Gunsight
Mountain
September 17, 2026
Mountain height: 2822 m
Total elevation gain: 1844 m
Ascent time:
6:20
Exploration and
descent time: 5:40
Scrambling and
some mountaineering with Mark.
Crypt Peak has been dethroned!
Up to September
17, 2026, the red marvel that is sits above Crypt Lake, in both Waterton and
Glacier national parks, staunchly held onto its title as our favourite trip
ever. And as of 9:05 pm on that same day that honour now goes to Gunsight
Mountain, entirely in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Gunsight had
been on our to-do list for the better part of 18 years. 
On July 12, 2008 Mark
and I ventured down into the park south of the border for the first time and
ascended Bearhat Mountain. That day was the beginning of a lifelong love affair
with Glacier National Park, and I immediately started riffling through Gordon
Edward’s indispensable opus, A Climber’s Guide To Glacier National Park
(in exactly the same way I did with Alan Kane’s Scrambles in the Canadian
Rockies after ascending Grizzly Peak in 2001). Gunsight Mountain
immediately caught our attention, having enjoyed a beautiful view of the
double-summit peak from Bearhat.
Fast forward to
2026 and the day of an attempt was finally upon us. We had a great weather
forecast and the smoke from the insanely smoky summer was finally gone. Recent
heavy rainfall (likely snow at higher elevations) prompted us to bring crampons
and an ice axe for the trip, and we are certainly glad we did.
However, the
day is not ALL “fun and games”, skipping merrily through glaciated terrain and
fields of stunning red argillite. The exciting stuff is preceded by a less than
inspiring 10 km hike from Lake McDonald to a point close to the Sperry Chalets
– I guess not all approaches can be “Grinnell” calibre! 
We completed this
utilitarian part of the day in 2.5 hours. And then things went from practical
to miraculous.
The Sperry
Glacier Trail IS on par with the Grinnell Glacier Trail. In fact, we both
agreed it was one of the coolest and most interesting hiking trails we’ve ever
been on – Americans know how to build their trails! Likely based on mountain goat
paths, this one winds its way up through a massive headwall towards Comeau
Pass. As Mark accurately stated, “there are surprises at every turn”:
waterfalls, cascades, massive boulders of every rock colour and type
imaginable, multiple lakes, and the awe-inspiring forms of Edwards Mountain and
later Gunsight Mountain.
The icing on
the cake is reached right before Comeau Pass. Here the trail seems to abruptly
reach a dead-end below a near vertical rock band. But turn right for another GNP
miracle – a staircase of beautiful red argillite cut right into the rock and
then finished with perfection. When I say Americans are great trail builders,
I’m not exaggerating! Mark and I were flabbergasted and elated to ascend this
wonderful feat of engineering and hard work. Naturally, Mark named it, “Red Argillite
Stairway to Heaven”.
And then a view
that blew us both away. In many ways, reaching the top of the staircase is a similar
experience to passing through Glacier’s super cool Ptarmigan Tunnel. In both
cases, you feel as though you have passed through a wormhole into a completely
different place – everything changes all at once. From only seeing the west
sides of Edwards and Gunsight, we were now treated to a spell-binding panorama
of all the mountains around Logan Pass (and I mean ALL of them!); closer at
hand lay fields of glacially eroded rock (mostly red argillite) and multiple
glacial tarns of varying colour. We decided to head straight up Gunsight and
check out this area if time permitted.
Regarding the
route, we really did head straight up, ignoring the suggested lines up rock
ribs to the left (initially, that is). The peak was covered in fresh snow and definitely
looked more mountaineering in nature than scrambling. After ascending the ridge
for a short distance, it was time to put on crampons, get the ice axes out, and
head onto the glacier. We could see a set of tracks going up it, but couldn’t
tell if they were human, goat, or the fresh bear tracks we had already crossed
once. 
We eventually intercepted them to find they were mountain goat hoof
prints. These animals go places on mountains that humans have no business even
being near. After looking up the increasingly serious terrain the goat had
travelled, we decided not to follow. Instead, we traversed over to a snow-covered rock rib
and started up that. The crampons and axes were essential here and most of the
way to the top.
Once on the
rib, Mark led the ascent all the way to the summit ridge. The slightly lower
east summit was a thing of true beauty throughout, hijacking much of my photo
attention – not to imply other views around us were lesser; they were
phenomenal. 6.3 repeating hours after leaving the car, we took the final snowy
steps of that 18 years long dream to reach Gunsight’s summit and more sweet it
could not have been. The view was stunning, featuring beautiful peaks in almost
every quadrant of the park (even some far north in Waterton) and a whack load
of gorgeous lakes.
We didn’t stay
too long, however, as checking out the aforementioned terrain below had great
appeal. Following our ascent route, we arrived back at Comeau Pass in no time
at all and started a rather haphazard and unfortunately all too short
exploration of the terrain. 
It quickly became apparent that this area demands a
full day for exploration. For someone with an inexplicable red argillite
obsession, walking across smooth, glacially eroded slabs of the rock was
tantamount to winning the lottery! And the slabs were just a small part of this
wondrous environment. Surreal scenes awaited at every turn, just like the Sperry Glacier Trail. We saw as much as
we could within our limited time frame and then made our way back to Comeau
Pass. Descending the Red Argillite Stairway to Heaven was equally as fun as
going up it!
Views of the
lakes below the pass were much better on descent – of course we had to re-take
photos of them all. A headlamp descent for the last part of the trip was a
forgone conclusion, but there was no way we were going to pass up on enjoying
this scenery again. Thankfully, we only needed the headlamps for the last 45
minutes of the day and all on a terrific trail.
