July 6, 2025
Mountain height: 2440 m
Elevation gain: 900 m
Ascent time: 3:35
Descent time: 2:30
Solo scramble.
The goal for
the day was to follow the route SOISTHEMAN used on his trip
up Buchanan Northeast up to the ridge. Upon reaching the ridge, I planned to explore the
southeast side of the ridge for a bit, before either heading northeast to
Buchanan Northeast or just return the same way.
The first part
of the trip unfolded without much ado. 
The second, however, was a different
story. Instead of sticking to the general direction of the drainage (and
ridge), colourful and interesting rock to the right pulled me in that
direction. Suddenly I was on the northeast ridge of The Senator. Although it
looked possible to ascend that peak from this ridge, exploring the area I
originally wanted to check out had more appeal.
Once back on
the other side of the ridge, I continued up, again staying close to the rock. Then
that rock REALLY got the better of me. It graduated from cool and interesting
to eye-popping and jaw-dropping! One particularly band with defined layers of
striking rock had me drooling like a baby with overactive saliva glands! I
couldn’t pull myself away from the spectacle and when I intercepted a band of
bright red argillite all hope of sticking to the original plan was obliterated.
An easy path led me back to the northwest ridge of The Senator and “red rock
heaven”!
Yet again,
victim of my own insatiable (and perhaps confounding) appetite for colourful,
Southern Alberta rock, I resigned myself to a fourth ascent of The Senator,
albeit mostly by a new route. This path went with relative ease, before
intercepting the “standard” route just before the summit. En route I did see
potential cool route down, via another red argillite drainage. At least I would
be getting my fair share of new terrain for this trip, even though the original
plan went awry.
After a very
brief summit stay, I took the alternate descent route down to the valley and
around the ridge, back to where I crossed Cameron Creek. The argillite drainage
was expectedly magnificent, but at times difficult to stay in. It would
probably make a terrific ascent route though.
Another amazing
day in Waterton, exploring new terrain and not getting done what I wanted to
get done!
Looking up the route. The goal was to gain the col in the centre and
then go left. However, I ended up going right, long before reaching the
col, and summited The Senator at the right.
A lone rock in the middle of Cameron Creek. Mount Lineham in the background.
Typical terrain on the lower slopes
Typical flowers on the lower slopes
Nice stream to follow up but it takes a little work to stay close to it
A colourful moth
The drainage has dried up here, making it easier to follow
Ruby Ridge behind
Galwey North (left) and Mount Galwey
Serious red argillite alert!
Buckle up!
Smitten
Continuing up
Lots of red argillite here too, but much of it is covered in lichen
That slab at the left isn't!
I should be going this way....
...but I'm going in the opposite direction
Love these plants but have no idea what are called
Another super cool rock sighting at the left
The lower part
The upper part
Another one above
The stories these layers of rock could tell!
Close-up
The mountain appears to be giving me "The Finger"!
I'll just ignore that and press on
A bird
Close-up
The red argillite scenery is about to ramp up
Drooling over the rock at the left
A little drooling in the opposite direction too
The summit of The Senator can now be seen
But this rock was far more interesting in the moment
... and this...
...and this
Some close-ups will be mandatory here
Looking down the route
Looking up the route
The view towards Lineham and Blakiston is also a good distraction throughout
The route to The Senator is intriguing but I want to see the rock on the other side of the ridge
Going back down
Wrapping around the mountain, back to the other side
Same as above
Sometime later and I'm back on the ridge that leads to The Senator
Again, looking to where I wanted to go at the right
The ridge is entertaining and engaging throughout
The rocks at the right may look like cairns but they are not
Looking down the route so far
Summit is visible but still some distance away
The near vertical north face of The Senator
Buchanan Northeast
Approaching the summit block
Much of the view from the ridge
I did briefly consider traversing this to get over to the shoulder above Lake Dormaar, but reconsidered. Maybe another time.
Easy route to get above the steep summit block
But a lichen stop first
Summit panos
Lake Dormaar below the Buchanan Ridge
Alderson Lake can just be seen, below Mount Alderson
The unscramblable terrain between The Senator and Buchanan Ridge
The terrain on the other side of the ridge is deceivingly steep, even though it looks easy
Descending
The road is far below, but the route is direct
Of course, it will feature beautiful alternating bands of red and green argillite
Same as above
Looking back up some of the descent route
Same as above
And again
Flower distraction
Rock distraction
Back to the flowers
Going up this route would feature lots of fun hands-on scrambling
View to the north
Same as above
Last flower distraction
Back to other distractions
Near Cameron Creek and ready to hike back to the creek crossing
Nearing the crossing
Bye to The Senator, until next time
The End
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