June 10, 2025
Mountain height: 2640 m
Elevation gain: 1100 m
Ascent time: 6:20
Descent time: 2:15
Solo scramble.
The objective
of the day was Mount Glendowan, via Rick Collier’s route, as described on
Bivouac. In 2005, Mark, Jodie, and I had ascended the mountain's south ridge. Collier’s
route follows a creek west of the south ridge and eventually gets to the
summit via the west ridge. However, that creek had other plans for me.
The trip
started with a pleasant 3.2 km bike ride to the creek. 
Initially, following
the waterway was also a pleasant experience, but it was no Blakiston drainage North.
I tried to stay on the shores of the creek as much as possible, with varying
degrees of success. There were numerous small waterfalls and cascades – of
course the long exposure feature of my phone was going to get a bit of a
workout.
Turns out, “bit
of a workout” would be a serious understatement. The creek soon graduated from pleasant
to mind-blowing! Almost needless to say, a proliferation of red argillite was
largely responsible, but the spectacular views of Newman Senior’s east side
also added considerably to the spectacle (s). The cascades grew in size and frequency.
And this went on and on and on and on!
Two things
eventually became apparent: 1. the summit of Glendowan was probably not going
to happen (I stopped to measure my progress at a dismal 2.8 km/h); 2. Staying
near the creek would not be possible without getting my feet wet. 
As such I
plunged right into the super refreshing water and continued with a renewed
degree of reckless abandon.
Leaving the
creek was next to impossible – it was that scenic! Blakiston North would be
getting a run for its money, after all. I changed the objective to the valley
southeast of Newman Senior, with the potential of reaching that summit. Although
I expected the terrain and scenery to degrade at any given turn, they did not.
In fact, the creek continued all the way up the valley, to a point below the
summit of Senior. Reaching the top from there was a simple scree slog. And to
top off (pun intended) a remarkable ascent, I was treated to Senior’s
remarkable summit view – a little hazy on this day, but still one of the
favourite panoramas in all of the Rockies.
Aside from the amazing view, the other
motivation for getting to the top of Senior was
to take advantage of the easy descent route via Goat Lake – a merciful way to
end a longish day.
One of the
coolest loop routes I’ve ever done and absolutely one of the most amazing
creeks I’ve seen.
The original objective - Mount Glendowan
At the creek
Anderson Peak's awesome northwest side
The first (and perhaps least impressive) of many, many long exposure photos
Travel early on up the creek
Fallen trees overhead were common
Looking back to Anderson was a common occurrence
Fallen trees in the creek...
...fallen trees above the creek
This section looked impassable, but there was a route through on the right side
The Sun is about the rise over the east side of the ridge
The trees on the west side are already lit up
Looks like we are in for some serious red argillite further up the valley
And many beautiful, contrasting colours
Some tricky terrain to negotiate here. On more than one occasion I
found myself death-gripping the rock above me while traversing very
narrow ledges above the creek.
Interesting circular patterns in the rock
The amazing south end of Newman Peak
One of the most rewarding scenes I've ever witnessed: the blue sky, red
rock, green foliage, silver trees, the creek, and the striking mountain
above. I stayed here for about 20 minutes reveling in the beauty.
Can't forget about the orange lichen
Moving on
Back to the infinite cascades of the creek
The east end of Anderson Peak
A side creek that goes towards Glendowan
The red argillite has given way to green argillite
A more comprehensive view of Senior's southeast side
Crossed this snow patch to get to the other side of the creek
Then went back
Leaving the creek, as it became quite bushy. Thankfully the diversion was short-lived
Returning back to the creek
The steep walls of the southeast face
Steep cascades
And not so steep
As stated in the write-up, on and on and on and on!
The all-too-rare regular exposure photo of moving water
That didn't last long!
Wildflower distractions
Had to cross to the other side here. Pointless trying to keep the feet dry.
Starting to see the gateway to the upper valley near the right
Newman Senior's south ridge and summit
Close-up
The second stint of light, short-lived bushwhacking and looks like the end of the creek scenery
Cornices remain on the south ridge
The route ahead. I went to the right of the peak in the centre. Had I
gone left, I would have ended up on the south ridge - an amazing route
with super cool rock scenery and some exposed scrambling.
The upper valley, southeast of the summit
Apparently there IS a little more water
Part of the connecting ridge between Senior and Glendowan
Algae, not red argillite
Following a small stream to the valley directly below Senior
Taking advantage of the snow before it's gone
The aforementioned south ridge. The interesting rock scenery and scrambling can be seen near the right.
Approaching a beautiful rock band, still with water flowing down it
There's a scenic route right up the middle
Would have loved to be afforded the time to explore up there, but time and energy were waning
There's the route up the rock band
Red on one side
Green/grey on the other
This band features some igneous rock (and obviously some red argillite)
Looks like the creek/stream scenery has finally ended
The summit of Senior is now visible
I was wrong about the water!
Cornice close-up
Definitely the last stream photo
The stream disappeared under this snow patch
Mount Glendowan from a very different angle than several hours before
This cool chuck of white/pink quartzite stopped progress for a bit
So did this rock
The view is starting to open up
On the ridge. The highest point of Spionkop Ridge at the left, and Loaf Mountain at the right.
A bunch of Castle favourites
Easy ridgewalk to the summit from here
Much of the route from Senior to Glendowan
The western highpoint of Mount Roche (Spread Eagle Mountain)
The summit of Roche
Enjoying the last remaining snow of the season
Same as above
One of the best views of the day
Mount Blakiston in the background
Another of the best views of the day
Quick detour to see the cornice but no way was I going onto it!
The summit cairn is steps away
Summit panos
The colourful layers of rock to the north are remarkable and one of the best features of the summit view
Awesome view, but not much of a summit cairn
Drywood, Pastry, and part of Spionkop Ridge
Pincher Ridge at the back
Spread Eagle Mountain at the left, Mount Yarrow at the right, and the big red outlier of Senior in front
Close-up of Glendowan and the notch that provides some excitement while traversing from Senior to Glendowan
Big peaks in GNP
King Edwards and Starvation peaks
Miskwasini and Kenow
Long Knife Peak
Starting down the easy route
Newman Peak is considerably lower than Newman Senior
Newman becomes dark, bringing back some scary memories of a 2022 ascent with Dave
Goat Lake appears and the outlier (Goat Lake Peak) above the lake that I've failed on twice
Close-up
On the terrific trail down to Goat Lake
Glacier lily season
Goat Lake
One more waterfall to photograph
Goat Lake Peak - I will get there someday
Lush green on either side of the trail
The north side of Anderson Peak
Sunflowers? I'm terrible at identifying plants/flowers (but I bet I can name at least 150 of Rush's approximately 170 songs from memory!)
Back at the creek that provided some of the coolest water scenery I've ever seen
Parting look at Senior
The End
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