Scarab Peak
October 8, 2022
Mountain height: 2918 m
Elevation gain: approximately 1800 m for me (2100 m for Raff)
Ascent time: 8:10
Descent time: 7:50
(includes Raff ascending Sugarloaf Mountain)
Scrambling with Raff.
After trying to coordinate our
schedules to do a trip for several months, Raff and I were finally able to find
a day that agreed with us both. I was grateful that Raff had delayed an attempt
of Scarab Peak so we could tackle this very cool looking mountain in remarkable
surroundings together.
We
decided on a bike approach via
Redearth Creek instead of the on-foot Healy Pass approach. Leaving the
parking
lot around 7:30 am we biked the 10.5 km in about 35 minutes and then
embarked
on the easy but sometimes uninspiring, 2-hour hike into the Egypt Lakes
area. Soon after we arrived at Scarab Lake for a quick look. The lake
is definitely one of
the scenic highlights of the entire area and always stops me dead in my
tracks.
Instead of following the trail all the
way to Mummy Lake, we followed Vern’s track, eventually intercepting the cool,
little stream that drains Mummy into Scarab. 
In addition to great views over
Scarab Lake, some super interesting snow scenery was cause for a few gasps of
astonishment and also some photo ops.
Upon reaching Mummy Lake the ascent
began in earnest. And an easy ascent it was not. Thankfully the steep, unstable
and unforgiving terrain underfoot was no match for the wonderful scenery on and
around the mountain. The ascent also exposed us to several phenomena we’d never
seen in the mountains: pyramidal formations of mud and sand at the bottom of a
small glacier; unusual patterns formed in muddy terrain; a glacial moraine that
was more sand dune-like than anything else. Beautiful rock everywhere and
perfectly blue skies further contributed to our sheer enjoyment of this ascent.
Nearing
the summit we soon hit the east rudge. At this point we went
in slightly different directions. I continued following the east
ridge towards the
summit, while Raff approached the summit from the south. I’m glad he
found the
most sensible way up because my route had a couple of sketchy sections
that
would be preferable to avoid on descent.
As the second highest mountain in the
Egypt Lakes area (Haiduk being the highest), the summit panorama met our high
expectations in almost every way. Its only shortcoming was the lack of lake
views. Oddly, the smallest peak in the area – Sugarloaf – sports the finest,
lake-filled panorama of all. As we were taking it all in, we suddenly noticed a
figure approaching the summit. This was quite a surprise given the relative obscurity of the peak and the lateness of
the day. Even more surprising was that it turned out to be a climbing partner
of Raff’s, Barney Brown. A few minutes of conversation with Barney and it
wasn’t difficult to determine that he was a very accomplished mountaineer – you
know you are true mountaineer when you summit both mounts Robson and Alberta on
your first attempts!
Barney was keen to descend with us and
so we started down the easier but very loose south ridge. In general, the
descent went very quickly, and we were back at the shores of Mummy Lake in
short order. Still, the Sun’s rays had left the green-tinged waters of Mummy
Lake and at least a couple of hours of the return trip would be done by headlamp
– except for Barney. 
Obviously the smartest of our trio, Barney had booked
several nights at the Egypt Lake campground. He was no more than 2 km away from
his evening destination – Raff and I were about 20 km away (and then a 1.5-hour
drive)!
Kudos to Raff, who at this point
decided to also tag Sugarloaf Mountain (The Sphinx). I agreed to wait for him
at Scarab Lake. Chatting with Barney for the short distance between Mummy and
Scarab lakes was a sheer delight. I simply love the older generation of
mountaineers. In general, they are without ego, pride, have a genuine love for
the mountains, and little interest in touting they accomplishments to the rest
of world through digital means. Barney was happy to share a few fantastic
mountaineering stories with me but was boastful about nothing. We parted ways
at Scarab Lake.
