I craned my neck back as far as I could, trying to take in the magnitude of what stood before me. I was dripping sweat, my shoulders ached from my pack and my feet burned, but my spirit soared at the gargantuan Emperor Face rising above the trees. It was the most impressive thing I had ever seen: a black wall erupting from the valley, 2,500 metres high, striped with grey ice and white snow, its pyramidal peak piercing the clouds above. It was July 5, 2018, my first attempt at Mount Robson via the Kain Route on the northeast face.
At 3,954 metres, Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and with 3,000 metres of relief above the Fraser River to the south, it’s by far the…