The Promised Land and Andy Good Peak II 


 
September 21, 2019
 
Mountain height:  2662 m
Elevation gain:     approximately 1400 m
Roundtrip time:    9:50
 
Solo scramble.  
 
This trip was a solid reminder of why I have such a “love/not so much love” relationship with the Crowsnest Pass area {I would never use the word “hate” in reference to any aspect of the mountains or nature (except ticks – I hate ticks!)}.
 
The difference for me is the sky. When the sky is perfectly blue in the Crowsnest, the scenery is awesome – the contrasts of the grey rock, blue sky, white snow, and green vegetation always providing stunning vistas. Such was very much the case for the previous week’s attempt of Darrah S2. Unfortunately, because of the general uniform grey colour of the rock, when the sky is overcast, trips in the Crowsnest area can visually be somewhat drab, when compared to other areas of the Rockies. And such was the case for most of this day.     
 
The objective of this trip was to check out The Promised Land hike that features some of Canada’s most impressive caves and the barren landscape of the Andy Good Plateau. Learning from a previous ascent of the Ptolemy Creek valley, this time I brought my bike and hip-waders. They worked perfectly. Throughout the approach low cloud blanketed the entire ridge of Mount Ptolemy, however, the forecast was for a mix of sun and cloud, and I was optimistic the clouds would eventually lift.  
 
Above treeline the terrain before reaching The Promised Land was very interesting (and again would have been fantastic with a blue sky above). A steep grind to the pass and then, as advertised in Joey Ambrosi’s excellent Southern Alberta hiking guide, the fascinating “moonscape” of The Promised Land on the Andy Good Plateau.
 
Not to harp on a point I’ve annoyingly made again and again (not only is this report), but this part of trip REALLY would have been outstanding in perfect weather conditions. The plateau is a unique environment and begs a few hours of exploration. Still, even with not so good weather, I did thoroughly enjoyed my stay there, though decided to cut it short when two things occurred: 1. The clouds ceiling started to drop even lower than its present already low state; 2. I spotted a potential route to the col between Andy Good Peak and the unnamed outlier southwest of Good. This would allow me to descend via Ptolemy Creek instead of returning the same way I came in.
 
Traversing over to the col turned out to be straightforward. The usual mountain dilemma reared its head once there. Raff had ascended Andy Good Peak via the mountain’s southwest ridge and reported it to be a much easier route than the north ridge I ascended back in 2008. The weather sucked and visibility was approaching nil, zapping most of my motivation to go up. However, I was intrigued enough with this route to give it a go, even if there would be no view at the summit.
 
The southwest ridge was great, consisting of generally gentle scrambling terrain with a few steeper sections of solid slab – definitely less intense than the difficult north ridge. However, an almost non-existent summit view curtailed my stay at the top and after 10 minutes I made my way back down to the col. Descending from the col into the Ptolemy Creek valley was also surprisingly easy.    
 
Perhaps the best part of the day was a satisfying visit to the shallow tarn near the head of the valley. Unlike last week’s muddy brown tarn, this one boasted crystal-clear water, with a green algae covered bottom – very nice! The remainder of the descent down Ptolemy Creek unfolded with ease, the grade of the Ptolemy Creek trail a welcome reprieve from the much steeper Promised Land trail.
 
Not the clear skies I would have liked, but a very worthwhile excursion into a unique and sometimes tortured landscape. For those wanting to reach the summit of Andy Good without having to ascend the very steep and exposed slabs on the north side of the mountain, I would highly recommend following the Andy Good Basin trail to the col southwest of Andy Good and then ascending the southwest ridge.    


The weather looked okay near the start of the trip



And then it didn't look so "okay"



The Fall colours did look good though






The weather to the west was generally good, which gave me hope it would clear to the east
 


The major intersection of the trip. Right goes to The Promised Land, left goes to the Andy Good Basin (Ptolemy Creek).
 


The route to The Promised Land lies to the  right of the highpoint in the centre



Great terrain before a rubble slog to the col



And lots of caves


  



At the col, looking over the Andy Good Plateau



Lots of caves up here too







In the general area the unnamed peak just right of centre is the second only to Ptolemy in height



Heading to the grassy highpoint of the plateau



The outlier southwest of Andy Good, Andy Good Peak, and Mount Coulthard (far right)



The only decent view of Coulthard before the clouds descended



The connecting ridge from Andy Good to Coulthard is a fun, but exposed, slabby scramble



The route to the col goes up the left a little then straight across



The southwest ridge of Andy Good looks very easy from the col, but it is steeper than it appears



Looking down the Ptolemy Creek valley



The cloud ceiling lowers even more over the unnamed peak



Typical terrain on the ridge



Summit view to the north



Summit view to the west
 



The outlier too is now in the clouds



Brief glimpse of clouds swirling around Mount McLaren



Mount Parrish
at the left  also makes a brief appearance (one of the scariest routes I've ever done)



Getting ready to descend into the Ptolemy Creek valley



Heading for the tarn at the left



The tarn and the western outlier of Parrish



Same as above with Andy Good at the right









The algae in the tarn that gave it such a great colour



Decided to backtrack to see where the actual descent trail ends. It goes very far up the valley before petering out here.



The western outlier of Parrish looks quite inviting



The upper part of the trail carves its way through scree slopes
 


Finally the clouds clear over of the numerous highpoints along Mount Ptolemy's northwest ridge



Looking up the route to Chinook Peak



The long ridge that is home to Sentry Peak, "Ostracized Peak", and Chinook Peak



Ostracized Peak looks like a very worthwhile objective



Pleasant stream scenery while negotiating the eight crossings of Ptolemy Creek



The first creek crossing, right by the parking area. Appropriate that the clouds had now lifted!

The End
LOG