Raff caught up with me about an hour
later. He must have booked it up and down the mountain! The remainder of the
return trip went by headlamp. I was lucky enough to have an excellent headlamp
on the bike I was using (my brother’s) but Raff (using my bike) had none. He
had to use his “head” headlamp. As such, our ride back was a little slower than
normal, but still easy. If you are going to pick a trail to ride in the dark,
Redearth Creek is a good one! We cautiously coasted into the parking lot around
11:30 pm, about 16 hours after leaving.
Quite a day to say the least. Scarab
Peak gets two rousing thumbs up from me and I'm sure it would be six if we included those belonging to Raff and Barney!
First look at the northeast sides of the three Pharaohs: Greater, Middle, and Lesser
The steep south side of Greater
Approaching Scarab Lake
Raff, a Larch, and a Lake - sounds with the title of a very intriguing novel!
The protagonist of the novel hides behind a larch tree
Left to right: Scarab Lake, Scarab Peak, Greater Pharaoh and Raff
Raff and the larch-lined lake (too bad Raff's name wasn't Laff - good for the alliteration!)
Scarab Lake is one of the most beautiful in the Rockies and always commands my attention
Tons of larches between Scarab and Mummy lakes
The fearsome southeast side of Scarab Peak
Greater Pharaoh is going to be hard to ignore for a while
From afar this snow scenery didn't appear to amount to much, but up close it was super cool
Heading into the maze (photo by Raff)
Raff approaches the steep snow wall
This snow feature had melted into a fine point, looking like a blade from some angles
This one was cool too
Raff and The Scary Snow Wall - the sequel to Raff, a Larch, and a Lake
The view that is still hard to ignore
Leaving the cool snow area..... (photo by Raff)
...and encountering cool moss (photo by Raff)
We could have hiked up to Mummy Lake via this gully....
...but decided it was probably more scenic to gain the ridge above Scarab Lake as soon as possible
Sugarloaf and the north end of Natalko
My turn to pose with a larch (photo by Raff)
Good decision! This view was one of the highlights of the day.
And it keeps on giving
Some remarkable hues in the lake
This side of Scarab is much steeper than photos make it out to be
Looking northeast towards Healy Pass: the other way to get into the Egypt Lakes area
One more of the view of the day
Storm
Mountain is distant but prominent. I ascended a minor outlier south of
Storm several weeks earlier from near Gibbon Pass - larch mania!
Raff on the ridge above the lake
Mummy Lake
Circling around the south side of Scarab
A serious boulder
Heading up and leaving Mummy Lake behind
Raff works his way through some big boulders
And onto the meat of the ascent
Looking for the weakness in the lower rock band (photo by Raff)
Terrific views of Mummy Lake and Natalko Peak helped alleviate the tedium of the lower slopes (photo by Raff)
Beautiful rock, but unfortunately this was not underfoot
Here is what was: loose rubble and hard dirt
But the views were stunning
And the sky was so blue
Raff arrives at the top of the first section of the ascent
Amazing rock and a flawless sky to go with it
It's early October, so I'm sure this is a small but permanent snowfield - for now! ( (photo by Raff)
Raff passes by a couple of big puddles
And then we arrive at the tarn fed by a small glacier
The small (and probably dying) glacier is the key to the ascent. It still butts up against the rock band high enough to grant easy access to the upper slopes. With continued glacial recession the route may become more challenging.
Stunning rock on the west side of the upper valley
Same as above
The glacier was strewn with so many rocks that crampons and/or an ice axe were unnecessary
Raff Passes the Cold Tarn - the prequel
Heading for the weakness at the far left (photo by Raff)
Yes, Raff is on the glacier here - as stated tons of rocks!
