Owl Mountain
    





 
August 10, 2025
 
Mountain height: 2870 m
Elevation gain:    1400 m
Ascent time:        7:00
Descent time:      5:50
 
Scrambling with Geoff and Jean-Francois.
 
Mountain trips are almost always memorable; and then there are the ones that are MEMORABLE!! Owl Mountain will forever reside in the latter category – for the good elements and the bad.
 
Owl is an unofficial mountain, east of Mount Byng, but its summit sits above everything in the immediate area except Mount Byng. After an amazing but smoky trip up Marvel Peak in 2022, I had been in search of something close by that, like Marvel, would grant an outstanding view of Mount Assiniboine and company. Enter David Jones terrific guidebook, Rockies South. Two routes up Owl are outlined in the book and the easier one (class 3) was the logical choice. Having said that, this is an “old-school” class 3 rating, which could mean anything from moderate scrambling to low 5th class climbing. Mr. Jones clearly describes the distinction between “old-school” and “new-school” and I was sure to make a mental note of it.
 
The first “Good” of the trip was fortuitously eliciting the fine company of Geoff Hardy and Jean-Francois Richy for the day. Geoff and I had communicated via email over the years, but we had never met or done a trip together. It was a pleasure to finally meet Geoff and a pleasant surprise to hear his slick New Zealand accent. Also sporting a wonderful accent, of the suave French variety, along with a friendly smile was Jean-Francois. It was likewise a pleasure to meet JF.
 
And so a New-Zealander, Frenchman, and Englishman set off on their bikes from the Shark Mountain Trailhead in a quest to summit the great Owl Mountain of Assiniboine Provincial Park. (Sounds like the start of a very intriguing adventure novel or a very bad joke!). 6.7 km of biking, followed by 9 km of hiking brought us to the shores of Owl Lake. The skies were disappointingly cloudy (the first “Bad”), but a few blue patches granted us some measure of optimism. 
 
After hiking around the east side of the lake, it was time to dive into the bush. About 3 km of forest separated us from the base of Owl and negotiating that 3 km could end up being the crux of the trip. It was not. Geoff led the way, finding easy routes through any difficult terrain. He also stumbled upon an excellent animal trail that expedited travel immensely.
 
About 3.75 hours from the parking lot, we exited the forest and made our way to the lower slopes of Owl’s west face. A good look at the face did not reveal any obvious lines up and it was impossible to tell where the actual summit sat. Of course, those facts weren’t about to deter us from trying and Geoff again led the way up the left side of the face, towards the north ridge. We were hoping to intercept the ridge at a point above the 4th class climbing section Jones describes in the north ridge route.
 
And I still can’t say if we did or didn’t. A fine view over the other side of the mountain awaited at the ridge; so did much colder temperatures and all the extra layers of clothing were put on. Also waiting for us was a puzzling look at the terrain ahead. “Fierce” would perhaps be a good, though hardly illuminating, adjective to describe the ridge above us – definitely upper 3rd class, very exposed on the left side and alarmingly steep on the right. Geoff made a stab at the ridge but quickly decided that traversing below the ridge on the steep west face was preferable. Fortunately, that steep face was also littered with grassy ledges, allowing relatively easy, though often exposed, traversing.
 
 
At this point, Jean-Francois decided against continuing. We were almost 6 hours into the trip, had completed about 1300 metres of elevation gain, and were all tired and getting a little ragged from the mental as well as physical exertion. JF would wait for us in the valley below. (Aside: unfortunately, “Bad #1” only got worse to the west. Assiniboine and company would not be making their star-studded guest appearances). 
 
Geoff and I continued traversing, looking for a feasible route up to the ridge. “Good #2” was watching Geoff scramble and route-find his way up this challenging terrain. The terrain may have been fierce but so are Geoff’s scrambling abilities! I was very impressed and happy just to follow his lead. We passed under what could have been the summit, eventually regaining the ridge between two summits of seemingly equal height. Routes to both looked beyond fierce!
 
