Offender Mountain




    

Click HERE to see the first part of the trip

I didn’t stay at the top for very long, having already decided to attempt another nearby unnamed peak. Residing between Mount Worthington and Defender Mountain, this peak has been given the delightfully humorous, unofficial name, “Offender Mountain” (another title found on Gaia). The route would involve descending to Three Isle Lake, making my way up to the Worthington/Offender col and then hiking up the north ridge of the objective. However, I couldn’t help but notice a potential route up Mount McHarg from the connecting ridge with SKPP. The glacier on the north face of McHarg and Worthington has receded significantly, leaving a line of bare rock up to the ridge. It was worth checking out.
 
Definitely worth checking out, but after reaching a minor highpoint along the connecting ridge I decided against attempting this route. It looked dangerously steep near the top, and glaciers often leave behind the gnarliest and most unforgiving terrain to ascend. If I made the attempt and failed, then Offender would be out of reach for the day.
 
Instead, I reverted to the original plan, descending to the northeast side of Worthington and then side-sloping towards the Worthington/Offender col. Views of Three Isle Lake were incredibly cool throughout. From the col, the ascent of Offender amounted to a tedious rubble slog, devoid of any scrambling. So was it worth all the extra effort? Heck yes! Views from the summit were remarkable, especially towards the striking form of Defender Mountain; Mount Joffre looked amazing, but depressingly low on snow and ice; no Tipperary Lake, but awe-inspiring views in every direction.
 
Unfortunately, an extended summit break was not in the cards. A very long descent, however, was in the cards and I wanted to avoid biking out in the dark. Hopes of achieving that goal faded when I arrived in the valley below Worthington to find Three Isle Peak and others reflected perfectly in several streams and later in Three Isle Lake. No way was I skipping what would be the icing on top of the icing on top of the cake (not a typo) of an amazing trip!
 
Once past the stunning reflections, and late-day views of Three Isle Lake (and the tiresome elevation gain above the lake), I was able to increase my pace significantly. I still had to bike out by headlamp, but familiarity with the terrain made it an easy, if not slower than normal, affair.
 
Overall, 13.5 hours of incredible scenery and breath-taking views, in an area of the Rockies that feels remote but really isn’t. SKPP wins out for lake views and Offender wins for overall views – two more than worthwhile unnamed mountains. And lastly, a huge thank you to David Jones and all those pioneers who have documented terrific ascents such as these ones.

Following the ridge towards Mount McHarg (far left)



Continued awesome views of The Royal Group and the mountain itself



McHarg, just left of centre



Can't get enough of Tipperary Lake and the surrounding mountains



The west side of SKPP and McHarg is very steep and Mount Prince John is very pointy



Approaching a highpoint along the ridge



There's the line of bare rock that appears to lead to McHarg's summit. Too risky for me on this day.



Algae in the water



Looking back to SKPP and the first rock band I had to get down. There was a easy route over to the left.



Heading back towards the original, planned route



Not much of a glacier left on Worthington



Looking up that other route again and second guessing myself - but only for a few seconds



The upside of the original route are the views towards Three Isle Lake



And the unnamed peak above the lake



Just the lake



The Sun is starting to get lower in the sky already



A diffuse reflection in the lake is better than no reflection!



Now side-sloping towards the Worthington/Offender col



The lake, Surprise Station, and Mount Putnik



And more



Nearing the route I took up Worthington in 2006



Offender doesn't look very offensive or difficult



Mount Northover, on the other hand, looks downright terrifying (and that's the easier descent route!)



Typical terrain while traversing



Close-up of Northover's steep descent route



The east sides of King George and Prince Albert are now in shade



Typical terrain on Offender



On the Offender north ridge, looking to Worthington and McHarg



Defender Mountain sports a very cool plateau on its west side



View to the west



First view of Mount Joffre and it's going to get lots of attention



Like that



Defender Mountain is also a beaut



Pinnacles and complex terrain below



Easy walk to the summit



Looking back to that viewpoint



At the summit



The Palliser River far below


Summit panos














Close-up of Three Isle Lake



Mounts Sarrail and Foch



My favourite view of the day



Defender and its plateau



One more close-up of stunning Mount Joffre



Descending and enjoying the same views again!



Little outlier



Easy travel down the north ridge



Some of the impressive east side of Offender



"The Sun Also Sets" (for Hemingway fans)



Back down in the valley



Parting look at part of Offender



The first and least impressive of many, many, many reflection photos



The summit of unnamed reflected



The summit of Surprise Station reflected



Both, but only one is reflected



No diffuse reflection here - specular only



Of course I got carried here and took a photo at every single turn of the waterway!















I LOVE this s%@#!




Approaching Three Isle Lake for another round of spectacular specular reflections (I like what I did there, though the spirit of Hemingway has nothing to worry about!)































Last reflection photo



Now racing the setting Sun back to my bike - I lost



Back at the waterfall because I'm out of water



The algae adds a beautiful green hue to the fall



Much later, at the parking lot and the end of a superb day! The outline of Mount Indefatigable dominates the view.

The End

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