Kishinena Peak

Kishinena Peak

July 24, 2011

Mountain height:    2440 m
Elevation gain:        m
Ascent time:           3:25
Descent time:        2:25

Solo scramble.

This non-descript, little mountain on the Continental Divide has always been very low on my priority list. In fact it never was on any to-do list until I ran into a great trip report by Trevor Helwig and James Yearous. Even with less than stellar weather conditions their ascent looked fairly interesting and so I hijacked not only the idea for Kishinena, but also their specific route via the Kishinena/Bauerman col.

Definitely one of my later starts for a day trip, I left the Red Rock Canyon parking lot at 3:15 pm. 8 km of ferocious pedaling and a heck of a lot of walking my bike up even the most innocuous of hills, took me to the pleasant Snowshoe campground, where I traded the wheels for hiking poles. The 3.3 km hike to the upper Twin Lake was also very pleasant, with good views of the objective. Of course my late start meant that the Sun was in the worst possible position for photos, but that was something I was going to have to live with (whiner!).

Hiking to the Kishinena/Bauerman col I couldn’t be more surprised at the huge amount of snow still residing on the east side of the peak – after all we are taking about July 24 of a fairly warm summer. I found it to be somewhat ironic that one of the lowest peaks in Waterton Park would also be the last one to come into shape (obviously due to its westerly location on the Continental Divide).

From the col the ascent was easy, obvious, fun and very scenic. Again, I cursed my bad timing, as several snow-filled gullies would have looked wonderful with the Sun in the east. The upside of the Sun`s location was it very much brought out the amazing colours of three absolutely wonderful Waterton massifs: the Blakiston Horseshoe, the Anderson/Lost/Bauerman group and the Glendowan to Loaf Mountain and beyond massif. What Kishinena lacks in height, it abundantly compensates for in strategic location. Few, in any, peaks in the area allow such a perfect and unobstructed view of all three massifs simultaneously – it was outstanding!!

The only section of the ascent that concerned was a huge cornice lining the summit ridge. It was clearly visible even from the valley bottom. I hoped there existed an easy route around or up and over it. Upon arriving at the impressive feature, I immediately went over to the north side and found that the snow had melted enough to allow unimpeded access to the summit ridge and summit - awesome! That gave me an excuse to explore the cornice more thoroughly from below. There appeared to be a hole going right through the cornice that would allow me to crawl through directly to the top of the mountain.

The cornice was expectedly magnificent and the rock around it equally so. Unfortunately I couldn’t make my way over to the hole because of the tenuous snow conditions, but instead enjoyed a short but fun scramble right to the summit.

And just to make sure I would never underestimate this peak again, Kishinena served up a thoroughly engrossing summit panorama. To complement the comprehensive views of the aforementioned three Waterton massifs, enter the mountains of Glacier National Park. The distinctive forms of Chapman, Custer, Kintla, Kinnerly, and Long Knife were simply outstanding. The outlines of other familiar peaks such Castle Peak, “Jake Smith”, Scarpe, and Haig and the new forms of Mount Matkin and Font Mountain, added further to an already remarkable viewpoint.

At 7:15 pm, after a long and gratifying summit stay, I committed my last crime of the day, stealing yet another great idea from the Trevor and James – the alternate descent route via Sage Pass. This route was brutally easy and obvious; it should have taken no time at all. More magnificent scenery ensured my descent would be anything but expedient. Perhaps the highlight of the descent was looking back at the summit to see a white mass suddenly appear there. Had I been in the Arctic I would have said, “polar bear” – obviously it wasn’t! A mountain goat arrived at the top, shortly after I left and curiously watched my progress down the wide ridge (as I watched him watching me!).

It was almost a relief to arrive at Sage Pass and more subdued scenery, in that I could start making up some lost time. My goal of being back at the car at 10:15 pm was starting to look improbable. Thankfully, a totally exhilarating bike ride back enabled me to make up that time and I finished the trip at 9:40.

Overall, a thoroughly enthralling and wonderful day out. Thank you Trevor and James for opening my eyes!

Outliers of Newman and Avion

Kishinena Peak

No shortage of greenery here and a terrific trail!

Traversing snow towards the Kishinena/Bauerman col (not visible, but to the left)

The lower of the Twin Lakes

The first look of one of the innumerable highlights of the trip - part of the Blakiston Horseshoe

The lower ascent slopes

The magnificent three Waterton massifs

Font and Matkin to the north

Lost (left) and Bauerman

Looking down the approach valley

The cornice guarding the summit

The summit

The easy route to get around the cornice

Exploring the other end of the cornice

The hole in the cornice I wanted to crawl through is just visible in the centre

Cool terrain on the southeast side of the peak

The scramble route to the summit

Chapman Peak (left) and Mount Custer

The closest I was able to get to the hole

The summit view of the three massifs

The Blakiston Horseshoe (left) and many amazing peaks in Glacier National Park

Kinnerly and Kintla (looking like one mountain at the left), and Long Knife Peak

A closer look at Kinnerly and Kintla

Miskwasini (left) and Kenow

Kinnerly and Kintla again!

Long Knife again!

Festubert in the centre

A pretty dull photo, but the three giants (?) of the Castle area are visible:
Scarpe (left ), Jake Smith (just left of centre) and Haig (right of centre)