Parker Ridge

Parker Ridge – June 24, 2006

Mountain height: 2855 m
Elevation gain:     830 m
Ascent time:      3:00
Descent time:    2:10

Scrambling with Mark.

The primary objective of the weekend was Mount Andromeda on the Sunday. We weren’t, however, about to waste a perfect weather day, on the Saturday, sitting around at the Icefield Campground. Something short, not terribly strenuous, and scenic was in order and Parker Ridge seemed to fit the bill. We didn’t plan on doing the very popular Parker Ridge Trail, but instead, wanted to gain the ridge and traverse it for as long as possible towards Mount Athabasca. If nothing else, we were guaranteed a good view of Athabasca’s southeast side.

Gaining the ridge wasn’t terribly difficult, though in retrospect, it probably would have been far easier to just take the trail. Along the way, a very high bank of snow along side a stream provided some entertainment. As expected the view of Athabasca and Hilda Peak, to the east, was great and only got better as we found a well-worn trail (so pronounced it looked like the route Hannibal and his elephants might have taken it), and started hiking up the ridge (apparently we weren’t the first to think of this trip!).

Unexpectedly, the scenery on the ridge itself and a small dose of moderate scrambling was equally rewarding as the views of Athabasca . The variety of rock colours was more reminiscent of something in Waterton or the Castle area. Initially, not more than a steep hike, we eventually came across more serious terrain and took out the rope to bypass a steeper rockband. Snow and ice made this section a little tricky, though it was very short. After that, some easier scrambling led to the cairned summit and a fantastic view. Continuing further along ridge looked possible, however, a huge and beautiful cornice blocked the route, pushing the route into the realm of mountaineering. We were not prepared for that and so called it a day at GR896807, enjoying a magnificent panorama, dominated by Mounts Saskatchewan, Bryce, Castleguard, the Saskatchewan Glacier, and of course Mount Athabasca.

On ascent Mark had spotted a potential alternate descent route and so we started down the ridge south of our ascent route. For once, it turned to be a great route – tons of excellent scree surfing, more splendid scenery, and super fast. Our descent wasn’t particularly speedy, as on several occasions we traversed scree slopes to the west (away from the car) to check out potential alternate routes to the ridge continuation. A couple of routes became visible and it took all our willpower to forgo those options and head back – trying to reach any more summits surely would have required a great amount of energy that we needed to reserve for Mount Andromeda. After descending easy scree and snow slopes, we soon arrived at a beautiful green lake nestled between the ascent and descent ridges. From there, an easy and scenic hike back to the car completed a more than enjoyable day out.