Emerald Peak

Emerald Peak

May 24, 2010

Mountain height:         2566 m
Elevation gain:            1200 m
Ascent time:                5:00
Descent time:              3:00

Snowshoeing with Mark.

Emerald Peak is a trip Mark and I have wanted to complete ever since seeing a terrific trip report of the ascent on Josée’s website. Winter was definitely our preference for attempting the trip, but other commitments had kept us away from the mountains. With summer fast approaching, this would be our last chance to make an attempt, while some snow remained at higher elevations.

As it turned out, our timing was pretty good. The trail to Hamilton Lake was snow-free for the first two-thirds of the approach and cold temperatures throughout the week meant the deep snow on the upper third was hard enough to fully support our weight. After 3 hours of relatively easy travel we arrived at a wonderful highpoint above Hamilton Lake. The views of Mount Carnarvon were fantastic, as were those of several distinctive peaks to the west. Though more distant, Mount Vaux and The Goodsirs looked incredible!

At this point it was apparent our route was a little different from Josée’s. Gaining the south ridge required a short, but steep ascent of an avalanche slope. Atop the slope the already terrific scenery really opened up, with good views of Mounts Stephen, Cathedral, and Wapta.

At the false summit, we traded snowshoes for crampons, ice axe, and a rope and continued north towards the summit. The summit ridge was definitely the highlight of the ascent – a pleasant combination of easy ridgewalking and interesting rock scenery. From the summit, we enjoyed good views of The Presidents, Carnarvon, and two unofficial GR’s north of Emerald – Top Hat and Car Mar.

Although throughout the ascent we had vowed to return via we came, the lure of the avalanche slide path, as described by in Chic Scott’s Summits and Icefields, was too great. The path appeared to offer a very direct route to Emerald Lake and would be much quicker than retracing our steps. If the snow stability was good we would go for it – it was and we did.

Once down the steepest section of the descent, we opted to detour to the east to check another highpoint. I wanted to get a good look at the ascent route for The Presidents via Emerald Lake, as described in Selected Alpine Climbs. It quickly became obvious why the overwhelming majority of parties choose the longer route via the Stanley Mitchell Hut. The Emerald Lake route looked pretty darn frightening in several places.

Plunge-stepping down the avalanche path was easy and fun. Unfortunately, all too soon, the snow gave way to rock and grass. While the remainder of the descent was also easy, it was, at times, tedious. With snow from top to bottom, this descent would have been magnificent. Nevertheless, it was still considerably faster and easier than returning via our ascent route.

An excellent day on a little peak that definitely deserves more attention. A big thanks to Josee, Fab, and Eve for providing inspiration and the route.

Hamilton Falls