“Newman Senior IV” and
Mount Glendowan II
July 29, 2020
Mountain heights: 2640 m, 2677 m
Elevation gain: approximately 1700 m
Roundtrip time:
9:45
Solo scramble.
Attempting to traverse from Newman Peak to
Mount Glendowan had been on my to-do list for some time. With the 2020 reopening
of Red Rock Parkway, the time was now.
Deciding the direction of travel was the crux
of the trip. Going from Glendowan to Newman was the more logical choice –
difficult up, easy down. However, I opted for the illogical route, since I also
wanted to revisit Goat Lake and if the traverse didn’t happen the Goat Lake option
was out. Rumor had it that a notch just west of Glendowan may have put an
abrupt stop to the trip.
The lower part of the Goat Lake portion of the
trip was shocking, but in a good way. The Kenow fire has made the valley more
open and lusher. Goat Lake, with red Avion Ridge above it was stunning as
always. Same deal with the route to the Newman/Avion col – as beautiful as
ever.
I surprised myself by skipping a quick visit to
Newman Peak. However, Newman Senior offers a superior view and given the
“unknown” factor of the traverse to Glendowan having a “sense of urgency” on
this trip seemed prudent. The Coles Notes version of the traverse is that it was
generally easy scrambling, with some route-finding, and copious amounts of
fantastic rock scenery. Thanks to an amazing goat trail, the notch, though
daunting when I reached it, proved to be inconsequential. I was pretty excited to
reach the summit of Glendowan for a second time, 15 years after my first ascent
with Mark and Jodi.
Descending Glendowan, though a little tedious
in places, went without a hitch. Again, the fire ravaged landscape provided
tons of interest. Finishing the long and strenuous day on my ebike was a pretty
sweet end to a wonderful trip!
Note: as surmised, doing the traverse from
Glendowan to Newman would be preferential to the reverse route I took. Some
careful route-finding down into the notch would be the only section of concern,
but if the easiest route is found, it is no more than easy to moderate scrambling.
On the Goat Lake Trail. Before the Kenow fire the foliage on the trees would have blocked any views of the mountains behind.
The daunting north side of Anderson Peak
The daunting southeast side of an outlier of Avion Ridge
The new vegetation around the burned trees is fantastic!
Pleasant waterfall en route. Too bad the trail doesn't get closer to it.
Looking back down the valley
More small water scenery before the BIG scenery
The BIG scene of Goat Lake with spectacular Avion Ridge above it
Outrageous colours and rock layers on Avion Ridge
Would love to explore that gap at the left someday!
Looking back down the burned but re-growing valley
The rock isn't burned - it's just dark and super cool!
Great trail, weaving through a few rock bands
I left the trail here and went straight up to the col......
...why? Because there was snow and colourful rock bands along the way.
Cool rock ahead
Cool rock to the side
Cool rock above - I have missed Waterton so much!!!
At the col, looking towards Spionkop Ridge
Newman Peak. I took the bypass trail on the right.
Avion Ridge stretches out to the west.
Miskwasini and Kenow in the distance
Mount Bauerman (centre) and Kinnerly Peak (Glacier National Park) at the distant right
Newman, Spionkop, and Loaf
The formidable northeast face of Newman
Much of the length of Spionkop Ridge, with Mount Roche at the right
All of the above (except Roche)
Once again at the summit of Newman Senior, looking northeast
Similar view, but includes the traverse over to Glendowan (mountain at the far right)
Interesting terrain near the summit
Summit view to the southwest
Closer look at some of my Castle favourites: Pincher, Drywood, sections of Loaf, and Spionkop
Mount Roche (left) and Mount Yarrow (right)
Looking back to Newman
Pincher Ridge again
Drywood again
Colours you don't see in Kananaskis!
The traverse to Glendowan starts with an easy and pleasant hike to this red argillite high point
The route ahead at the left, the route behind at the right
Looking back to Newman Senior (left) and mountains of The Castle - east
Looking forward. Hard to take a step on this mountain without getting a great pano!
Case in point!
And another
Newman Senior
The next section of the traverse doesn't look like much, but it's got some of the most colourful rock of the whole trip
A great looking ridge on the northwest side of Glendowan
Of course, the colourful nature of this section is due to an abundance of red argillite - hardly surprising!
The panos just keep coming!
Starting to close in on Glendowan
My favourite section of colourful rock and lichen for the trip
"Mind the gap", as they say on the London subway!
Looking back to where I came from
Newman Senior and the high point after
Closing in on "the notch"
The Notch. Looks tricky from here but there is an easy route on the right side.
View from inside the notch
Thankfully I didn't have a climb this
View looking back from the other side of the notch
Same as above
One more!
Anderson Peak sits to the west
The summit block of Glendowan
Summit cairn (left ) and the view sweeping over to The Castle
Lots of super cool peaks along the Glendowan ridge, including Cloudowan Peak,
Cloudy Ridge, Dundy Peak, Mount Dungarvan, Rogan Peak, Mount Galwey, and Bellevue Hill
Another interesting ridge emanating from the summit of Glendowan
I have yet to traverse from Glendowan to the next high point along the ridge (Cloudowan Peak), but I've heard it's quite tricky
Still salivating over Newman Senior
One more summit view for the road!
An additional one
And a final one!
I descended this gully farther west of the "normal route"......
.......which then required a somewhat lengthy traverse to get back to the ridge
Back on the ridge and looking down the easier descent route
Looking back at the summit block
Same as above
Last blast for the red argillite
Halfway down
Cloudowan at the right
Newman Senior at the left. There is a terrific scramble route from left to right up Senior, but it has never become popular.
The view to Newman continues to impress
Cloudowan again
Approaching the "bushwhacking" section of the descent, now much easier because of the Kenow fire
I need to start familiarizing myself with the actual names of these
flowers, so I don't have to say "nice, yellow flowers"!
The remains of the trees look even more amazing after the fire
Glendowan (left) and Cloudowan, as seen from the Snowshoe trail
Busy day at Red Rock Canyon. Cloudy Ridge in the centre.
The End
LOG