Once again Geoff stepped up to the plate here, finding a manageable route through all the difficulties to the south summit. We were both elated to reach the top. There, we took some time to soak in Good #3, while trying to ignore a disappointing continuation of Bad #1. The view to the east was Good #3 – though still cloudy, an enormous array of fine and familiar peaks littered the horizon. A beautiful tarn below Mount Morrison provided the icing on the cake for the view in that direction. And the view to the west was, in fact, quite respectable, but would have been quite mind-blowing if Mount Assiniboine showed up to the party.  
 
After adding a few rocks to the cairn, it was time for the Kiwi and the Brit to reunite with the Frenchman in the valley. It was also time for Bad #2 to rear its hideous head, in the form of (you guessed it!) an attempt to get down the mountain via a completely different route. Both Geoff and I were quite convinced we could find an easier way down than our challenging route up.
 
And it actually started off quite well. We lost elevation and then made our way over to the south side of the face where a very promising gully going all the way down to the valley sat. Geoff arrived first and delivered the bad news – the snow and ice-filled gully promised nothing but a bumpy, messy (and probably fatal) ride down should you slip. Instead, we had to choose between going all the way back up to use our ascent route or attempt to traverse and descend at the same time. We chose the latter. The routes (we took slightly different ones) were far from trivial, featuring an unhealthy dose of exposed ledges and tricky downclimbs, but thankfully we made it down unscathed. A short break to refill our water containers and gather ourselves from the mental trauma of the descent was needed once back on safer ground.   
 
Given the inordinate amount of time we had spent on the mountain itself (about 5.5 hours) and the unexpectedly cold temperatures, Jean-Francois had decided to start back to the parking lot. Even with Geoff’s brisk hiking pace it was unlikely we would catch up to JF, who also hiked at break-necks speeds. (The Brit was by far the slowest of our little United Nations trio!).
 
Arriving back at Owl Lake Geoff bravely went for a quick dip in the lake’s chilly waters. I did not. Brave, in my little world, is eating a sandwich with mayonnaise in it that I accidentally left on the kitchen counter overnight – I no longer have the stomach for severely exposed situations in the mountains but I’m still good with questionable food choices!
 
Both rejuvenated, we continued the return trip, now back on mercifully easy, well-used trails. Similar to a recent trip up See Peak, it was sheer relief to be reunited with our bikes and the promise of being off my feet. The return bike ride, requiring a significant elevation gain up a long, steep hill, was much easier for the “cheetah” on an e-bike, but once atop that hill we coasted back to the parking lot, where a joyous reunion with JF awaited.
 
What a day! Huge thank you to Geoff and Jean-Francois for joining me on this amazing adventure in a somewhat remote area of the mountains. I would not have reached the summit without Geoff’s skillful lead. A return to Owl Mountain is highly unlikely, but this Englishman (really a true Canadian now, after being in this wonderful country for 46 years) hopes he has the honour of hiking and scrambling with the New-Zealander and Frenchman again!



Geoff strides across bridge just before the Big Springs campground



Now on the Owl Lake Trail. Marvel Peak in the background.



The beautiful valley northwest of Mount Morrison. Morrison is left of centre.



Getting close to Owl Lake and Mount Byng appears to the left



The boys arrive at Owl Lake under disappointingly grey skies



JF models



The blue sky that was cause for optimism (photo by Geoff)



JF leads us around to the southeast side of the lake



A Marvel(ous) lake reflection



Last look at Owl Lake before we dive into the bush



Oh no! The Aliens are here!



JF has no fear of any species with nasty movable mouths and acid for blood


Bizarre mushroom (photo by Geoff)



Views of the creek we were generally following were few and far between, but rewarding



Same as above



JF and I decided to see if travel alongside the creek was easier, but it turned out to be a marshy mess



Finally out into the open, with Owl Mountain at the left and Mount Byng at the right



JF uses downed trees and rocks to cross the creek



Superman can leap small creeks, as well as tall buildings!



