Mount Rowe VIII  
October 5, 2023
 
Mountain height: 2464 m
Elevation gain:    approximately 1100 m
Round-trip time:  5:50
 
Solo scramble.
 
This route has become a winter favourite for me. However, in search of some quick and scenically rewarding exercise I decided to try it as an autumn trip, hopefully getting a decent look at the larches around the Rowe Lakes in the process. The weather was going to be hit and miss – definitely a miss at the beginning, as I drove into the area under fully cloudy skies. 
 
Thanks to the Kenow fire, this direct route to the summit proved to be as easy without snow as it is once the winter snow firms up later in the season. However, these favourable conditions may not exist once the dead trees start falling.
 
 
Gaining elevation, it became apparent I was in for some interesting weather conditions. Unfortunately, a perfect inversion never materialized (one in which completely blue skies sit above the clouds), but there were many super interesting scenes of clouds, mountains and trees, especially when the yellow larches started to appear.
 
 
I didn’t stay at the summit for long, wanting to go to the next highpoint to the northwest and then descend to the Upper Rowe Lakes. I could then gain the northeast ridge of Rowe and descend either the same way I came up or right down the middle, as Mark and I had done, 17 years earlier. 


 
The route went exactly as planned, boasted tons of amazing larch and lake scenery and was relatively easy to boot! I can definitely see myself repeating this exact route when a shorter day is on the agenda.

Awesome day out!

Easy travel up the initial slopes



Looking over to the ridge on the other side of the drainage that Mark and I ascended in 2006



Autumn colours



Lots of low-lying clouds



Cameron Lake, with Chapman Peak and Mount Custer above



The valley is consumed by clouds



Mark and I tried to reach the summit by going up this slope but hit an impasse just before the ridge



The Sun's rays hit a cloud above the Cameron Lake



The clouds in the valley are starting to dissipate



The red peak near the left is the northeast outlier of Rowe



More clearing to the south and west. Too bad about the high clouds blocking the Sun.



Still very cloudy to the east



The route has a few larches



Clearing again



Lots of close-ups of larches on this trip



The rock band that lines the upper ridge



There's a close-up



Sweet inversion to the east, though clear skies above would have been awesome. Buchanan Northeast at the right and Mount Crandell at the left.







On the northeast ridge and the first view of the higher Upper Rowe Lake at the left



The lake



Mount Lineham







The northeast outlier is cloud-free but everything to the east is swimming in the clouds











Heading for the summit



Three of the four Buchanan's, Northeast, The Middle Child, The Ridge, and Mount Carthew



Summit cairn



View to the north, northeast, and east



Starting the traverse to the next summit



Views of the Upper Rowe Lake are going to be the highlight of the traverse



...as are the clouds forming then dissipating around Mount Lineham







There are a few random larches on the connecting ridge



Close-up #2







Tons of larches around the lake



Spotted two people walking around the lake











Long Knife Peak



Lineham Ridge - one of the best hikes in the park







The larches above the lake are on full display....



...and the red argillite is just going to make this part of the trip a "winner, winner, chicken dinner" event!



All the motivation needed to descend through the larches on return







The highpoint I'm aiming for (left), the "Peak of Despair" (centre), and part of Lineham Ridge (right)







At the highpoint (that's actually higher than Rowe)



The cairn



Still experiencing cool weather phenomena



And still "wowed" by the larches



Descending into the field of larches above the lake



Out onto the open ridge
 


The higher Upper Lake. The lower Upper Lake is so low, it doesn't even appear to exist.



Similar photo taken on July 9, 2012. The lower Upper Lake is quite full at that time of the year.



Approaching the higher Upper Lake







At the lakeshore



Mandatory circumnavigation of the lake



At the far southwest end



At the far northeast end



Following the dried-up drainage that connects the high Upper to the low Upper



The low Upper Lake and the ascent route back up to the northeast ridge of Rowe



The line going across the rock indicates how high the lake gets when full



At this time of the year it's really just a big puddle!



But a beautiful puddle, especially when reflecting Mount Lineham



#3



Gaining elevation above the lakes



Both lakes are visible



Close-up of the low Upper (Puddle) Lake, clearly showing how big the lake gets when full, compared to its present level











Looking over to the lowpoint of the northeast ridge, between the summit and the outlier



Buchanan Ridge and the eastern outlier of Mount Carthew



Looking up to the summit



Back on the northeast ridge just above the lowpoint



Last look at the Upper Lake



Pano from the ridge



Heading down to the lowpoint



Easy and scenic descent











Lots of beautiful autumn colours to keep me entertained on descent



Bumped into a group of three sheep. They didn't pay any attention to me whatsoever.



Looking back up some of the descent route



Racing the setting Sun



Results of the Kenow fire



Three out of the four Carthews: Mount Carthew (centre), Carthew Minor-Minor (foreground), and Carthew Minor



Classic sign that you are descending an avalanche slope







The Carthews again



Somebody lost something







Parting glance at the descent route

The End

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