Lesser Pharaoh
July 28, 2022
Mountain height: 2694 m
Elevation gain: approximately 1500 m
Round-trip
time: 12:35
Solo scramble.
My third trek
into the Egypt Lakes area and more amazing it could not have been!
The goal was
Lesser Pharaoh Peak via Black Rock Lake. Rick Collier ascended the mountain
this way, as did the Boundary Commission (Robert D. McCaw, DLS.) in 1913 (p.
256, Rockies Central, David P. Jones). 
The logical route choice for me this day
would be via Redearth Creek, with a loop around Whistling Valley. This would be
very similar to the route Mark and I did for Greater Pharaoh – one inspired by
Matt Hobbs.
30 minutes of
biking followed by 2 hours of easy but sometimes uninspiring hiking, and I
arrived at the turn-off for Pharaoh, Black Rock, and Sphinx lakes. A visit to Sphinx
was unlikely, but I was very excited to see the Pharaoh and Black Rock lakes. Neither
disappointed, especially Black Rock – what an absolute beaut! I took my first
break here, mesmerized by the green waters below the stunning form of Lesser
Pharaoh.
From the end of
the lake, Collier ascended a couloir that takes the most direct scrambling
route to the summit. After checking that route out, I decided to take a more
circuitous one, given the prevalence of very cool-looking quartzite rock all
around. In retrospect, my only regret was not sticking to the route I planned and
going to a nearby highpoint north of Lesser Pharaoh. Of course, the quartzite
was magnificent, and I got suckered into taking a more direct route up the
fantastic rock to the ridge.
A wickedly cool
view of Scarab Peak, Haiduk Peak, Haiduk Lake, and Mount Ball awaited at the
ridge. I then scrambled up and down the ridge to a small col and then up to the
summit – a process that took much longer and required more effort than
anticipated.
Expecting the
summit view to pale in comparison to that from Great Pharaoh, I was pleasantly
surprised to find that the view from Lesser more than held its own. Greater features
the three primary Egypt lakes: Egypt, Scarab, and Mummy. Of course, the bigger
mountain blocks the view of all those lakes from Lesser, however, Pharaoh Lake
and Black Rock are almost entirely visible from near the Lesser summit. And
Lesser also features an outstanding view of Haiduk Lake. Having bailed on the
idea of hitting other highpoints along the Pharaoh Peaks ridge to the north, I
took an extended break to enjoy the wonderful panorama.
After descending
generally easy terrain to Whistling Valley, I took the same route back to the
start we had used for Greater Pharaoh. A few minor detours were taken along the
way to check out a couple of waterfalls and some stops to admire Haiduk and
Shadow lakes.
The 30-minute,
10.5 km, exhilarating bike ride back to the start ended a third and wonderfully
rewarding visit to the Egypt Lakes area.
About 2 hours into the trip you get a decent view of the east sides of the three Pharaoh Peaks
Glimpse of Sugarloaf and Natalko through the larches from the Pharaoh Lake trail
The impressive northeast side of Greater Pharaoh
Approaching Pharaoh Lake
Greater (left) and Lesser from the shores of Pharaoh Lake
The creek that drains Black Rock Lake
Same as above
Black Rock Lake - a real stunner!
The northeast side of Lesser Pharaoh
Cool rock in Black Rock
Guess I could have stepped in front of the tree before taking the shot!
Hiking around the right side of the lake
"No tree" view of the lake
The surprising green hue of the water became more evident farther along
the northeast side of the lake. Tons of larches here - late September
would be incredible.
The line of remaining snow certainly didn't impair the view
Sweet green
Looking up the ascent line. I should have just followed the line
between the boulders and the trees, but of course I had to go exploring
and ended up on the boulder field to the left
There is a more direct route to Lesser via an unseen scree gully at the right
Back onto the less direct ascent route
Looking back at the boulder field and Black Rock Lake
Looks like the rock might get interesting
Yep! Pink/purple quartzite
...with lichen!
Blocky, quartzite rock is impossible to resist in the Rockies, given
how solid and generally reliable it is. I should have stayed to the
right here but got suckered into going straight up.
Ouch!
The easy route to the right
Lesser and the ridge above. The direct route goes in between the two.
The route I ended up taking
Still looking right and wondering if I'm going the right way
Looking back to Black Rock Lake is going to become a habit for a while
In addition to the quartzite, this remaining snow patch was also cause for an unexpected detour
Same as above
Same as above, with Lesser Pharaoh Peak and Black Rock Lake
Weather sculpted snow
Same as above
Same as above
Finally on the ridge north of Lesser and enjoying an amazing view
The view on the other side of the ridge features, from left to right:
Scarab Peak, Haiduk Peak, Unnamed 2874 m, and Mount Ball. The big lake
in the centre is Haiduk Lake.
Mount Ball
Storm Mountain and several unnamed beauties
Lesser is still a fair distance away
The occasional glimpse of Black Rock Lake is more than enough to keep me entertained
Looking back
The route-finding is also a source of entertainment. It was not as straightforward as I expected it to be.
Cool pinnacle and cool lichen
The almost vertical northeast side of Lesser
Same as above with Middle Pharaoh
Greater, Middle, Scarab, and Haiduk
Ascending the northeast ridge
Still regretting I didn't visit the highpoint to the north
Summit!
Black Rock Lake
The unnamed summit north of Haiduk Peak
Haiduk Peak - it's on the hit-list
Scarab - also on the hit list
A few steps to the southeast reveals both lakes in the same view
Back to the one lake view - it's pretty nice though!
Pharaoh Lake
Greater and Middle.
Last look at the view to the west before descending
On descent, Middle Pharaoh takes on a very different look
Easy descent route
Hard to ignore the aesthetic form of Middle
A very cool wall of rock lines the west face of Lesser. The easy route to avoid it lies to the north.
Pretty obvious here why a traverse from Middle to Lesser is only for winged creatures or Alex Honnold
The small north outlier of Scarab looks like its own mountain from this angle
Down to Whistling Valley, looking north
Looking back up to Lesser (left) and Middle
When I left the parking lot that morning I had aspirations of
attempting the unnamed peak too (centre) - "aspirations" and
"delusions" are quite synonymous for me these days, however!
Yet another look back. Contrary to appearance, Lesser is higher than Middle (but of course smaller than Greater)
Just before Haiduk Lake, this super cool area of small but deep water runnels is encountered
Detour towards the unnamed peak to check out two waterfalls/cascades
Phone cameras have made basic long exposure photography a breeze
However, I'm sure the real photographers out there go old-school and set them up properly
The two waterfalls
#1
#1 in long exposure
Always looking back to Lesser and now, Haiduk Lake
Approaching #2
Normal
Long exposure - not sure it works when there is this volume of water
Leaving #2
This small pond by Haiduk Lake is a scenic gem
Middle reflected in the pond
Clouds and mountain reflected in the pond's green waters
A small and very dirty iceberg on the small pond
Haiduk Peak from alongside Haiduk Lake
Haiduk, unnamed, and an outlier
The north end of Scarab Peak from farther along the lake
One of my favourite scenes of the day: Lesser, Middle, Scarab, Haiduk, the lake, and a stream coming from the lake
The Sun lights up Lesser, Middle, and Scarab
More cool stuff that just begs to be explored
Traveling down Whistling Valley is long but so scenic and rewarding
Another reflection
Yes, I got quite fixated on this unnamed peak
...but a good fixated!
The bridge across the Shadow Lake outlet, with Gibbon Pass Peak in the distance
Shadow Lake and Mount Ball
Same as above from the other side of the outlet
The End
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