nomad

Mountain height:         2544 m
Elevation gain:            approx 1000 m
Ascent time:                4:20
Descent time:              4:05

The intended goal for this trip was actually Mount Invincible, the premise being that a week earlier we had enjoyed a magnificent summit panorama from Invincible’s higher, northern neighbour, Mount Warspite, and therefore we weren’t too concerned about having perfect weather for Invincible. The weather stations

were both fairly optimistic about the weather in the morning, predicting sunny conditions. However, a quick glance at a satellite image on the computer revealed it would be highly unlikely that the Sun would make any appearance at all. Nevertheless, we set out anyway.

Most often, the summit of Invincible is reached via from a high-level ridge traverse from either Mount Warspite or Mount Indefatigable. We planned to approach the summit from west side via Invincible Creek. Before starting the trip, we had the good fortune to meet Mike Fisher and Blanka in the parking lot. It’s always a pleasure to actually meet people who are only known to you through their online persona. They were headed to Mount Indefatigable.

The hike into the staging area went surprisingly well: several kilometres along the Upper Kananaskis Trail, another couple up an overgrown fire road and then a long, but easy trudge up to the ridge south of Invincible.

Unfortunately, the predicted inclement weather soon consumed the area. Conditions on the ridge were blizzard-like and we immediately abandoned the idea of attempting Invincible.

Options at this point were to continue along the ridge towards the striking unnamed peak we saw from Warspite a week earlier, head towards Invincible Lake and Mount Nomad, or go home. Since we would probably not go up lowly Mount Nomad on a good weather day, this option appeared to make the most sense.

After losing a couple of hundred vertical metres of elevation from the ridge, we hiked easily to pleasant Invincible Lake. Even in the dreary weather conditions, this was a colourful diversion. The ascent of 2544 metre Mount Nomad was about as easy as an ascent gets (excluding the lengthy approach, of course!). The summit views were extremely limited, but it was good to be at any summit, given the bleak conditions.

For some inexplicable reason that seemed to remain a mystery to both of us, we opted to try an alternate descent route, alongside Invincible Creek. This involved heavy bushwhacking climbing over tons of deadfall, and general misery – not at all recommended!