Olympic Summit IV

December 11, 2022
 
Mountain heights: 2348 m 
Elevation gain:      1000 m 
Round-trip time:    7:25 
 
Solo scramble. 

I really cannot get enough of this trip. With clear skies and some snow (but not too much), the scenic value of the Centennial Trail is the best deal in Kananaskis!

Not much new to report on this day except total awesomeness throughout (which is not really new!)

Once again I was tempted to try for the summit of Mount Allan, but knew that running up to the top and down would ruin the overall experience – not to mention I had to be back in Calgary by 5 pm. I settled for, a more or less, easy and care-free saunter to a point between Olympic Summit and Allan and then the same on return. The only difficultly was getting down the crux, where crampons and an ice axe were essential.  

Another amazing day on the Centennial Trail.

The end of the Coal Mine Trail always grants this good view of Mount Kidd



Close-up of Kidd. There is a challenging 5.8 route up this side - way above my pay grade!



A distinctive layer of fog/mist remained in the valley to the east for the entire trip



Typical terrain once above treeline



The mist
 


The double summit of Skogan Peak at the left and scary Mount Lorette at the right



These are the kind of scenes that get my heart racing on this trail



And therefore I will take many, many photos!



And many, many close-ups







Distracted by the mist again. Fisher Peak at the left and The Wedge at the right.



Kidd South (far right) joins Mount Kidd



Amazing scenes of lichen-covered rock, snow, and mountains continue. Ribbon Peak in the centre.



Distracted again!










Back to the ascent



And the other distractions















The scary looking east side of Mount Sparrowhawk











Can't get overly focused on the lichen-covered rock, when there's some equally wonderful snow scenery to check out



The crux of the ascent is coming up



A different kind of snow scenery



Back to the rock



An exploration over to the left in 2021 yielded some the best rock scenery I've ever seen



Kinda' like this rock band on steroids!



Approaching the crux of the trip. Given the near waist deep snow covering the trail, I took a steeper, less snowy route up. 



Atop the crux, looking down to the ridge below



Mount Collembola - definitely a trip I'd like to repeat someday



Olympic Summit is an easy hike from this point. Tracks in the snow indicate I'm not alone.



First of innumerable awe-inspiring views of Wind Mountain and my company on the mountain



There they are



Wind and the third summit of Mount Lougheed at the far right



Add Mount Allan at the right



The true summit of Lougheed at the right



Mount Bogart peeks over Ribbon Peak



The wind-sculpted snow here was fantastic



As were the mountains in the background



Went a little crazy here!



Summit at the left



The summit view features several peaks over 3100 m in height (Bogart, Sparrowhawk, Wind, and Lougheed)



Continuing on to see the amazing rock scenery between Olympic and Allan



Surprisingly that's not it!



Nor is that



Cool conglomerate rock but still a "no"



Getting warmer (figuratively, definitely not literally!)



There is it at the right, but not looking very impressive yet



Cool balancing act



Even warmer











Here we go



Round 1



Round 2



Rounds 1 and 2 combined






Other cool things






Time to turn around. Although the summit of Allan looks close, it's still a solid hour of hiking away.



And not going allows more time an take endless photos!















The double summit of Skogan Peak and Gilligan Peak at the left











Fisher Peak







Back to focusing on the amazing rock



And the amazing views



















Looking back up the crux. It's steeper than it appears and crampons and an ice axe were needed



Looking back at the crux from afar



Last of the patterns in the snow



View across the valley



Sun sinking fast



The mist layer is still there



Back at the end of the Coal Mine Trail

The End

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