Wow! Not a day
either of us will soon forget. This trip had it all: beautiful waterfalls, stunning
lakes, outrageously cool rock, striking mountains, a glacier and all the
amazing things they leave behind, easy travel on incredible trails, and more
challenging off-trail travel, and of course unbeatable views of it all. For
now, Gunsight Mountain will be Numero uno!
"The clouds prepare for battle..."
Thankfully, they lost
Close-up of a distant waterfall
The first of the good rock scenery starts about 8 km into the trip
Looking towards the headwall we will soon be ascending
Finally onto the magnificent Sperry Glacier Trail
They will be many stops to gawk at the rock from hereon in
Looking over the terrain around us. Edwards Mountain at the right.
First of the waterfalls and cascades
The trail skirts along the base of the rock band in front
A cascade...
...below a waterfall
Huge boulders have been strategically placed to assist getting over the streams crossing the trail
Continuing on this amazing red argillite trail
Something has caught my attention
It's a cool overhang of rock above
More water features
Approaching another
Close-up
Back to the colourful boulders
First decent view of Gunsight Mountain, though the ascent route is not yet visible
Now on the middle part of the headwall to Comeau Pass
Atop one of the boulders
Mark checks out another water feature
His view
Comeau Pass in the centre, but it's still a distance away
The upper section of the headwall is home to several lakes and tarns
Here's a tarn with me and Edwards
The tarn and Gunsight
All of it
More strategically placed rocks
Great place to cool off
Akaiyan Lake
Mark finds a good spot to check out the lake
Gunsight reflected in the lake
There were several marmot sightings along the way
The hiking trail goes above and partially around Akaiyan
Where things got interesting
The trail seems to abruptly come to a dead end up ahead
But no!! Turn right to see the Red Argillite Stairway to Heaven
Looking back from inside the staircase
Stepping off to the side. The terrific quality of the steps is visible here.
Mark ascends the staircase
Comeau Pass
The ascent side of Gunsight and bear tracks in the snow
Little Matterhorn in the foreground and Heavens Peak to the left
Edwards and several of the lakes
Heading up Gunsight. The summit is the point near the right.
Same as above. The summit is now just left of centre.
The awesome view towards Logan Pass that is spell-binding throughout the ascent
Contemplating a route up
Heading for the glacier in the centre. We will cross it, onto the rock near the left.
Crossing
Same as above
Onto the rock
Mark takes the last few steps onto the rock
Weaving between beautiful red argillite boulders
Mark leads the rest of the way to the ridge
The impressive east summit of Gunsight is only a few metres lower than the true summit
Easier terrain to the ridge
And arrived
Mount Jackson and Lake Ellen Wilson announce their presence upon reaching the ridge
The summit is only a few minutes away
Final steps
Success! Four of the lakes around Edwards Mountain are visible, and massive Lake McDonald at the upper left.
Jackson and Ellen Wilson
Mataphi Peak (left) and Going-To-The-Sun Mountain (centre)
A very distinctive outlier of Gunsight
The east summit
From left to right in the background: Kupunkamint, Medicine Owl, Little Amp, Amphitheatre, Split, James, and Logan
Same as above, but more mountains to the right. Mount Logan is in the centre foreground.
Summit panos
Mount Gould in the centre and Mount Clements, mid left
Some familiar peaks in the background: Merrit, Nataos, Ipasha, Iceberg, B9 Pillar, and Wilbur
Heavens Peak again
Mount Siyeh and Cracker Peak in the centre
The King of Glacier: Mount Cleveland
A host of beautiful peaks to the northwest
The King of Waterton: Mount Blakiston
Time to descend
One last expression of victory from Mark
He starts descending
Following our uptracks made easy work of the descent
Different angle of now familiar peaks
The glacial tarns below the Sperry Glacier are stunning. For a future
trip I hope to spend an entire day just exploring them and the base of
the Sperry Glacier.
Looking back to the summit and our tracks
The photogenic east summit again
Close-up of the tarns
Back to the red argillite boulders
This reminded me a little of Medicine Grizzly Peak - easily one of the best trips in the park
Re-crossing the glacier. Crampons and an ice axe mandatory.
Close-up of Mark leading the way
Same as above
Note the tracks of the mountain goat along the rock. This is route we considered but bailed on because of its steepness.
Mark, Comeau Pass, Gem Lake, and Little Matterhorn
Getting ready to experience some of the best mountain scenery will
might ever witness: blue sky, red argillite, fresh snow, glacial tarns, and striking
peaks in every direction.
Let the games begin (limited captions from hereon in)
A pair of mountain goats appear
The pair weren't shy
One of the goats keeps an eye on us from the ridge
Hiking the smooth red argillite slabs was heaven!
Edwards looking striking and challenging from this angle
Insane layers and rock folding
The tarns look close, but there's a big elevation loss to get down to them
Mark, at the left, enjoys a rest before we return to Comeau Pass
Talk about being in your "Happy place"!
Last look at Little Matterhorn
Neat reflection, with some ice
Another cool reflection
Gem Lake and Edwards
Mark at the shore
His view
Akaiyan Lake and an unnamed one to the left
Back at the top of the staircase
Last break in this magical environment before the long return trip
Descending the stairs
Another mountain goat just appears out of nowhere
And she has some company
The pair go on their merry way
Two more!! (Not the same goats)
This one was the poser of the pair
Losing the Sun
Last gasp of the colourful rock
Lincoln Peak
Switchbacking to the lower trail. Lincoln above Mark.
The Sun sets on an unforgettable day
The End
LOG
