March 7th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
The plan was to summit Mount Allan Brooks, but the weather had other ideas. On our start up the road to Raven Lodge, the snow on the road was so slippery that a long line of cars had formed not far from the lower chain up area—forget that noise! We detoured to Mount Becher, perhaps a bit far from our original destination, but the road was plowed and the snow just as fresh.
With skiers-a-plenty leaving only a shallow skin track through the many inches of fresh snow, we struggled as our steps collapsed below our weight. We had a long slog through snowy conditions to the summit, we were greeted by thirty-minutes of sunshine with which to enjoy our lunch.We were five hours on our return trip but returned with a smile on our face from a day well-spent with friends on the mountain.
We postulate that had we waited for the line of cars to snake to Raven Lodge, we would not have had the time to make the summit of Allan Brooks, especially considering the depth of the fresh snow. And here I thought we were about to enjoy a lovely spring—that’s what I get for trusting a rodent to forecast the seasons.