The awesome rock band above the glacier
Off the glacier and ascending the weakness the glacier provides good access to
Me on the weakness (photo by Raff)
That cool rock band again
The
upper slopes and the summit at the left. Were I to repeat the trip I
would probably try to gain the ridge at the far right immediately,
then follow it to the summit
Beautiful and solid rock
First good view of Scarab's summit (photo by Raff)
Raff in the glacially scoured upper valley
Loved this section: easy, super interesting, and super scenic (photo by Raff)
Patterns in the mud/sand - the first of numerous super interesting features in the valley
This
terrain in front was as fine a sand as I've ever encountered, very much like a relatively recent ascent of Takakkaw Peak
Ascending the sand (photo by Raff)
Another small glacier some interesting dirt/sand piles forming at the base
Typical terrain on the upper slopes
Raff
slogs up the rubble. The peak behind is an outlier of Scarab. In
retrospect, I should have run up it while Raff went for Sugarloaf - an
excuse to return perhaps??
On
the ridge. This is why I would try to gain the ridge as early
as possible. Scarab and Egypt lakes are barely visible from the summit
of Scarab Peak, but can be seen from its southeast ridge.
Raff has made it to the ridge a little closer to the summit
Raff's view of me (photo by Raff)
Lake view and Greater Pharaoh at the left
Catching up to Raff on the ridge
The three Pharaohs from a toatlly different angle than was seen about 4 hours earlier
Raff traversed over to the southwest ridge at this point
I
stayed on the ridge, soon encountering this obstacle. Fortunately, it
was easily circumvented on the left (though with some exposure).
Looking down the very steep east face of Scarab
Looking back along the ridge
Final few steps to the summit. Raff is there somewhere. We reached the summit at exactly the same time.
Summit happiness
Raff and the summit view to the south
Pano to the northeast
Pano to the south
Pano to the west
Pano to the northwest
Pano to the south-southwest
Distant Mount Assiniboine asserts its dominance over everything in the area
Timed shot by Raff
Better pano to the northeast
Better pano to the south
Raff and Barney at the top
Mount Ball
The start of a long descent (photo by Raff)
Descending
Raff spots me and Barney on the ridge (photo by Raff)
Lots of cool rock on the northwest side of the mountain
Steep and loose - one at time here
Barney and I approach the col between the summit and that outlier (photo by Raff)
Barney descending alongside the higher glacier (photo by Raff)
Had to go this way to check out those dirt piles
Barney
is well ahead. I didn't ask his age, but he probably had 20 years on me
(30 on Raff) and descended the mountain with goat-like ease. We
have much to admire about and learn from the older generation.
The outlier and its remaining glacier
The dirt/sand piles
Raff and The Sandpiles - definitely a prequel to the prequel
We were tempted to stop here and build a sand castle! (photo by Raff)
Looking down to the glacial tarn and other things
Leaving the Sun and steeping into the shadow of the outlier
Back at the tarn
A reflection in the tarn and some cool ice formations
Same as above
...and again
Last chunk of a glacier
Unfortunately the Sun had already set over Mummy Lake by the time we started getting good views of it
Raff and Barney descend different lines to avoid knocking rocks down on the person in front
Barney picks one line down the crux
Raff picks another
Pilot
Mountain (far left) and Mount Brett (just right of centre). More
importantly check out the giant dog shadow at the left - that must
be one massive puppy and one insane dog food bill!
The
Sun's shadow is now creeping up on Greater Pharaoh - speaking of
"creeping" and Pharaohs", how about this classic from Metallica!
Raff and Barney boulder-hop along the shores of Mummy Lake
Natalko Peak. The summit is the highpoint at the right.
...but the north end of Natalko gets most of the photo attention
Not hard to see why
Same as above
The larches and Greater Pharaoh looking a little less impressive without the Sun's rays
Waiting for Raff at Scarab Lake
Raff's view as he hikes down to Scarab Lake after ascending Sugarloaf
The full moon rises over the horizon. Unfortunately, it did little to light up our path back - headlamps all the way
Ready for the ride back to the parking lot. Guess which bike I picked?! (photo by Raff)
The End
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