Lakeview Ridge III and Rogan Peak III
March 31, 2017
Mountain
heights: 1945 m, 2442 m
Total elevation gain: 1550 m
Round-trip
time: 10:27
Scrambling
with Scott, Brad and Leon.
Several
times during this trip I exclaimed to my hiking partners, “This
trip is nothing like what I expected!” Having visited the summit
of Lakeview Ridge and Rogan Peak on two previous occasions, I
had developed very specific expectations about these trips and
believed the day would unfold with a comforting predictability. Yet
again the mountains would throw a fantastic curve ball at me (and my
enthusiastic partners)!
This
would be my first (and hopefully not last) trip with Scott Ferguson,
Brad Orr, and Leon Kang. I was expecting Scott to show up for the
trip, but Brad and Leon were very pleasant surprises (especially
given that I teach Brad's son, Conor – not only a fine French Horn
player, but also an avid scrambler).
Unfortunately,
at daybreak, the stage was set for a dismal trip: a terrible weather
forecast, low-lying clouds in every direction (we couldn't even see
the objective when we reached the trailhead), and a good 8-10 cm of
fresh snow, from an unexpected overnight storm, covering the
landscape.
Nevertheless,
everyone was in good spirits and so off we went, with the summit of
Lakeview Ridge as the objective (with the new snow, I doubted that
Rogan Peak would be possible).
To
my
surprise, the new snow and gloomy weather made for some atmospheric
and surreal winter-like scenery right off the bat. All four of us had
our cameras clicking from minute 1 to minute 627! And thank God there
were four of us – trail-breaking through deep, isothermal snow was
a beast at various points of the day – Scott graciously volunteered to
take the brunt of the trail-breaking, but everyone took their turn!
We chose
the south face as our ascent route and after a brief, bush battle to
get there, large-stride Leon led the way up the steep, snowy slopes
(I should leave alliteration to the pros!). A couple of sucker
patches of blue sky teased us along the way, but I was quite
convinced the dreary weather was here to stay. Of course, I was dead
wrong!
Upon
reaching the false summit, the top of striking Mount Galwey
mysteriously appeared through the thick clouds, prompting several
gasps of amazement from the entire group, followed by a barrage of
picture-taking. And miraculously, that was a small taste of things to
come. The clouds continued to dissipate and then form again
throughout the entire traverse to the summit of Lakeview, yielding
breath-taking and even more surreal scenery and views.
If we
started the trip in good spirits, we definitely arrived at the summit
in feverishly elated spirits. Everyone was figuratively “on top of
the world” - not quite literally, at the modest elevation of 1945
m! As well as the clearing of the skies, there was not a hint of wind
at the summit – another small miracle for Waterton at this time of
the year. The trip had already exponentially exceeded my
expectations, and probably those of Scott, Brad and Leon. I was super
happy that my new friends were thoroughly enjoying the trip and were
as excited about the incredible views as I was.
We
didn't stay at the summit of Lakeview Ridge for long, as this very
favourable turn of weather events meant that Rogan Peak was back on.
Everyone seemed keen on an attempt. The Lakeview ascent had taken
only 3.5 hours and earlier I had estimated the round-trip time to be
about 8 hours for both peaks – I was dead wrong on that count too!
With
stellar, calm weather and plenty of time, how hard could an ascent of
Rogan Peak's easy north ridge be? As you may guess, nowhere as easy
as I had expected. While the long traverse started off with expected
ease, as soon as a certain elevation was reached, we were hit by a
constant and pretty cold west wind. Since we weren't expecting any
good, quality suffering and this day was quickly turning into “The
Opposite” (best Seinfeld episode ever!) of everything we expected,
it stands to reason that this is exactly how we would end the ascent.
In
truth, it was a pretty straightforward ascent – just long, steep
and viciously cold! It was also viciously scenic and therefore
completely irresistible, regardless of the challenging conditions.
The snow-covered north ridge of Rogan looked stunning, sometimes even
reminiscent of a Himalayan peak, as the wind pushed huge streams of
snow over the edge of the mountain.
The
second last surprise of the day was to arrive at the summit to enjoy,
once again, calm, almost windless conditions. We were all shocked and
overjoyed to be able to share the summit in near perfect conditions,
taking in a fantastically snowy summit view. Hats off and tipped to
my awesome partners not only for braving an unpredictably long and
sometimes arduous ascent, but also for their unequaled enthusiasm
throughout the journey. It became very clear, very quickly that
Scott, Brad and Leon all have a pure love and passion for the
mountains and nature and fully appreciate the infinite wonders we are
exposed to when out there. I could not have asked for a better trio
to share day with.
