Mountain height:    2521 m
Elevation gain:       900 m
Ascent time:           4:10
Descent time:         2:40        

Solo scramble.

An ascent of Sinopah Mountain definitely requires clear skies. Of course I could say the same about every single ascent in Glacier National Park and Waterton, so maybe that statement is redundant.   

This was my first visit to the Two Medicine Lake area, having been inspired by Trevor Helwig and James Yearous’ recent forays into that part of Glacier National Park. I picked Sinopah because I would be getting a late start, it was relatively short, and the forecast was calling for a breakdown in the weather for the evening hours. Unfortunately, the weather had already broken down by time I arrived in the area, but after a long drive to get there I wasn’t about to turn around.

Like many GNP scrambles the approach follows a well-worn and heavily used trail. And also like many GNP scrambles once you leave the trail you’re on your own. Actually another distinct trail off the main trail had developed since the publishing of Gordon Edwards’s guidebook, thus eliminating any route-finding or bushwhacking issues. Above treeline it became abundantly apparent why clear skies were all but mandatory for this ascent. The route follows a beautiful red argillite gully, with magnificent towers of lichen-covered rock on either side. With the sun beating down on this rock and a blue sky behind, I would have been salivating all the way up. Instead, the day’s cloud-bleached sky sucked much of the life out the scenery and there would little salivating and more scowling. As such I started scowling right away and kept it up throughout the ascent!

In between scowls, the ascent of the gully was thoroughly enjoyable on step-like terrain. There was snow higher up, but I didn’t think it would be a problem. I was wrong. The snow was filling deep, water-worn crevices in the rock and the possibility of hidden, thin snowbridges was high. I did everything possible to avoid the snow, but it soon became painfully clear that if I wanted to make the summit, I would have to step onto the white stuff. I picked a line where crevices would be unlikely, put on the crampons and up and away!

The first line didn’t work, when I couldn’t ascend the rock above the snow. A short traverse over revealed an easier solution, but stepping from the snow onto the rock was tense, as gaping holes between them were visible on either side of the snow path I followed. Above the snow, the remainder of the ascent was easier uphill plodding.

The big shock of the day occurred when I arrived at the summit to find I was NOT blown away by the summit view – a first for trips in GNP. The panorama was certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it was no Bearhat, Reynolds, Bishop’s Cap, Wilbur, or Henkel either. Of course, the dismal weather was largely responsible for my lack-lustre reaction; blue Medicine Lake looked gray and the vibrant rock colours of surrounding peaks were all bleached out by the heavy cloud cover. I was also surprised to discover that Sinopah is really just the eastern highpoint of much higher Mount Rockwall and hardly warrants it own title.

I tried to wait out the weather, as clearer skies were approaching from the south, but they were in no hurry and so I started down, hoping to find an easier route. For the crux (snow to rock transition) there was no easier way, but it was fairly straightforward, now having more familiarity with the terrain. Below that, the eastern side of the gully did avoid a great deal of the difficult scrambling encountered on the western side I went up. Near the bottom of the gully I did traverse west to get a look at the “nasty and narrow” ascent gully described in the guidebook, and “nasty” it did look. The remainder of the descent was easy, though more tiring than I expected for a “short” trip.  

I’ll definitely be waiting for a high pressure weather system before returning to this area of Glacier National Park.

The classic view of Sinopah from the shores of Medicine Lake

A closer look at the steep east face

One of several bridge crossings

The colourful east face again

Rockwall Falls

A flower

More flowers

Approaching the ascent gully (just right of centre)

One of the other ascent routes in the centre; it may not look too bad from this angle, but in fact it is very steep

The beginning of the red gully

More flowers and red rock

Snow starts to appear

Beautiful rock

The snow starts to become an issue

Avoiding the snow

Interesting purple things

Where the snow REALLY became an issue

The lichen covered towers

The first I tried; I had to climb back onto the snow and traverse over to another line

Colourful peaks to the south not looking so colourful

Flinsch Peak

At the summit, looking west towards Mount Rockwall

Upper Medicine Lake

A closer look

Medicine Lake and Lower Medicine Lake

Mount Stimson

Getting back onto the snow, on descent

The late evening view of Medicine Lake and Sinopah