East
Mountain height:
2394 m
Elevation gain:
1200
m
Ascent time:
4:15
Descent time:
2:20
Scrambling with Raff.
If I keep this up,
The primary reasons I found myself yet again making my way up the lower slopes of Mount Yamnuska towards the East Peak of Wendell Mountain was that Raff was interested in an ascent of the peak, we both wanted something relatively short, and Bob Spirko had found another route to the summit, the week before. At least that meant that each of my three ascents would be via completely different routes.
We started the trip under fairly clear skies, hiking up and over the east shoulder of Yamnuska and then down towards the east side of Wendell’s East Peak. The impressive vertical walls surrounding both the south and east sides of the peak were once again a source of wonderment. A big credit to Bob and Dinah for finding a weakness through those walls, a couple of weeks earlier. Finding that weakness proved to be easier than we thought it would be - or perhaps we just lucked out by stumbling upon it almost immediately. An all too short stint of very enjoyable moderate scrambling and we were above the cliffs and looking towards a false summit.
The remainder of the ascent was easy, but hampered slightly by a brutally cold west wind. The skies also started to cloud over at this point and it would be remain cloudy for the rest of the trip. After a short summit stay we descended via the southwest side of the peak – a fast and scenic way off the mountain, with long sections of terrific scree-surfing. Overall, yet another enjoyable route up a beautiful peak.
Morning light on the lower slopes of Mount Yamnuska
The southeast face of the East Peak of Wendell Mountain
The weakness
Raff enjoys a few steps of moderate scrambling
The weather starts to deteriorate to the south
At the false summit, with the true summit in the centre
Raff takes the final few steps to the summit