Bow Peak II
    

September 17, 2016
 
Mountain height:  2868 m
Elevation gain:     1000 m
Ascent time:         3:10
Descent time:       4:15
 
Solo scramble
 
Shockingly this trip was enjoyable on almost every level, even though I completed it on one of the worst weather days of the summer.
 
The objective of the day was to check out the summer approach to Bow Peak, as described in Mike Potter’s excellent guidebook, Ridgewalks in the Canadian Rockies. Given the awful weather I had no intention of going all the way to the summit. Mark and I had skied (and I use the term “skied” very loosely!) the peak on a viciously cold December day in 2006. Except for the cold, we had experienced near perfect weather conditions. Seeing the view again would not be necessary on this day.
 
The approach went exactly as described and was far more scenic than I envisioned. I expected crossing the Bow Lake outlet might provide a bit of a challenge, but the water level was mercifully low. A pronounced and easy-to-follow trail led all the way to the popular destination of Crowfoot Pass. Throughout, the weather continued to suck, with periods of rain trying to be snow. However, since that’s exactly what I expected, my enjoyment of the trip remained high.
 
Upon reaching the pass, I decided that a second ascent of Bow Peak was in order, after all. Mr. Potter’s route description also included an alternate descent route down the south ridge. That route goes all the way down to Hector Lake, with a heavy bushwhack along the way, then past Hector Lake campground, and ends up back on Highway 93, about 13 kilometres from your vehicle. No way was that beast of a trek on the agenda for me (not without a second vehicle or stashed bike), but descending the south ridge for a while sounded intriguing.     
 
But first, the summit of Bow Peak, a relatively straightforward ascent up lichen-covered quartzite boulders. Unfortunately, the rain made those boulders very slippery; extra care and a slow pace was required to gain the ridge. The ridgewalk to the summit yielded with ease.
 
Needless to say, the summit view was practically non-existent. No matter. I stayed for a couple of minutes and then embarked on a very interesting and mostly fun scramble down the south ridge – the “mostly” qualifier, again the result of slippery rock due to the rain on the lichen-covered rock.
 
At a certain point, continuing all the way down to the lake did gain some appeal, but I quickly came to my senses, now hiking under lightly falling snow. I had already lost enough elevation to require a gain to get back to Crowfoot Pass – no sense exacerbating that situation.
 
Once the Pass was reached, a very easy hike back to the start ended a surprisingly rewarding day in dismal weather conditions. I’m definitely motivated to return on a clear day and perhaps complete Mr. Potter’s route in its entirety.



Approaching the Bow Lake outlet



There it is and surprisingly low



Raining at Bow Lake



Fall colours



  A few rainbow views would turn out to the one of the scenic highlights of the day



Approaching Crowfoot Pass



A rainy look at the ascent slopes of Bow Peak



The rainbow again and a tarn near the pass



Close-up



Heading up Bow Peak



The Sun very briefly breaks through the clouds



It's gone but the rainbow remains



I'm not going to get any views from the summit so I might as well obsess over the rainbow











This reminds me of the priest's death in The Omen. Jerry Goldsmith's orchestral soundtrack is terrifyingly brilliant.



On the ridge after a slippery boulder ascent



Not much to see except the ridge itself



At least it's a beautiful quartzite ridge



Getting a few glimpses of Bow Lake in the background



It's a longer ridgewalk to the summit than anticipated



Cool clouds forming around the ridge



But lots of whiteness to look at



First view of magnificent Hector Lake



The summit cairn finally appears near the right



Another brief appearance of the Sun on the lake



Almost at the huge summit cairn



Descending the south ridge



The south ridge and Hector Lake







Looking back at some of the fun scrambling



What a ride this would be on a clear day,...



...the incredible rock, as well as the view of Hector Lake and the surrounding mountains



Looking back up the ridge



Nearing the end of the line



The colourful rock was a nice surprise



Ditto



Looking over to Crowfoot Pass



An outlier of Crowfoot Mountain



End of the line



Last look at Hector Lake



Another appearance by the Sun



Those beautiful fall colours again



Heading back to the pass







Pleasant travel following this stream



Back at Crowfoot Pass

The End

LOG