Numa Mountain

Numa Mountain – July 2, 2009

Mountain height:         2720 m
Elevation gain:            1500 m
Ascent time:                5:50
Descent time:              2:20

Scrambling with Kevin.

Having read a very short, but excellent review of this trip, I put it on my “to-do” list right away. Kevin and I had originally planned an attempt of Tornado Mountain in south Kananaskis, however, an iffy forecast prompted us to head west instead. We also agreed to take a look at Foster Peak, with the slight hopes that it could be ascended from Numa Pass.

Although the suggested route follows Numa Creek, we chose a route via Floe Creek, because I wanted a close-up look at Floe Lake. The long hike to Floe Lake was terrific. After crossing the beautifully coloured waters of the Vermilion River, the trail goes north and then west towards the stunning Rockwall. Perhaps the most interesting and visually-arresting aspect of the hike is the huge stands of burnt trees, from the fire of 2003, amid new, lush, green plant life. With a blue sky above, this scenery was magnificent.

Floe Lake was nothing to sneeze at either – the bluish-gray waters, reflecting the immense face of the Rockwall above. Continuing along the trail, we passed through open, larch-filled meadows. Were I to do this trip again, I would definitely wait until autumn, when the larches are changing to yellow and the fireweed a bright red. Approaching Numa Pass, it became obvious that Foster Peak would not be seeing an attempt. Climbing gear would be a necessity and we had none. Nevertheless, the views towards Foster and those of the surrounding environs of Numa Pass were absolutely spectacular.

Reaching the summit of Numa (2720 m, not the 2550 m stated in the Green Book and on some maps) required only steep hiking, but was quite foreshortened and did have a false summit. Fortunately, the surroundings views just got better and better, especially up and down the amazing length of The Rockwall.

The descent was a Barton stroke of genius. Instead of returning the way we came, we descended scree slopes from the summit in a southeast direction. Quickly we arrived in a magnificent valley, replete with cascading streams, snow patches, and more lush, green, grassy slopes. After following a beautiful stream for a short distance, we turned south, down steep, but manageable slopes back to the Floe Lake Trail. This essentially cut half the horizontal distance off the descent and it was scenic to boot.

A totally outstanding day in an impeccable area.

The beautiful Vermilion River