Lakeview Ridge

Lakeview Ridge – April 10, 2009

Mountain height:  1945 m
Elevation gain:     approx. 800 m
Roundtrip time:   8 hours

Scrambling with Mark.

Lakeview Ridge is one of those peaks where upon seeing it you might say “Why would I ascend that?” The mountain is as front range as front range gets, significantly lower than all its neighbours, and looks just plain boring from the road. However, closer inspection of the east face of the horseshoe shaped ridge revealed the possibility of some interesting rock-bands, similar to those found on Prairie Bluff, further north.

With that in mind we took a direct route towards the cliffs at the southeast end of the ridge, hoping to avoid any serious bushwhacking. The approach was in fact quite straightforward and we arrived at the foot of the rock-bands to find they were as equally breath-taking as those found on Prairie Bluff, especially with a clear sky behind and the full brunt of the Sun illuminating the rock. We could have easily spent the entire day exploring this amazing geological curiosity, but decided to limit our exploration and then gain the ridge to check out the route around the horseshoe. A gorgeous snow-filled gully provided easy, though steep access to the ridge. Crampons were very much appreciated on a couple of short sections. Again, the layers of colourful rock were simply glorious.

Upon reaching the ridge, we backtracked south for a short distance to gain the southeast summit that marks the beginning of the horseshoe. For a Front Range peak, the view was remarkably good, especially south towards the Waterton Lakes and the long ridge connecting Mount Galwey to Mount Dungarvan to the west.

The location of the true summit was hard to determine. It appeared to be a significant point about 1.5 hours away. Had I scrutinized the map a little more, I would have discovered that it was much further around the horseshoe. However, from the vantage point of the southeast summit, the true summit appeared to be much lower. Nevertheless, the traverse over and around to the north summit was very enjoyable, with fantastic views and scenery down the east side of the peak.

Even at the north summit, it was still difficult to see if the next highpoint was higher. The topo map had one extra contour for the next peak and so we started towards it. The 200 metre elevation loss down to the intervening col was not an issue, however, the ridge on the other side of the col was plastered in deep snow and we had not brought our snowshoes. As expected, once onto the snow, travel up the treed ridge was labourious and quite strenuous. Fortunately, things improved above treeline and the final walk to the summit was much easier. The view continued to impress, even though the Waterton Lakes were no longer visible.

There appeared to be numerous easy options for descent, but we chose to follow the ridge in its entirety, hoping that easy slopes would eventually lead us down to the Horseshoe Basin Trail and back to the car. They did and the ridgewalk in between was excellent. The day ended with a more than pleasant walk through grassy meadows and poplar forests.

Lakeview Ridge, as seen from the parking area; the summit is at the left and the southeast peak in the centre