Ahern Peak
August 31, 2014
Mountain
height: 2667 m
Elevation gain: 1950 m
Ascent
time: long
Descent
time: not as long, but still long
Scrambling
and a little climbing with Mark.
For
Mark’s birthday scramble we chose Iceberg Peak as the objective. Having enjoyed
an incredible day on Iceberg’s neighbour, Mount Wilbur, five years earlier, we hoped Iceberg would
offer a similar experience. And for the first half of the day it did.
The
lengthy hike to Iceberg Lake was nothing too special, but Iceberg Lake itself
was very special – a stunningly blue, idyllic mountain lake, with huge chunks
of ice floating on its surface. At this point we were fairly confident about
making an attempt on Iceberg Peak, hoping the forecasted clear skies would
materialize in short order.
The
next part of the trip involved an exciting difficult scramble/easy climb to the
famous “notch” between Iceberg Peak and the B-7 Pillar. Good route-finding was
key for this section, although our need to pull out the rope for a few steps
indicated we may have been off-route at times.
The
bad news arrived upon reaching the notch. Apparently Clear Skies had decided to
“call in sick” for the day! Iceberg Peak was still an option but neither Mark
nor I wanted to reach this potentially amazing summit with even a single cloud
in the sky and at that moment there was nothing but clouds. Instead we
decided to attempt nearby Ahern Peak and then make a possible stab at Iceberg
on return if the weather improved.
Good
thing we choose this course of action, as not only did the weather decline to
improve, it steadily worsened. We arrived at the easily reached summit of Ahern
Peak in a rainy whiteout with no views at all.
After
a short summit stay we returned to the notch, immediately wrote off an attempt
of Iceberg (no improvement in the weather) and made the long journey back to
the start.
The
non-attempt at Iceberg was slightly disappointing, but still a very rewarding day
out.
Clouds pouring off the southern outlier of Iceberg Peak
Iceberg Peak is in the clouds at this point
But the weather is clear to the east
Approaching Iceberg Lake
Contrasting colours
The famous Iceberg notch and the route up to it (right up the centre and then left to the notch)
The blue tinged waters of the lake
Mount Henkel (pointed peak at the right) and Crowfeet Mountain to the east and the small lake northeast of Iceberg Lake
Some of the lingering chunks of ice in the lake
Hoping Clear Skies would join us in the west
Heading up towards the notch
Mark leads an easy pitch of scrambling/climbing
I follow
The view down to the lake was consistently impressive
More scrambling and steep terrain
Getting closer to the notch
My turn to lead
Last few steps to the notch
At the notch looking back down at the lake and the long valley of Many Glaciers
On the other side of the notch there's a great view of Ahern (left), Ipasha (centre) and Merrit (right)
Time to fuel up and decide what to do next
Not a bad place to do both of the above
Starting the descent to Ahern Pass and ascent of Ahern Peak (left). Ipasha is now in the clouds.
Helen Lake is yet another one of the stunning lakes of Glacier National Park, Montana
On Ahern Peak, looking back at Iceberg (right) and B-7 Pillar (left)
Getting close to the summit
The northeast face of Ahern is insanely steep!
A brief break in the clouds highlights Mount Seward
At the summit with no view
One rappel on descent
The End
