Statistics 2009-2012

Statistics 2009 to 2012:  Keeping up the Pace

These tables tell the story of an amazing four years of adventure in the Canadian Rockies.  This past year, 2012, unexpectedly kept up the pace and even exceeded previous years in some categories.  I say “unexpectedly” because I started off the year with no firm plans.  Yet by December I had overtaken the three previous years in four categories:  distance biked, distance snowshoed, number of nights camped, and maximum elevation achieved.   It turned out to be another wonderful year packed with challenge and adventure, capped in late December by a night out in the snowy wilderness of Kananaskis Country in temperatures around minus 14C with wind chills in the minus 20’s.

Some of the highlights of 2012 were:

• An early season trip in mid-March to the Cypress Hills in far eastern Alberta, which looked a lot like the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, marooned far out on the prairies.
• A long bike ride on May 20th up the Highwood Valley beyond the still-closed winter gate, all the way to the snow-bound foot of the Highwood Pass, and a much faster return, for a distance of 63 km.
• A long, challenging day on remote Pasque Mountain on June 29th, with an elevation gain of 3,070 ft. and a distance of 20.6 km.
• A superb summer’s day on August 18th when RH and I broke the 9,000 ft. barrier to reach the summit of Snow Peak above Burstall Pass.
• During six days in Jasper National Park and the David Thompson Highway in early September, I did eight separate trips totaling almost 100 km. and 7,000 vertical feet.  This included the remote hillsides beyond the spectacular Crescent Falls on the Bighorn River.
• Exploring the abandoned ski hill at Fortress Ridge in mid-September, thanks to the kind owner who gave me a ride up the access road.
• Discovering the old Burns coal mine and the rustic, but locked, Denning cabin way up the Sheep River Valley on a colorful Fall day in late September.
• Crossing the Highwood River on November 2nd to follow a snowy trail into McPhail Creek’s hidden valley below the mountain wall.
• Skiing the full length of the Moraine Lake Road on November 16th to visit the lake in perfect early season snow conditions.
• Camping out in the snow in sub-zero temperatures under a full moon in late December at Point back-country campsite beside the Upper Kananaskis Lake.
• On twenty separate trips I managed a vertical height gain of over 2,000 feet.
• On eighteen trips I climbed above the 7,000 ft. mark, and, on four of those trips, over 8,000 feet above sea level.
• Managing to break the camping record with twenty six nights out in the mountains, either in my small tent or in our posh new trailer.  This included camping out every month from March to December.

This first table compares the past four years and highlights in red which year holds the record for each category.

Category↓ Year→	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total 4 years
Distance (km) (see details below)	970	1,099	960	1,006	4,035 km (2,435 miles)
Vert. Height Gain (ft.)	64,760	94,430	81,670	74,355	315,215 ft. (57.4 miles)
Max. Elev. (ft.)	8,253	8,415	8,860	9,150	n/a
Time on Trail (hrs.)	234	300	276	269	1,079 hrs. (43 days)
# Nights Camping	22	19	22	26	89

This second table breaks down the modes of transport used over the past four years, and again, in red, highlights the record year.

Distance↓  Year→ (km)	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total 4 years
Hike	564	626	591	478	2,259
Bike	396	321	223	404	1,344
X-C Ski	9	75	77	39	200
Snow Shoe	0	77	70	85	232
Total	970	1,099	960	1,006	4,035

BOLD RED = record year

These statistics show that, on average, over the past four years, every week I travelled 19 km and climbed 1,515 vertical feet (a good size hill).

It is probably time to ease off a little in 2013.  I still have plenty of places I want to explore, or return to, but sometimes it becomes a little obsessive.  I said the same last year, but perhaps this year I will become more selective, and maybe less intent on capturing the statistics.  We will see.  At least as far as 2012 was concerned, I certainly kept up the pace.

The Passionate Hiker
31 December 2012