Mount Collembola attempt

Mount Collembola attempt

November 8, 2003

Mountain height:    approx. 2,750 m (9,020 ft)
Elevation gain:       approx. 1,350 m
Ascent time:           5:45
Descent time:         2:35

Hiking with Mark.

I thought that this hike/scramble would be an easy affair, especially given the perfect weather conditions – completely clear sky, no wind, and temperatures ranging from -10 to 0 degrees Celsius. I thought wrong….. again!

Wearing our new winter hiking boots, that are reported to be good to -50 degrees Celsius, we started the hike along the Centennial Ridge hiking trail, in a shallow layer of new snow. As we gained elevation, however, we snow became increasingly deep and travel increasingly slower. About an hour and a half in, I made a terrible navigational error that took us off the wide trail and into dense forest. We realized my mistake after about 15 minutes and ended up wasting another half hour and an enormous amount of energy bushwhacking back to the trail.

Finally, the ascent route up Collembola came into view. We thought that the summit seen here was the true summit, but again we were dead wrong. The ascent of the snow-covered, steep slope was long and physically brutal. The fresh and unconsolidated, one to two feet of snow was very difficult to negotiate and snowshoes would not have helped. By the time we had made it to that first (and one of many!) false summit, we were absolutely drained physically.

After several more false summits, the true summit finally came into view, but it was still a long distance away and the daylight hours were rapidly approaching their end. We continued on for a while, however, it became obvious that the summit was not going to be achieved today. We stopped at a peak, about 500 m before the summit block, and took a very well-deserved break. The winter scenery was stunning. Obviously, the four peaks of Mount Lougheed dominated that panorama to the west. Also, of note were Mount Allan, Mount Bogart, Fisher Peak, Mount McDougall, Old Baldy Mountain, the Wasootch area, Mount Lorette, Mount McGillivray, Pigeon Mountain, and The Three Sisters.

Although the descent was considerably easier than the ascent (taking less than half of the time), it was also brutally long and exhausting. This trip definitely belongs in the category of “Our most grueling days in the mountains”. I can’t wait to go back and make the summit!