Geoff and I check out the objective from afar (photo by JF)



Crossing a very persistent snow patch. Owl Mountain at the left.



The straggler, through most of the trip, follows (photo by Geoff)



Mount Mercer is on the to-do list



Geoff is dwarfed by the massive walls of Mount Byng



More walls



Can't forget the small stuff too



Geoff and JF lead the way up the lower slopes. From this point all the way to the summit it was near impossible to tell where the highest point was. It's actually over to the right.



The last of what was probably once a pretty big glacier on the northeast side of Byng



Geoff spotted a cool line up the rock band at the left



Boo! Mount Assiniboine is behind all that cloud.



The line we took



Sweet conglomerate rock



The very nondescript west face of Owl



JF approaches the north ridge (photo by Geoff)



Geoff is already there



And the straggler comes in last (photo by Geoff)



Fantastic views from the ridge, except for the annoying clouds



Mount Engadine and The Tower beyond Mount Morrison (foreground right)



Mount Galatea



Geoff and the fierce north ridge



Mount Turner



Owl Lake



Time to layer-up. Temperatures were surprisingly cold (photo by JF).



Geoff and JF start up the north ridge



Several mountain goats were moving along the exposed ridge to the south as if it was highway-wide!



Geoff checked out the ridge while JF and I stayed below it



Cool quartzite rock, but quite different from the quartzite you will find on Edith Cavell's famed east ridge



Geoff takes advantage of the solid rock



Lots of going back and forth up the face



The face has lots of ledges that assist in traversing



A nasty, exposed step. Geoff made it look easy; I made it look more awkward than a 14-year old boy in the adult section of a video store! (photo by Geoff)



The view towards Assiniboine we are not going to get



Good representation of the angle of the terrain



One of those beautiful grassy ledges (photo by Geoff)



Heading up to the jagged ridge



On the ridge, looking to the route ahead



View towards Birdwood, Smuts, etc.



View towards the 14-year boy and other stuff (photo by Geoff)



Pano of the view, featuring a beautiful tarn below Mount Morrison near the right



Geoff enjoys the view



JF is down there, somewhere



Following the ridge south



Big views in that direction



Smaller view



Back to bigger but more to the west



The tarn



The north highpoint



Geoff reaches a super cool highpoint along the ridge, but he's still not at the summit



Same as above



From Geoff's highpoint the summit is finally visible at the left. The next peak to the right is where we saw the mountain goats and Mount Byng sits at the far right.



Getting to the top is not without some route-finding and challenging terrain



Geoff leads us to glory!



The crux of the summit block. Luckily the rock was solid.



Geoff takes the final few steps to the summit



Always a groomsman, never a groom (photo by Geoff)



Mount Sir Douglas



At the summit. The view to the southeast.



Close-up of the southeast ridge



View to the north



Mount Soderholm (right) and Sharkfin Peak (Talon Peak) at the left



Red Man Mountain, I think



Mount Alcantara



Mercer, Allenby, and lots more to the north



Morrison and the tarn



Byng


Summit panos


















Superman and The 14-Year Old Straggler (not necessarily from left to right) (photo by Geoff)



Geoff lets out an evil bellow



Geoff is also a skilled cairn builder (photo by Geoff)



Descending



Geoff checks out some potential lines down



Assiniboine wants to come out to play, but in the end was a no-show



Much later and finally back onto easier terrain



Looking back up. The terrain looks so innocuous, but such is not the case.



Still straggling, but I'm so good at it! (photo by Geoff)



Same as above (photo by Geoff)



Geoff is already back at the snow patch



We both needed to refill our water supplies here



Checking out what we just descended



Out we go



Back at Owl Lake



Geoff may be part fish - that water was insanely cold!



Brave man



Bye to Owl and Byng



Nice to be back on good trails for the remainder of the day



Recrossing Bryant Creek



Our route (map by Geoff)

The End

LOG