The Aberdeen columns near Lumby.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kaung Myat
February 25, 2022 - 7:30 AM
A Vernon-based landscape photographer snapped some snowy, early spring photos of the spectacular Aberdeen columns this week.
It was Kaung Myat’s first time visiting the geological oddity.
“It’s such a cool place with unique rock formations caused by volcanic activity,” he said.
While the columns are generally easy to reach in other months, Myat said he was slogging through knee-high snow in some places, scrambling over snow-covered boulders and was finally forced to stop about 100 metres away from the base, where he was able to take some brilliant photos.
The Aberdeen columns near Lumby.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kuang Myat
“It was a short hike but I didn’t make it to the base,” he said. “The gravel road wasn’t plowed at all and there was lots of snow on the road so I had to use four-wheel drive. Overall it’s not quite safe yet at this time of the year.”
The Aberdeen columns, located about an hour and a half from Kelowna, and just under an hour from Vernon, are a unique attraction for climbers and hikers.
The towering, black basalt columns and pillars have cascading colour that make for amazing photos.
The Aberdeen columns near Lumby.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kuang Myat
The formations are the result of volcanic activity and can be made of basalt or andesite, although the ones in British Columbia are largely basalt. They’re shaped by the physics involved in the cooling of the rock after a lava flow.
READ MORE: Amazing Lumby and Keremeos hiking destinations formed in the wake of volcanic eruptions
The Aberdeen columns near Lumby.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kuang Myat
Myat plans to revisit the columns after the snow melts.
“I love driving around the Okanagan valley to take landscape photos in my spare time,” he said.
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