Oaaks

Name: Oaaks
Address: Calgary, AB, CA
Telephone: +16287778165

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Explore

10/29/2026

Berg Lake - August 7-9, 2026

Last time I was in the area, I was standing on a knife edge snow ridge some 2,300 meters above where I am in the first pic. No ridges this time around, but my heart rate was about the same due to the temperature of that water.

We spent 3 days in the area, dodged most of the rain, and covered just shy of 80km. The views of the Robson Glacier from Snowbird Pass were unbelievable. It was nice to slow down and spend a few relaxing days in the mountains.

Little did I know, just a few days later I’d be heading out to Mount Tsar for a trip that was the opposite of relaxing 🙃

10/23/2026

Mount King George - August 21-22, 2026.

We went into this one with a great looking first day and a not so great looking second day. In hindsight, we should have made the realization that the river crossing would be a lot spicier after a bunch of rain. We did not, so it was a non concern until I came around the corner and saw our final obstacle before reaching the truck. The first pic is Avi coming across that obstacle after he almost lost one of his boots to the river.

This one had an awesome mellow approach, great campsite (even though we had to share with some jabronies), and was a relatively straightforward ascent. Despite the smoke, it was really cool to see the peaks that make up the border of the Columbia Icefield from a new angle.

10/20/2026

Tsar Mountain - August 13-16, 2026

To get to that spot in the first picture we had already driven 6 hours from Calgary (half on logging roads) and walked around 31km. During those 31 kilometers, we battled stinging nettle and devils club, crossed the braided river 25+ times, got stormed on while crossing the river, set up camp in the rain, walked way too long in Crocs Shoes , and vertically bushwhacked 1,000m up a headwall that had been ravaged by avalanches. All to arrive at this nice meadow with beautiful alpine flowers everywhere. A few more km’s and we were at our camp for night #2. If you zoom in on the second picture, you can see our 3 tents near that sunspot in the lower left corner.

On summit day, we started in the dark and returned around 3:30pm. After a quick snack, we packed our bags and set off through the meadows to the headwall. Down the headwall we went, across the longest river crossing in the evening (the glacial runoff wasn’t cold at all), and then pulled out the headlamps to eventually find our spot for night #3.

The day out was a cool 24 ish km’s and another 6 hours of driving. We did manage to avoid most of the devils club and nettles on the way out so that was a nice little bonus. Thankful for a crew that was ready to suffer for this one 😅

10/19/2026

Part two.

In the first pic, Katie is on her way up the rope to a traverse section. We used our feet and back to bridge and scooch around the corner to avoid the deep pool below. The same pool she tested on the way down and plunged her foot through 🙃

The second pic is a shot of Vlad ascending out of the main shaft and back to the surface.

Pics 3&4 are different variations of the first two. Couldn’t decide which ones I liked best, so I posted them all and figured the people that see this would let me know. Which are your favorite?

10/15/2026

We returned again this year to follow the glacial meltwater underneath the ice. In its battle with gravity, the water winds its way downward, carving intricate tunnels, deep pools, and entire networks of underground passages. The electric blue color and beautifully sculpted walls make it an otherworldly experience down there. Each visit is different too as the glacier is constantly evolving, transforming dramatically from one season to the next.

Getting there is rarely straightforward. Handlines, rebelays, narrow vertical drops, stemming and plenty of other shenanigans are often required to navigate the passages and bypass pools along the way. Inevitably, someone manages to break through the ice and enjoy an unplanned dip in the process. *Cough* Katie Graham
But ultimately, it’s a small price to pay to explore such an extraordinary place.

10/08/2026

Some additional pics from above ground exploration on the Bisaro Expedition. The horizontal shots made the vertical shots all wonky on instagram so had to separate them out into two posts.

1. Scrambling the left facing slopes of the peak in the second photo.

2. This is the mountain that largely houses the Bisaro Anima cave system.

3&4. Sunrise and sunset from camp just outside our group tent.

5. A goon.

6. Week 2 crew arriving on the plateau.

10/06/2026

𝔹𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕠 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟞
•
Another successful trip exploring the deepest known cave system in Canada.

Teams hauled dive tanks and gear down to the sump at the bottom of the cave, 680 meters underground, where two divers entered the water for a 30+ minute dive. The underwater passageway turned out to be relatively horizontal apart from a tube heading almost straight down that was spotted near the end point of their exploration. Contingency oxygen limits prevented them from exploring further this time around.

The team stationed at Camp 2 found a promising, but character building lead. Windy and wet conditions had them wearing garbage bags while passing under waterfalls in order to access additional passage heading towards the far side of the mountain.

Surface teams discovered two new caves. The first - named “Tenacious Tube” due to its wet, muddy, and crawly passage - connected into the main cave system and left us some promising leads for next year. A second cave was found almost 200m higher, but exploration was blocked by an ice plug. If this cave were to connect to the main system in the future, the added vertical could make Bisaro the deepest cave north of Mexico.

Big thanks goes out to RCGS • SGRC NCRC Social Media Sequoia Supply Fourth Element MINUS 90 Ryan Jenks Fenixlight Official Bisaro Project for the support. Looking forward to continuing exploration next summer.

08/11/2026

Some places sure have a way of reminding us just how small we really are 🌎

Midnight under Mount Robson.

07/04/2026

Happy 250 🇺🇸🇺🇸

06/02/2026

2026 caving season opener featuring Reid and some ice ph**li 👹

Address

Calgary, AB

Telephone

+16287778165

Website

https://www.instagram.com/oaaks1/?hl=en

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Oaaks posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.