Mount Putnik

Mount Putnik – July 27, 2009

Mountain height:         2924 m
Elevation gain:            1200 m
Ascent time:                6:35
Descent time:              4:10

Solo scramble.

That’s an official strikeout for peaks around Three Isle Lake! My only motivation for ascending Mount Putnik was to experience the summit panorama in perfect weather. The summit of nearby Mount Lyautey greeted Ferenc and me with thunderstorms, 2 days previous and Kevin and I had overcast skies on Mount Worthington, 3 years ago. Putnik was my last chance for peaks in the area and it too turned out to be a bust.

With both weather forecasts agreeing that the morning would be sunny, I biked 4 km and hiked 6.4 km to the Three Isle Lake campground. Even on approach, the weather was fairly cloudy and I stopped to take a million photos of water droplets on leaves (seems to have become a minor obsession after seeing some cool photos on Marko’s website).

The ascent, via the west ridge, involved a great deal of steep scree and rubble, with one section of fairly exposed scrambling. I could have tolerated the ankle-jarring rubble, had the skies been clear, but my frustration grew as I made my way to the summit. The weather could have been far worse, but I was after perfection and anything less was extremely disappointing. By the time I reached the summit, I had conceded that the weather would not clear and therefore enjoyed the summit stay more than I was expecting. Putnik does sport an outstanding panorama, even in cloudy conditions.

For descent, I took the south ridge and then traversed west into the drainage that separates Putnik from the long south ridge of Mount Beatty. Instead of returning to the Three Isle Lake campground, I just followed the drainage back to the trail; the reward of which was some terrific flower scenery, the punishment, a nasty bushwhack lower down. The bike ride back was exhilarating in more than one way. The skies let loose with a vicious downpour for the entire ride. Zipping down the trail while being bombarded with rain was far more thrilling than the actual ascent of Putnik.

Not my first strikeout in the mountains (or in life, for that matter!) and probably not my last.

Fog over Upper Kananaskis Lake and a big, black bird;
perhaps an omen that the perfect weather wasn't going to happen