!

Perhaps it's not the best idea to go out drinking till the wee small hours the night before you climb a mountain, but pah! Now that I'm happily sitting down after four and a half hours of gruelling hiking, I can feel smug! (I'm sitting down because, quite frankly, my legs are wobbling every time I stand up...)

You may recall that Lisa, Jethro and Penny attempted the hike a few weeks ago, and made it to the half-way point before turning back (due to various injuries like blisters, broken knees and a nasty case of hot weather). It's cooled off a bit now so it's ideal hiking weather. We grabbed Tony and Brendan and decided to try and conquer the beast. I can safely state that it's possibly one of the hardest things I've had to do - EVER.

Getting to the half way point was a bit of a struggle, as it was a steady uphill climb. I was feeling alright - a little tired, a little breathless. A brownie and a swig of Gatorade soon perked me up and I was ready to go again. It was all going swimmingly well until we rounded a corner and the mountain dropped away to the side, presenting us with the only option of a narrow path that went vertically straight up.

'Ah...' I thought to myself. 'So this is why people say it's a bit gruelling.'

An hour later, and I was ready to throw in the towel. People had told us that the last section of the hike was 'a mad scramble over rocks'. They weren't wrong! It was so steep and so narrow that every footfall counted and the last thing I wanted to do was slide back down again. A: It would have hurt. B: I would have looked like a proper pansy in front of the boys. Every time I looked up the top of the mountain seemed further and further away. Jethro was a champion boyfriend, giving me lots of encouragement. If it hadn't been for him, I probably would have sat on a rock and sobbed. Now whose a pansy, eh?

Digging into the last reserves of energy that I didn't know I had, I made the last scramble to the top and instantly forgot about the pain and trauma - the views were utterly amazing. I could have stood up there for hours, even if the wind was cold and strong. Every possible vista was stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous. Well worth the hike up.

Walking down again was just as interesting as walking up, as the video below will show you!


Relatively near the start. Note the happy faces and lack of mud and sweat.


Arrival at the half-way point - the boys have vaguely broken a sweat. I am, on the other hand, a trembling lump of knackeredness.


Jethro gees me up for more.


I call this photo 'The Start of the Grimace' as it's from this point onwards that I'm trying to smile, but failing miserably.


Lungs burning, heart racing. Can't....seem...to...focus.


Brendan - who still hasn't sweated a drop BTW, gets to the top. I am still grimacing.


The last section of the climb was rather tricky!


WE MADE IT!


See - I'm smiling again now...


Fernie nestled nicely in the valley as seen from the top of the mountain. (You may be wondering why it's a bit hazy - we're getting a lot of smoke drifting from Glacier National Park in Montana. It's been so dry lately that random lightening strikes have started numerous forest fires around the region. Montana is a two hour drive away, but the smoke still makes it all the way over the valley.)


How's that for a view? Eh, Eh, EH?


Here's another one of equal magnitude - see, it was worth it!


Jethro perches on the end of the rocks - rather precariously. I tried not to shake as I was taking the picture.


Brendan on the ridge at the top of Mt. Fernie. You can see it rising again further down the valley. We're standing on the only accessible part of the ridge.


There are loads of dead trees on the ridge at the top.


Tony was already planning his next hike; the Three Sisters!


What goes up, must come down.


See that ruddy great red arrow? That's where we climbed to. I CLIMBED UP THERE!


Click on the picture to experience my humiliation in video form. No, it didn't hurt. Yes, my shorts got a little dusty. Fnar, Fnar. Wonder how much Jeremy Beadle would pay for that?