Galatea West
September 24, 2022
Mountain height: 2980 m
Total elevation gain: approximately
1000 m
Ascent time: 3:40
Descent time: 3:00
Scrambling with
Mark.
Unfortunately, a
more ambitious objective would be put on hold this day, due to the cloudy
conditions as we approached the mountains. 
Driving down Highway 742, we
eventually settled on the western outlier of Mount Galatea, described in David
Jones’ Rockies Central. Though inferior to Galatea by almost 200 vertical
metres, Galatea West still stands out as a significant peak, matching the
height of many other officially named mountains in the area.
The ascent was
preceded by the easy and scenic hike to Chester Lake, then on to Elephant
Rocks, and finally up to the lowest but largest of the three bodies of water in
Three Lakes Valley. 
Even with overcast skies the scenery en route elicited a
few “Wow”s, the autumn colours on full display and the larch needles in the
process of becoming their yearly brilliant yellow.
Although some
minor route-finding was required on the lower slopes, the ascent of West unfolded
with ease – not to imply the route was aesthetically pleasing by any means –
rubble and scree from bottom to top. We took a relatively direct route to the
summit, again enjoying good views, though many mountain tops were obscured by
the low cloud ceiling. The best view of the day came right at the summit, when
the bulk of Mount Galatea’s impressive west side was revealed. Now there’s an aesthetically
pleasing sight!
We took a
lengthy summit break hoping for better weather. Clearer skies were seemingly on
their way, but would we have the time and patience to wait for them? …..patience
– yes, time – no. Those clear skies may have arrived in 5 minutes or 5 hours,
but we didn’t have the luxury to wait to find out. Instead, to stretch out the trip
a little we took a slightly longer route down, farther west of our ascent line.
This route turned out to be a little more aesthetic than the up route, with
some fun ridge scrambling.
Back down in the
valley, the skies did start to clear. As such, in order to see as many yellow
larches as possible, we took a different route back to Elephant Rocks. A quick jaunt
around a small section of the south side of Chester Lake also yielded a few
terrific views.
Overall, an unexpectedly
excellent day on a terrific objective. I can definitely see myself repeating this
ascent on a perfectly clear day.
Hiking the Chester Lake Trail
Mount Chester
Little Galatea is shrouded in clouds
At Elephant Rocks, with Chester behind
Galatea West and the general route up
The largest of the three lakes of Three Lake Valley
Heading up
Steep but colourful terrain on the lower slopes
The west side of Gusty Peak
Onto easier terrain
Looking back
Zoomed-in photo of the summit of Galatea West
Not zoomed-in!
Looking down the route again - lots of rubble!
The peak is not devoid of cool rock
On the west ridge of West and heading to the summit
Excellent but cloudy view to the west
Same to the northwest. The Tower at the right.
The summit cairn is visible
Mark on the ridge, centered between several old friends: Smuts and Tent Ridge to the right, Birdwood and Commonwealth Ridge to the left
A bit of everything
I'm almost at the top
The cairn and Mark finishing the ascent
At the summit, taking in the spectacular view of Mount Galatea
To the northeast sit a few familiar favourites: Lougheed, Sparrowhawk, Wind, and Bogart
The low cloud ceiling to the west
Dramatic cloud scenery on Galatea
Same as above
Spot the low flying helicopter
Waiting patiently at the summit for some clearing
Could be better, could be worse!
Chester Lake and Elephant Rocks (lower right)
Best view of the day we got to the northwest
Still waiting....and layering up. It was not a warm, autumn day at the top!
Best view we got to the west
Mark at the summit. I went a short distance east to check out the ridge heading that way - it's a scary ridge!
Returning from my short diversion
Last look from the summit before descending
The third of the three lakes of Three Lakes Valley is more of a big puddle at this time of the year
Descending the enjoyable northwest ridge
Still getting some good views of Spray Lake
As is often the case, the ridge is the best place to be
Ascending interesting terrain to get back on the ridge
The farther you get away, the more impressive Galatea West looks as a stand alone peak
Case in point
There are a few obstacles along the way, but they are what makes the ridge so enjoyable
The trio of mounts French, Robertson, and Sir Douglas always look great from the east
Short break with a good view of the first lake of Three Lakes Valley, Chester Lake, and Mount Chester
The northwest view continues to impress
Cool slab
Little Galatea in the foreground
Mark scrambles down a short, steep section
The ridge has lots of colourful rock
Close-up of mighty Mount Assiniboine
Not so close-up
Little Galatea again. Were I to repeat Galatea West, I do make it into a loop by ascending Little Galatea first
Gusty, Chester, and its namesake lake
Looking down the route Mark and I first used to ascend Little Galatea
Part of the descent took us over to the north side of the ridge
Back to the south side
Another terrific view of the area. At this point we wanted to get back to the lowest of The Three Lakes, near the left.
Saying "Bye" to Galatea West
Someone's vertebrae
Descending pleasant terrain to rejoin the Three Lakes trail
A heart in the rock
Pleasant, but steep at times
Back onto easier terrain where, as stated, the autumn colours are on full display
Gusty, Chester, and larches
With a human eyesore thrown in for good measure!
The beautiful larches take our minds off four failures on Mount Birdwood (left): II, III, IV
Approaching the lake
Same as above
The lake, with Galatea West and Gusty
The lake and colourful Galatea West. We definitely picked a good time of the year for the ascent.
Alternate route to Elephant Rocks that has tons of larches
Larches and West
At the top of Elephant Rocks
Throw in Mount Galatea near the right
An Elephant Rock
Looking up the daunting west ridge of Gusty Peak
Larch scenery
Larch, rock, human scenery
The most prominent and distinctive of the Rocks
Galatea West between the Rocks
Back at Chester Lake
Little sojourn around the south side of the lake
The very distinctive southeast side of Gusty
The Three Galateas: Little, West, and Mount
Two Galateas and a Gusty
Mount Chester and Little Chester. Not hard to see why this area is so popular.
Last look at Little Galatea (left) and Galatea West
The End
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