Opal Ridge South IV



January 6, 2012
 
Mountain height:   2600 m
Elevation gain:      1000 m
Ascent time:          3:45
Descent time:        1:50
 
Solo hike.
 
Super Sunday means either a trip that’s Super Short or a start time that’s Super Early. Not fully recovered from a dismal failure on Mount Shanks 24 hours early, I took the Super Easy option.
 
That decision eventually turned into a repeat ascent of the South Peak of Opal Ridge. The guaranteed stellar weather was perhaps motivation for a more ambitious objective, however, as well as time and energy limitations, my partner for the day had to bow out at the last second and something conservative seemed prudent. And as I’ve alluded to ad nauseum over the years, there’s no such thing as a bad trip in the spectacular Opal Range!  
 
I wasn’t expecting the west facing ascent route to be plastered in snow, but was surprised to see it bone dry (in early February). This was a little disappointing – a combination of rock and snow is usually unbeatable for photos.
 
The first couple of hours of the ascent seemed a little tedious, probably because the weather was perfect and yet I was stuck in the shadow of the mountain itself. Still, views behind me towards Mounts Lawson, Inflexible and James Walker were pretty stunning, their east faces snow-covered and bathing in beautiful sunlight.
 
Passing through the famous “gates” of terrifically colourful rock also meant moving from shadow to sunlight and the beginning of an awe-inspiring hike to the summit. The colours and contours on and around the mountain were magnificent, surpassing anything I had imagined for this diminutive peak. The jagged forms of the more prominent Opal Range to the southeast completed the visual feast. And after complaining to myself about the lack of snow for most of the trip, the ridge to summit retained enough to render some breath-taking scenery of the white stuff, blue sky, peaks, and sun.       
 
The summit view, needless to say, was excellent, featuring many of the fantastic Opal Range peaks and the mostly snow-free and very intriguing length of Opal Ridge, stretching far to the north.
 
Unfortunately, my lengthy ascent time (and lack of energy) precluded a potentially awesome traverse to the additional summit, further south along the ridge. Instead, I enjoyed a wonderful summit stay and a refreshing Orange Crush – to my utter dismay, I had been recently informed that Tangerine Fanta is no longer available in Canada; news that caused me to instantly spiral into a minor, but deep depression, the likes I had not experienced since the Rams lost to the Pats in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 (maybe a little hyperbole here!)


The fast descent was not so fast, as more fantastic scenery stopped me dead in my tracks often to take it in.
 
A Super trip!
 
And how was Super Bowl XLVI?? In a word…… “Super”! An amazing catch by Mario Manningham, followed by a bizarre touchdown by Ahmad Bradshaw, where the Pats defense intentionally let him in the endzone in the last minute of play, led the Giants to a thrilling 21-17 victory over the Pats.  


The less than inspiring view from low down on the mountain


Alpenglow on Mount Inflexible


Inflexible near the centre and Mount James Walker at the far right
 

James Walker


Inflexible



A more expansive view of the mountains to the west


Fox, Foch, Sarrail, and Joffre to the southwest


Approaching the Gates and still in shadow


Here comes the Sun



The contrast of snowy and snow-free terrain was very striking throughout




The surprisingly snow-free slopes of Opal Ridge
 


An impressive outcrop of rock made for some terrific scenery


Looking south to the summit (far left) and southwest to the south ridge of Mount Lawson











The North and South peaks of Mount Kidd to the north; Mount Bogart sticks up over Kidd South


Looking north along Opal Ridge



Looking south along Opal Ridge; Mount Evan-Thomas to the left


Same as above


Named and unnamed peaks of the Fisher Range; the only official peak is
Mount McDougall, the second peak from the left


More of Opal's south ridge


Same as above


Same as above


Kidd and Bogart again




The view to the north and interesting wind-sculpted snow


Same as above


Inflexible and James Walker


Snow in one direction.....


...barely any in the opposite direction


Looking back on the route up


Evan-Thomas, Packenham, and other peaks of the Opal Range


The fascinating north ridge of Opal; the taller peak right of centre is The Wedge


At the summit looking south


Looking southeast; the two summits of Mount Denny at the far left and Mount Potts next to Denny


The view towards the Kananaskis Lakes and the Mount Joffre area


The traverse that energy and time didn't allow me to attempt


Mount Packenham looking deceivingly steep; the ascent route goes up one of the snowy gullies
on the left side and then follows the ridge west (right) to the summit


Summit views


The very cool slab that makes up the summit
 

More beautiful scenery of rock and snow


A closer look at Evan-Thomas; Kevin Barton and I ascended the difficult west ridge
(easy climbing, but not a scramble for most). The scramble route is on the south side on the west ridge.
 

Another view to the north


Same as above


Mount Denny (right) and an interesting outlier to the north of Denny; looks like a cool objective
 

More of the same


Heading back and enjoying more great snow scenery


What would a trip be without some rust coloured lichen, thrown in for good measure!


Back near the rock outcrop and Gates


Same as above


The colourful rock of Opal Ridge



Same as above


Same as above


A last look at Opal Ridge and the Gates; what a difference the Sun's position in the sky makes
 

Another potential route to the summit stays on the south side of the creek
 

The ascent route to the left, looking far more appetizing than it did in the morning


Back at the car, with the cool, aforementioned slab visible near the upper right
 
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