Gap Peak attempt – January 23, 2005

Mountain height:       2,440 m (8,033 ft) 
Elevation gain:          1,197 m (I came up about 50 vertical metres short of the summit)
Ascent time:              3:00  
Descent time:            2:00

Solo scramble.

Gap Peak seemed a logical choice for a quick and relatively easy solo trip – one that would allow me to get up and down the mountain and back to Calgary by 2 pm , in hopes of catching most of the NFC Championship game between Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Relative to our very enjoyable and scenic, but grueling ascent in December of 2003, the first part of the trip was dead easy - no snow – no post-holing to the knees. Unfortunately, I did not get the same stunning weather conditions as the previous trip and although the sun came out periodically, to brilliantly light up the faces of the first and second cliff bands, the view didn’t really inspire me to the same degree as before. For that matter, neither did the trip overall. Perhaps it was that I had only 4 hours sleep that night, or my illogical need to run home to watch football on TV, or the disappointing weather – even though I was making pretty good time, my motivation was uncharacteristically lacking.

I did plod on, however, and made it to the false summit in just under 3 hours. With the true summit only about 25-30 minutes away, I was sure that success was guaranteed. Surprisingly, the ridge had far more snow on it than I was expecting and combined with a gusting west wind, had me rethinking my plan to continue. I tried, however, about ten steps along the narrow ridge, a strong gust of wind almost knocked me off my feet. That was all the convincing I needed and I immediately turned around. A fall down the steep, snow-covered, east side might have resulted in a terribly long and painful involuntary glissade and it wasn’t worth the risk. After a brief and half-hearted effort at finding another route, I started the easy descent, under increasingly cloudy skies. Not the glorious and triumphant return to Gap Peak I was hoping for, but a decent day in the mountains nonetheless.        

Morning sun on three of the four peaks of Mount Lougheed

More sun on the first cliff band

The second cliff band

The same view as above from our trip in December of 2003; what a difference a clear sky makes!  

Darkening skies to the west; The Windtower (left) and a little sun on Rimwall (right)

The final ridgewalk to the summit (at the right)

Looking back to the ridge from the false summit

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