Door Jamb Mountain , Loder Peak , Goat Mountain attempt – January 6, 2006

Roundtrip time:  7:30

Scrambling with Jodi.

Having visited the easily attained summits of Door Jamb Mountain and Loder Peak on several occasions, it appeared to be a good day to extend the trip towards the summit of much higher, unofficially named Goat Mountain . I wasn’t terribly optimistic about making the summit of Goat, on a chilly January day, but it was certainly worth a look.

Though less than 2000 metres above sea level, Door Jamb was again an enjoyable ascent, especially on the limestone, friction slabs, characteristic of the mountain. The same was true of Loder Peak . The weather was not threatening, at this point, but a light wind made for fairly cold conditions. One of the surprising highlights of the trip occurred when we came across a solitary pine tree on the ridge, sporting a large conglomeration of cones near its tip. We were both quite fascinated it and spent a good 5 minutes checking it out.

Continuing the pleasant ridgewalk, we soon reached the point where the ridge narrowed considerably. It was now snowing, but very lightly and not terribly concerning. In short order, however, we arrived at a more serious section where there was considerable exposure. It also started to snow more heavily. Jodie went to check it out and after much deliberation we decided to retreat. Certainly the terrain was well within Jodi’s comfort zone (it was at the edge of mine), but the snow and cold conditions added uncertain elements into the scenario. Though we had brought along a rope and a small compliment of climbing gear, we couldn’t justify the risk.

For descent, we chose to descend to Jura Creek and then follow it out to the road. The beautifully water-carved canyon at the head of the creek was yet again a fantastic way to end the day.       

Jodie hikes up slabs towards Door Jamb Mountain

At the summit of Door Jamb, with Loder (centre), Goat (left) and Yamnuska (distant right)

Jodie on more interesting, slabby terrain

Same as above

The pine cones

A close-up of the cones

Mount Yamnuska

The ridge, where is gets difficult

Yamnuska (right ) and the east shoulder of Goat

Jodie scrambles up steeper terrain; we only progressed about 10 metres beyond this point; although the rock was very solid, it was cold and snowy, and the terrain is fairly exposed

A more dismal  look at Yamnuska

Looking back along the ridge and doing my best imitation of a real climber (the cams and rope are just for show!)

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