Goat Creek Peak 1 – August 7, 2008 

Mountain height:         2778 m
Elevation gain:            1300 m
Ascent time:                5:10
Descent time:              3:00

Solo scramble.

The Rocky Mountains of Canada South describes the northern section of the Goat Range as having three separate peaks – all unnamed. Since all peaks tower above Goat Creek, I decided to name them Goat Creek Peak 1, 2, and 3. I wanted to reach the summit of one of these peaks to check out the scrambling and the view. I picked the northern-most peak because it was the closest to the parking area and the easiest to ascend.

The description simply reads, “easy via the north ridge”, but lacks any information on how to get to the north ridge. Therefore, I picked one of many potential drainages to ascend, hoping it would lead without difficulty to the ridge. I didn’t encounter any real difficulties, but the there was a lot of route finding, some back-tracking, and a few sections of difficult scrambling.

The route also took me to a point much further north on the ridge than I was hoping. The 3 km ridgewalk to the summit took 2 full hours and included several elevation losses and regains. Fortunately, it did reveal a shortcut that I could use for descent. The ridge was straightforward, but a touch exposed in places.

The summit view was pleasant, but nothing to write home about. The Sundance Range to the west blocked pretty much everything in that direction. Only the top half of Assiniboine was visible. The alternate descent route worked out quite well, except for a stint of rather nasty bushwhacking.

A decent day out, but Goat Creek Peaks 2 and 3 probably won’t be seeing me in the near future.    

Goat Creek Peak 1 (left ), as seen from the parking lot

On the upper slopes; Mount Rundle at the right

Looking down the ascent gully; EEOR, Ha Ling Peak, and Lawrence Grassi are visible

Looking south along the long ridge; summit in the centre

Looking back along the ridge

From the summit of Goat Creek Peak 1, looking south to the highest point of the massif - Goat Creek Peak 2

Spray Lake and peaks to the east of it: Big Sister, Lougheed, Sparrowhawk

Asssiniboine and Lunette

Heading back along the ridge

The alternate descent gully
       

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