The Croissant IX
      



    

April 16, 2022
 
Mountain height: 2307 m
Elevation gain:    approximately 500 m
Round-trip time:  5:15
 
Solo scramble.
 
I should have known this day was not going to go as planned when my hiking pants split wide open (right where you don’t want them to split wide open!) while I was getting ready at the trailhead – perhaps I need to switch from my usual DQ Double Cheeseburger to a Single! That put any glissading for the day right out the window, but I got on my ebike and rode off anyway. The objective was to explore more of the extensive and magnificent south side of Loaf Mountain, hopefully near the summit block.
 
Blunder #2 was severely underestimating the amount of snow that had fallen since Dave, Brad, and I had ascended Pastry Peak, 2 weeks earlier. Even my fat-tire ebike struggled to gain traction, forcing me to walk the bike for a few sections of the gas road. Leaving the bike at the last gas well, I started hiking the trail west towards the summit of Loaf. That lasted all of ten seconds. The snow was very deep and completely unsupportive. My snowshoes were not up to the task - simply hiking to the end of the valley would have required a Herculean effort, let alone doing any kind of ascent. Time to cut my losses.
 
The Croissant and/or The Muffin were the only logical choices at this point. With the weather forecast to break down around noon, getting up and down something in the immediate vicinity seemed prudent. 
 
Without going into all the details, I basically did the “standard” ascent route on The Croissant, first visiting the stunning frozen waterfall a short distance from the gas road and then ascending the southeast face (with of course a few detours to check out some colourful rock I had never seen up close before). I did take an alternate route up a snow-filled gully for the final section – a route that I would probably never repeat. The terrain steepened to an alarming degree near the top and underneath the snow sat a layer of solid ice. I was very relived to have crampons and an ice axe here.  
 
With the weather starting to deteriorate, and the fact that I had to retrieve my bike at the base of The Croissant, I skipped another ascent of The Muffin and took a direct route down.   
 
Not the day I had envisioned when leaving the house, but a day on any part of Loaf Mountain is ALWAYS a day well spent.

At the trailhead with The Muffin in front



Mount Roche (Spread Eagle Mountain) is one of the Castle's best



Following a truck's track made travel a little easier early on



Passing Bakery Peak and Icing On The Loaf Peak



Biking, at this point, became grueling, even with the electric advantage. The summit of Spionkop Ridge near the left - definitely one of the best summit views in Southern Alberta.



A section where I had to walk my bike



The upper section of the amazing route Brad, Dave, and I completed two weeks earlier



Back near the start of The Muffin ascent route, having bailed on a more ambitious trip



All animal tracks (quadrupeds, that is)



The fantastic rock scenery starts a short distance up























Approaching the frozen waterfall



The fall was in great condition for photographs, but I'm not sure about its climbing condition



Amazing!!



Ditto


    
Double ditto



Going over to the other side...



...for this view



Ditto



Ditto again



Small ice dagger



Back on the east side of the fall



Last look. Visiting this fall in winter has provided many wonderful experiences: I,  V, VI



Looking forward to seeing the cool rock above the fall







Here we go







"Raptor Peak" to the left of Roche










   



    




















Above the rock bands and looking at all the potential routes up to The Croissant (just left of centre). I decided to go up the left side, under the rock bands, and then directly up to the summit.



I shouldn't always just focus on cool rock







Looking over to The Muffin



Dead tree that looks like an alien



Dead tree that doesn't



Back to the varied rock



Like death, red argillite encounters are inevitable (there's a cheery thought wrapped up in doom and gloom!)



The rock band that lines the summit ridge



I've been up that gully, but would steer clear with unfavourable avalanche conditions (as the avi debris clearly indicates)



Nice rock and The Muffin



No Muffin



Another non-living tree



Pleasant icicle encounter















Pleasant tower of super cool rock encounter



Close-up of some of it



Closing in the final section of the ascent



Getting steeper




Great rock, but the skies are starting to cloud-over



The route I took goes up and around the rock. Ice underneath the snow made the final few steps to the ridge quite challenging.



Looking down the route I came up



Bakery Peak is the first thing you see upon reaching the ridge and is another Castle favourite



Someone has beat me to the summit



Drywood Mountain



At the summit



View to the southwest features Mount Roche and some of Spionkop Ridge



Heading down the east ridge



One more rock shot



Back at the start under forecast cloudy skies

The End

LOG