Skip to main content

Day 96 - Banff Cirque Peak

OMG Canada. 

Today was my favorite day. The climb to Cirque Peak started with a lovely hike to Helen Lake, climbing quickly at the start but then gently roaming on the backside of the valley, above tree line and with views south to infinity. I made it quickly to the lake then continued on the trail to Dolomite Pass, scrambling on top of the ridge beyond Helen Lake.  My destination :


Once on top of the ridge (above my head), I hiked around another lake and up the sandy right side of Cirque Peak, following the route picture from the scramble guide. I eventually made it to a snowbank at the crest of the upper ridge.  I figured walking below the snowbank to the nose would be safer for me with little snow experience, but I saw old steps cut up the near-vertical snowbank and I decided to go for it. 

Kicking steps with my right then left foot then propelling my hiking poles right then left deep in the snow above, I inched my way up a snow wall, keeping three solid contact points at all times, like in the movies--cool!  An exhilerating experience, my heart was pounding the whole way up. The snow bank was short- maybe fifty feet- and the sandy bank below would've broken my fall-- a good snow-travel test. Test passed, I hiked easily up to the summit with the only challenge being loose footing at the tippy top, requiring travel on all fours. 

A local German hiking guide was at the summit above me and he remarked at how he thought the views from Cirque Peak were the best in Banff. I agreed. The Wapta Icefield could be seen clearly above two alpine lakes. The Matterhorn of Canada could be seen 50km south down the valley. And I could be seen so happy after my first Canadian Rocky scramble triumph. 




After lingering at the summit for an hour plus, I climbed down, this time following the nose of the ridge and avoiding down-climbing the steep snowbank.  This was the proper route-- an easy scramble down.  The German hiking guide had recommended stopping by Peyto Lake on my way north toward Jasper, so I did. Prettiest lake view so far.


The drive north was relaxing after a long climb and the high alpine peaks put on a great show all the way to my night's campground near Columbia Icefields. 


Comments

  1. Nice photos Lee. Looks like the weather held for your trip up the Banff - Jasper.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Dave! Yes, the weather was lovely up until Yoho.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 48 - Canyonlands Island in the Sky Pt 2

Mountain biking the 100-mile 4x4 White Rim Road is said to be a great American adventure. But without any water, you need a follow truck to carry your water and gear, and reservations must be made three months in advance. So I just decided to hike down 1500 feet to the white rim and hike the road a bit.  Steep, steep, steep was the descent down the Goosberry trail, but I reached the rim level in only 45 minutes!  I hiked further down to the white rim road and then past to the very edge. Looking around for a possible path down to the river bottom 1000 feet below was a fun task, but a hard one as the "white rim rock" has a solid sheer 50-150 feet dropoff. I found one possible path down but a lone Nalgene bottle left down below the white rocks indicated an aborted attempt down. I continued to walk the rim for a few hours, finally climbing a small Mesa edge to enjoy the high view of the other side.  After a brief respite, I walked back an hour along the Jeep 4x4 road to the G...

Day 23 - Superstition Mountains - Weaver's Needle

I began the day feeling tired-- perhaps a bit travel weary and sore from hiking, but also due to a self imposed caffeine detox. I drove the final stretch of the very scenic dirt road (pic1) -- Apache trail and made it to my destination of my favorite scary wilderness-- the Superstitions. I had one final four star hike to complete (according to Internet research). The plan was a 14 mile loop hike around Weavers Needle.  The first part of the hike climbed a rocky hill with grand mountain views (pic2). I made it to the top vista overlooking Weavers Needle and then climbed down a rough trail a few miles past the base of the needle.  See the needle in pic 3.  I was anxious. The last time I was in the superstitions I had run into two rattlesnakes and I hate snakes. I was a bit rattled (pun intended) and it showed-- I was making very slow time and not enjoying myself much.  I turned on some Darius Rucker music on my iPhone thinking the noise would ward off the snakes. Music...

Day 41 - Escalante Coyote Gulch

This one or two night Coyote Gulch hike was an easy test of my newly learned navigation skills.  Anxious to get started I awoke at 545 just as the sun was rising.  I followed an obvious landmark, a tall thin spire called Chimney Rock, northwest to Hurricane Wash (a drainage running into Coyote Gulch).  After a couple of hours of walking up over and around slick rock, I entered the famous Coyote Gulch.  The walls around me raised up, darkened and th water flow increased--like nature hinting at the scenic beauty ahead.  The normally crowded Coyote Gulch was fairly empty on this early Thursday morning, giving the canyon a very peaceful and quiet feeling-- fragile almost. Down steam, I ran into the famous Jacob Hamilton Arch and then thirty minutes further-- the Coyote Natural Birdge. Both were beautiful due to their see through the wall character, but both would be overshadowed in my memory by the Stevens Arch tomorrow. Pics.  By 1pm, I had hiked for six hours...