That's a pretty darn nice photo of a mud pit.

Dec 5 '16

After unusually warm November, it seems winter has finally arrived to the Rockies. Went for a walk up Cougar Creek & it is cold. Creek is still flowing, but by the end of this week it will likely be all ice & require micro spikes. Canyon provides shelter from windchill though & is great way to spend few hrs out even with these temps.

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Super photo zeljkok. Are there any destinations up Cougar Creek?

Many. Daffern has documented it fairly well. Most common one is to Canadian Forks where canyon splits 3-ways (45 min to an hour). There are frozen ice-falls, climbing walls, areas with pictographs, etc. Continuing on main branch past the forks for another ~1hr you get to drainage that can be used to scramble "Cougar" peak (moderate, class 3). Then on the next fork left branch can be used to access Cougar/Carrot col followed by great ridgewalk to not-so-often visited Stenton Lake (fishing, backpack). You could also traverse to Minnewanka this way or even beyond for multi-day trip to Ghost. Main Cougar creek branch continues to base of Mt. Townsend, which is also a scramble (difficult).

I have Cougar Creek TR here I keep adding on, but this was just a brief journey halfway to Canadian Forks so I just put up condition update here.

Went on skis to Watridge Lake today. Main artery from Mt. Shark trailhead is trackset & good XC ski. Not so on adjacent trails though. Quite cold, -20 + wind. Very little snow everywhere; I think you could still boot up many trails without shoes. Smith-Dorrien conditions: no ice, no dust and tiny layer of snow covers the potholes - great drive (better than summer).

Dec 21 - 1st day of winter 2016:

Walked around Minnewanka to LM8 (Aylmer junction). Extremely windy. Little snow and some bare sections - Aylmer Lookout and maybe even further would be totally feasible

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Nice, is that open water still on the Lake at the east edge of the photo?

Yes! There is still more open water than ice. The sound of water crushing on ice-chunks was quite unreal because of hurricane winds. Here's 1 more shot, a bit further (east)

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Strange! With the super-cold temps we just got through, I would have thought it was much more frozen than that.

This is pic of CMC valley taken from shoulder of Mt. Yamnuska near sunset on Boxing Day 2016. Trail is broken to the ridge, then only single tracks. Occasional deep drifts and bit of shifting snow that cause stability issues, but otherwise easy travel and you don't need 'shoes, just poles. Traverse is totally feasible as backside is generally windblown.

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Zeljkok .. you take the most stunning landscape pictures. They are always a treat browse through.

Couple of pics - Johnston Canyon + Ink Pots on Dec 30 '16. It is amazing how busy it still is - had to circle around to find parking! Once past upper falls crowds thin out though & you can have some solitude to Ink Pots. Surprised to see largest pool still ice-free (photo). Returned via Moose Meadows. Trail well compacted & no 'shoes or spikes were needed.

More photos & full report here

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Rockbound Lake mid-February 2017

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What is the trail like? I have wondered about it as a winter hike, but never actually taken a look at it.

I'll put up full report; have tons of photos to process first, light was VERY good.

In short it is nice, moderate snowshoe with low avalanche danger. Only tricky part is above Tower Lake, steep and quite awkward; can't believe some people are able to ski this part (think Vern did)