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the Degree Confluence Project
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Canada : British Columbia

27.1 km (16.8 miles) NE of Brisco, BC, Canada
Approx. altitude: 2212 m (7257 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo topo250 ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 51°S 64°E

Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: south/southwest part of ridge #3: north/northeast #4: south #5: east

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  51°N 116°W (secondary) 

#1: peaks to the west

(visited by the mapsurfer)

03-Jul-2000 -- This extraordinarily beautiful confluence is located in Kootenay Nat'l Park, right in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, in BC, just west of the Alberta/BC border.

Despite being less than 2k from rt 93, it took me about 5 hours to get it. I had no maps and no preparation, just regular hiking gear and water. I showed up and the first thing I saw was a ridge, running north/south, going straight up, pine at the lower elevations giving way to bare rock and snow above the timber line. The GPS indicated the confluence to the west, up the ridge. I had no idea which side, or how far up, or what was on the other side.

No trail, so I scrambled up heading west, thru deadfall, rockslides, cliffs, and rivers of snow. Due to the angle and the thick trees, it was difficult to find an optimal route, and animal trails were scarce. It took about 3 1/2 hours from base to summit as I anxiously watched each 100th on distance to waypoint on the 12XL to tick down and carefully watched the clouds and listened for thunder; a T-storm up here could be disastrous.

Eventually I reached the ridge, and the view was one of the most spectacular I have ever experienced. I just sat here for a while, snow-capped peaks to the east, snow-capped peaks to the west. The Garmin showed the confluence on the other side of the ridge, still to the west, but not too far, which was a snow-filled bowl with varying scatterings of pine trees, sloping down to the north/northwest (which may have made a easier, but much longer, approach, from the backside of the mountain). The pics are from this bowl, about 20m from the confluence, as the point itself turned out to be in a thick section of trees).

I very carefully made my way down the snow-covered bowl, across the treeless area to where I took the pics, and then to the actual point, cautiously digging my boots into the snow to make sure I didn't slide down the mountain. I was within 100m at this point and had the pics, but I went and got triple zeros anyway.

Getting back down the mountain was more fun, I was able to slide down patches of snow and the like, and found these cool erosion tunnels that allowed one to tunnel under the otherwise virtually impassable vegetation lower down. Altogether a rich and rewarding experience, although a bit scary at times, and probably downright stupid by myself.

I still don't have a decent map, so I don't know what the climb of the ridge was, and cannot identify the peaks in the photos, but I do know the GPS showed the confluence at an elevation of 7347ft (2260m).

Shot #1 is looking to the west, #2 to the south/southwest showing part of the ridge, #3 to the north/northeast where the bowl descends, #4 to the south, showing the ridge, #5 to the east showing the where I actually descended from the ridge thru the snow to the point, and #6 is the triple zeros. This, of course, was in the middle of summer.

Would that I were the caliber of photographer that could convey the magic of this place.


 All pictures
#1: peaks to the west
#2: south/southwest part of ridge
#3: north/northeast
#4: south
#5: east
#6: triple zeroes
ALL: All pictures on one page
  Notes
In the Kootenay National Park.