Phantom Crag


 
June 20, 2021
 
Mountain height: 2335 m
Elevation gain:    970 m
Ascent time:       4:40
Descent time:     3:20
 
Scrambling and a little climbing with Mark.
 
This beautiful little peak had long been on our to-do list. Cornelius Rott’s excellent trip report and a relatively recent visit to the area doubly increasing our motivation to give the distinctive mountain a go. Given varying accounts of the peak’s difficulty, from difficult scrambling to easy climbing, we decided to treat the ascent as a technical climb and would take with us an over-abundance of climbing gear.
 
The only unpleasant surprise of the day was the condition of the access road. Reverting to its former self, the road was pot-holed, bumpy and just not fun to drive. Fortunately, that was followed by a pleasant surprise. At this time of the year, we expected to be able to make it down the “Big Hill” but no further, due to braids of the Ghost River blocking the way. None existed and we were able to drive several kilometres up the valley, as we did for our Black Rock Mountain trip.
 
A “rookie mistake” (from two non-rookies!) was made shortly after. We forded the chilly Ghost River, ditched our river crossing footwear, changed into our hiking footwear, and continued up the valley towards the ascent route; not realizing that the braided river was exactly that! Confronted with another braid in the river, we were forced to turn around, retrieve our footwear, and then complete another ford. As such, an hour into the trip and we could still see our vehicle, not more than 400 m away – oops!
 
Thankfully, that blunder was an isolated one (almost) and what followed what simply wonderful! The canyon-like ascent drainage provided amazing rock scenery and a neat little trail allowed us to gain the upper drainage with ease. After circumventing a particularly steep rock band, we should have returned to the drainage, but instead just went straight up, through increasingly bushy terrain – that was Blunder #1.5 (not quite a 2!). Eventually we did regain the drainage and then ascended easily to the ridge. Once again, the scenery was far better than we were expecting.
 
Arriving at the crux of the trip, we decided to use all the climbing gear we had dragged up the mountain – it simply didn’t make sense not to. While steep and exposed, the crux rock band was also relatively short, and comprised of incredibly solid rock, with great hand- and footholds. It was a joy to ascend but would be quite challenging to descend without a rope – a sentiment confirmed by the rappel sling we found at the top.  
 
The remainder of the ascent unfolded with ease, occasional views of the Ghost Lakes providing some pleasant views to go with the already awesome views of the surrounding area. We took a long summit break to take it all in and then made our way back to the crux. Rappelling the crux very much reminded us of a similar mountain in the area – Devil’s Head. Mark had managed to downclimb the crux on Devil’s Head, but both Raff and I rappelled it and I would say that most scramblers would likewise rappel. As such, I would characterize Phantom Crag (and Devil’s Head) as a climb, not as scramble.
 
Lower down we decided to take a little detour over to the east side of the mountain for some additional views, but learning from Blunder #1.5 we then traversed back into the drainage to avoid the bushwhack and check out the seriously cool rock along the way. Another enjoyable descent of the canyon followed and then, after picking up our river crossing footwear, we simply walked across the river in our boots – the car was only a few minutes away.
 
Going in, we did have high hopes for this ascent, but clearly they weren't high enough! A totally awesome trip!   


Phantom Crag, as seen from the access road...



...as seen from where we parked



Mark looks for the decent place to cross the Ghost River



Black Rock Mountain, on the other side of the valley



Mark crosses the chilly Ghost River. River crossing's remain our least favourite aspect of mountain trips!
 


Lots of impressive rock to gawk at in this valley



Approaching the canyon-like section of the ascent drainage



Still gawking



The great trail in the trees that gets you above the first difficult step



Looking down the ascent drainage and over to Black Rock



A cairn here and there is usually quite reassuring



The next section leads to another steep wall



Great water-worn rock to walk on
 


Mark leads the way around the steep wall



Emerging from the bush after Blunder #1.5
 


Slogging up the ridge, with the higher, western outlier of Phantom looking very tempting (as a scramble around the north side, not climbing right up it!)



Views to the north continue to open up. Devil's Head can now be seen, near the left.



The outlier and lichen on some remarkably solid rock



Mark and the outlier



The results of the fire that destroyed the forest around Black Rock Mountain, in September of 2020, is now clearly visible



Close-up of Black Rock



From this angle, the outlier looks super impressive



That's because it is!



Near the ridge and exploring a little around the base of the outlier



Same as above



There's Phantom Crag, also known as Devil's Fang



Mark and a big chunk of rock



With the outlier



Now on the ridge, the view to the south is revealed



Time to continue with the ascent



At the base of the climbing section



Checking out the rock on the crux, without a rope. It was super solid, with great holds.



Starting up the crux with a rope



And rock shoes! Overkill, but not!



Atop the crux



Approaching the summit block



Still some scrambling needed to get to the top, but again on wonderfully solid rock



Great view to the north and a big chunk of the ascent route



The Ghost Lakes and the bit of Lake Minnewanka finally show up at the left






The vertiginous north side of Phantom Crag



More scrambling



Followed by some ledge walking



Final few steps of scrambling



The summit cairn and view to the north



The southeast side of Phantom is a fascinating study in tiered rock layers







Still fixated on the Ghost Lakes. It appears that the eastern-most lake has all but dried up.



Close-up



More water scenery, with the Ghost River. That one hopefully won't dry up anytime in the near or far off future, however, it's interesting to see how wide the river was in the past.



As well as the awesome ascent route, the stellar weather kept us smiling throughout
 


Mark on the cairn



Mount Costigan. Phantom is essentially the eastern-most outlier of Costigan.



Orient Point to the south



Enjoying a last look before the descent



Mark rappels the crux



My turn



Orient Point (left), Saddle Peak (right), and the dried-up Ghost Lake



Traversing to the eastern edge



One of only a few remaining snow patches on the mountain



Heading to the far east side



Mark follows



Looking back at the summit block of Phantom



The eastern extension was home to some colourful rock



The other snow patch we encountered, back in the main drainage



Yet more awesome rock to descend in the drainage



A couple of small waterfalls...



...to cool off in



Back to where we took our first break



The impressive walls of the mountain continue to impress



Checking out a bolted section of rock



The burnt and blackened slopes of Black Rock



Hiking back to the river crossing



Going back across the Ghost

The End

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