Heather Ridge
Mountain
height: 2627m
Elevation
gain: 1000 m
Ascent
time: 5:40
Descent
time: 3:10
Snowshoeing with Mark.
Hoping that a very optimistic weather forecast would come
to fruition (even though the satellite images clearly indicated otherwise),
Mark and I set off into the Skoki area to attempt a snowshoe ascent of Heather
Ridge or Packer’s Pass Peak – excellent trip reports by the “Matts” (Clay and Hobbs) providing
plenty of motivation for ascents of either peak. The last time I made it into this
wonderful part of the mountains was back in the summer of 2005 and Mark and yet
to venture in. A “winterish” visit would probably satiate us both.
The trip starts with a somewhat boring 4 km plod up the
Lake Louise access road – boring, but expedient; and certainly a godsend at the
end of the day. Unfortunately, I made a navigational error at the end of the
road. Instead of continuing up the right side of the valley, I was lured by
continued easy travel on the access road by the Temple Lodge. When this road
suddenly veered off in the wrong direction, we were forced to either retreat or
find a route across Corral Creek and hopefully to a packed down trail on the
other side.
We should have retreated and found the other route.
Instead, a vile bushwhacking mini-nightmare ensued on brutally unsupportive
snow. The creek crossing also was hardly an easy task and by the time we
managed to cross it and find the trail on the other side, defeated we stood –
physically and mentally.
To our surprise, however, the packed down trail was
really PACKED down and travel suddenly became super easy. We decided to continue on to Boulder Pass
and make a decision from there. Views of Richardson, Pika, Ptarmigan, and
Redoubt were stellar throughout, but it was the view of mostly frozen Ptarmigan
Lake and the surrounding mountains, as seen from Boulder Pass that really
caught our attention.
In regards to the weather, we seemed to have lucked out,
enjoying mostly sunny skies directly above us, while clouds consumed everything
to the west and south. As such, we chose the slightly more ambitious objective
of Heather Ridge, instead of Packer’s Pass Peak.
Now off the packed down trail, the isothermal snow
offered varying degrees of support, from zero to almost 100% - that fact was
not surprising, but the “almost to the waist” depth of the snow was. Getting
onto rocky terrain became the primary goal. As such we snowshoed directly up to
the closest and northern most highpoint of Heather Ridge. This ascent line was
fairly strenuous, but also very scenic and interesting, the slope littered with
beautiful, lichen covered, whitish coloured quartzite boulders.
At the summit we both agreed this would be our highpoint
of the day. The true summit was only about 1 km and a few vertical metres away,
but there were several ups and downs to get there, the trail breaking was
likely to be physically demanding, the warm, snow-melting temperatures would
probably exacerbate that situation, and we were both quite tired. We took in the
exquisite summit view and then started down – good decision, as even in the
short time we spent at the top, the snow had softened considerably.
Other than some annoying post-holing, the long descent
went without a hitch, we managed to follow the “correct” route back to the Lake
Louise ski area and, as alluded to, the snow-free access road was a welcome
sight, after spending 7 or so hours with heavy, waterlogged boots and snowshoes on our
feet.
Great day in an area we definitely should visit more often.
Leaving the Lake Louise ski area, with Lipalian Mountain
The Richardson, Pika, Ptarmigan trio is the highlight of the approach to Boulder Pass
Approaching the pass and still on a pretty firm trail
A boulder at Boulder Pass - go figure!
Looking back at the cloudy weather to the west
Fossil Mountain makes its first appearance
Heading to the viewpoint over Ptarmigan Lake
Mark passes that same boulder, with Ptarmigan Peak behind
More boulders
The view over Ptarmigan Lake
Same as above
The impressive southeast side of Ptarmigan Peak garnered much attention
This view alone was worth the lengthy slog to get there
Packer's Pass Peak (left) and Fossil Mountain
Mark takes a quick side trip onto frozen Ptarmigan Lake
Looking back at his tracks
He's still going
...and going...
...and going! At this point, the ice became quite slushy and he wisely retreated
Sizing up the objective - Heather Ridge (centre)
Nothing like a random boulder to spice up the scenery
The ridge in the background (outlier of Richardson) looked quite inviting
Going from one rocky section to the next, in hopes of a little reprieve from the strenuous trail-breaking
Had to get at least one photo of a lichen covered boulder. Threw in Mark and Fossil Mountain for added effect.
The northeast side of Redoubt Mountain
Looks easy from here, but the ascent was deceivingly long and steep
Add to that some nasty post-holing
It's white quartzite boulder time
Weaving through the boulders was fun and super scenic
The view of Ptarmigan Peak was nothing to sneeze at either
More weaving
Snow scenery like this make me miss winter, but I'm ready for scrambling season!
Baker Lake is now visible, below the south face of Fossil (left)
And the view of Ptarmigan continues to impress
Enjoying a sandwich at the north summit
Looking south along Heather Ridge. The true summit is at the left.
Mark, with the view to the north
Descent
Last look at Ptarmigan Lake
The End