At this
point, we were 7.5 hours into the trip – oops! That ones on me –
unlikely we would be able to complete the entire descent in 30
minutes! However, we did get to enjoy a remarkably easy and scenic
return trip, that included the last pleasant surprise of the day –
an exhilarating glissade down a small section of the east side of the
peak. Farther on, the initial ascent slopes that were plastered in
deep snow 10 hours earlier were now completely snow-free.
What a
day! Courtesy of a string of wildly unexpected events and totally
awesome company to share those events with, I would rate this trip in
my Top 10 trips of all-time. A huge thank you to Scott, Brad and
Leon.
Thanks also to the group for allowing me to use their photos on this page.
Click HERE to see all of Brad's photos
Dreary condition, as we leave the trailhead
Taking a right turn (photo by Brad)
No shortage of colour with this group (photo by Scott)
Snow covered trees
Scott is all smiles as we come out of the trees
Still smiling, even when post-holing! (photo by Brad)
Approaching the ascent slope
Leon plans his route up (photo by Brad)
...and then leads to group up to the ridge
Scott and me bring up the rear (photo by Brad)
Scott on the ridge
Leon ascends snowy slopes in foggy conditions
Our first sign that the weather may improve
Cloudy behind us, but the Sun is out in front of us (photo by Brad)
Brad on the ridge
The pleasant combination of Sun and low clouds
More signs of clearing
Bellevue Hill emerges from behind the clouds
Mount Galwey to the left of me (photo by Leon)
Mesmerized by the surreal views (photo by Brad)
Safe to say that Leon was happy with this favourable turn of events (photo by Scott)
More peaks emerge from the clouds (photo by Scott)
And then back into the clouds
...and back out!
Leon and Scott near one of the highpoints on the ridge
Scott takes in the view towards Rogan Peak (left) and Mount Dungarvan (centre)
More atmospheric conditions
Very cloudy to the south east. Chief Mountain is just poking above the clouds at the distant right
The clouds continue to slowly dissipate
Brad at the summit of Lakeview Ridge and the amazing view to the west
Leon at the summit, with the north peak of the Lakeview Ridge Loop route behind him
Descending to the Lakeview/Rogan col
Looking back up to Lakeview
Starting the long grind to the summit of Rogan Peak, at the left
Another look at Lakeview (photo by Brad)
Easy travel at the beginning
Brad and Rogan Peak
Steeper terrain (photo by Brad)
There are a few ups and downs along the way
The patterns in the snow were fascinating
Scott knows how to properly photograph the Sun (photo by Scott)
Wind sculpted snow
Looks like Brad is happy too!
A couple of surprise companions
Not looking too impressed with our appearance
....so they bolted
Another Scott photo
The upper section of Rogan
Leon negotiates the ridge
Brad does the same
Here come the Boys. Lakeview Ridge, at the right, now looking quite diminutive
Brad beautifully captures the stunning landscape around us and the vast amount of snow
blowing over the east side of the mountain (photo by Brad)
A little calm before the storm (photo by Scott)
The storm. The wind was relentless here, but strangely refreshing (photo by Scott)
The wind picks up even more (photo by Brad)
There are a few rockbands along the way. All can be circumvented, but some are fun to ascend,
even while getting pummeled with blowing snow! (photo by Scott)
Another lesser, but very colourful rockband (photo by Brad)
Getting closer (photo by Brad)
Some good cornice scenery too (photo by Scott)
Even closer!
The wind was almost non-existent as we reached the summit ridge
Me at the summit ridge (photo by Brad)
The final walk to the summit
Scott completes the ascent
Leon at the top (photo by Brad)
Leon enjoying a great view of Mount Anderson (photo by Scott)
Mount Blakiston is very prominent (photo by Scott)
Brad at the top
The easy and scenic descent
Leon approaches a steeper section (photo by Brad)
We would eventually descend the slope to the right (photo by Brad)
Brad approaches some very cool red argillite
There it is (photo by Brad)
Leon glissades
...and kicks up a lot of snow!
Looking back at the face we ascended 10 hours earlier. Hard to believe this slope was plastered in snow at that time.
Another surprisingly snow-free look at our surroundings that were completely white in the morning
The END