Little Middle Kootenay Peak

"Little Middle Kootenay Peak"

November 29, 2009

Mountain height:         2280 m
Elevation gain:            850 m
Ascent time:                3:10
Descent time:              1:30

Snowshoeing with Mark.

Although we didn’t know it at the time, it seems we returned to exactly the same area we had been in, exactly one year to date, and coincidentally experienced exactly the same weather conditions – ie. mostly crappy, but with enough clear breaks to make the trip worthwhile.

On November 30, 2008, Mark and I had tramped up the slopes of Middle Kootenay Mountain, enjoying sunny skies for a while, but arriving at the summit to a complete whiteout. Several weeks later we returned to that summit, with much better weather conditions – a magnificently scenic trip that comes very, very close to tying Cathedral Mountain for my favourite trip to date. For both Middle Kootenay Mountain ascents, we had noted the much smaller hill to the east of Middle that would probably provide a decent view of the area. This big hill became the objective for the day – I chose the long, but rhythmic, unofficial title of “Little Middle Kootenay Peak” to identify the hill.

Although there was a heck of a lot more snow than last November’s ascent, we were able to drive to the staging area and then proceed on two wheels from there. Once again, we abandoned the bikes shortly after the snow-packed trail started to gain elevation. The bleak weather was pretty much what we expecting, so our usual weather-related frustration was minimal (a little baffling, however, that both The Weather Network and Environment Canada were predicting completely clear skies – don’t they look at the same satellite photos we do??)

After hiking about halfway to Middle Kootenay Pass, we left the trail to gain the ridge of Little Middle. No longer shielded from a viciously cold, biting west wind, we put on every layer of available clothing for the ascent. Even so it was a bone-chilling ride. The short, but wonderful break in the weather occurred just before reaching the summit. The top half of Mount Haig was suddenly visible, peaking through the low cloud, and the corniced ridge lit up in brilliant sunlight for a few moments. Unfortunately the next wave of clouds approaching from the west would consume the entire area for the remainder of the day. Our summit stay was quite short, due to cold temperatures and lack of a view. Thankfully the descent was very fast and very easy, taking less than half the ascent time.

Like Middle Kootenay Mountain, definitely an ascent we will repeat with better weather.

Other than the short break in the weather, the best scenery of the day occurred at the beginning and end, with a magnificently colourful sunrise and an equally impressive sunset.

The colourful sunrise