St.
Eloi Ridge
Macdonald Pass Peak
July 7, 2026
Mountain heights:
2280
m, 2250 m
Total elevation gain:
approximately 1400 m
Ascent time to St.
Eloi Ridge: 4:20
Side trip time
to lower point on St. Eloi Ridge: 0:50
Traverse time
to Macdonald Pass Peak: 1:45
Descent time
from Macdonald Pass Peak: 2:00
Solo scramble.
Driving towards
the Castle Mountain Ski Resort, my primary objective for the day was Mount
McCarty. McCarty is a somewhat nondescript peak that doesn’t scream, “Climb
ME!” – it likely resides on most hiker/scrambler’s, “When I’ve done everything else in
the area” list. Nevertheless, the mountain has a 
beautiful lake on its
northeast side and has gained a measure of popularity since Dave McMurray,
Jeff Lang, and Bob Spirko made an ascent in 2014 and posted
their accomplishment online – note that because of a road closure and lack of a
trail, their route was significantly longer and more challenging than an ascent in
present day would be.
Unfortunately,
my intended route would not visit the lake. I wanted to bike/hike to Macdonald
Pass first, thus giving me the option to pick either McCarty or St. Eloi Ridge
or both. St. Eloi Ridge, a minor highpoint north of St. Eloi Mountain, was
brought to my attention by Devan Peterson. Devan had completed yet another jaw-dropping,
Herculean day trip ascending Mount McCarty, Macdonald Pass Peak, St. Eloi
Ridge, Mount Hollebeke, North Kootenay Point, and North Kootenay Mountain (a.k.a.
Centre E3 or Big Rock Mountain) in one fell swoop – in the words of Ivan Drago (Rocky IV), “He’s not human, he’s
like a piece of iron.”
The biking part
of the trip went better than expected. I was able to cycle to within one
kilometre of Macdonald Pass, 
although I almost missed the turn-off because the
trail sign is no longer there. Also, to clarify, I was able to E-BIKE this
distance! On a regular bike, my two-wheel journey would have ended a short
distance up the Macdonald Pass trail, at the first sign of steep, uphill travel.
En route to the pass I had decided to make St. Eloi Ridge the primary
objective, with the option to tag McCarty after.
From Macdonald
Pass, gaining the St. Eloi Ridge proved to be more challenging than expected.
The lower slopes were easily ascended on stable scree, but the middle part
reared up to fairly steep angles and the footing became more precarious. Above
that, easier treed slopes led to the ridge and a wonderful view.
The trek to the
summit of St. Eloi Ridge appeared to be a pleasant and easy ridgewalk, with
several ups and downs. And that’s exactly how it played out. The additional
pleasant surprises on this ridgewalk were a proliferation of wildflowers and
unique views of the north side of St. Eloi Mountain and the west side of
Syncline Mountain. The Flathead Range to the northwest also provided plenty of
photo fodder.
Thankfully, a
cool breeze staved off potential hear exhaustion, on this sweltering day, 
but
as I dragged myself towards the summit, any hope of reaching the top of McCarty
was circling the proverbial bowl. I am not a piece of iron – closer to a piece
of partially melted fudge! Given that I would have liked the visit the shores of the lake under
McCarty anyway, this was not a terribly disappointing turn of events.
In addition to
excellent views of St. Eloi and Syncline, the summit panorama featured
wonderful views of the southern part of the Flathead Range and northern end of
the Lewis Thrust Fault. The red and green argillites giving way to the grey
limestone always provides fascinating views.
With McCarty
off the table I now had time to explore the ridge further to the southeast. A
lower highpoint, with steep cliffs on its north
side, looked appealing. The side-trip took about an hour and offered another round of interesting
views and rock scenery. I then hiked back to the point where I had gained the ridge
from Macdonald Pass.
Of course, an
ascent of unofficial Macdonald Pass Peak was almost mandatory at this point,
requiring less than 100 metres of elevation gain. The partially treed summit
was a pleasant diversion, but very few people, if any, would make it their only
objective. I took a slightly longer and less steep route back down to the
Macdonald Pass trail and then enjoyed an easy and quick descent.
A thoroughly
enjoyable trip – not one that I’m likely to repeat, but I’m super glad to have
done it. Thanks for the inspiration, Devan!
Mount McCarty
At the start of the North Kootenay Pass trail, though the trip starts several kilometres before
Glimpse of Macdonald Pass Peak
The northwest side of McCarty from the end of the bike approach
The theme for much of the day was lush scenes of green
Macdonald Pass at the left, McCarty at the right
Beautiful rock that is not red argillite!
The steep northeast side of Macdonald Pass Peak
More green and rock
Fly on a flower
A couple of butterfly pollinators would have been preferable, but that's my own prejudice!
No flies
Approaching Macdonald Pass
Looking back
The outlier on the west side of the pass
The ascent terrain to St. Eloi Ridge on the east side of the pass
Heading up to the ridge
The other outlier west of the pass can now be seen
The terrain gets more interesting higher up
Peaks of the Flathead Range start to appear
The grade steepens
More outliers to the west but the summit block of Hollebeke Mountain is still not completely visible
Cool fin of rock
From a different angle
The fascinating geologic story of rock layers
A bunch of other mountains pop up
North Kootenay Mountain (a.k.a. Centre E3, Big Rock Mountain). There are several terrific lines up this peak near its right side.
Mount Darrah always stands out
On the ridge and looking at the route ahead. The summit of St. Eloi Ridge is the small bump at the far left.
Pano to the northwest
Macdonald Pass Peak to the north
Pano to the south
South Flathead Peak (left) and Centre SE1.5
Close-up of Darrah
Getting ready to lose a fair amount of elevation
The west side of Syncline Mountain
Wildflower season is upon us
View to the southwest and there's some movement on the ridge below
It's a herd of sheep
Flower close-up
The sheep again
Surprised to see salt licks up here. Had I been low on electrolytes......
Also surprised to see any snow
Poser
Stopping to photograph wildflowers has become my new favourite way to catch my breath
Almost at the lowpoint
Looking back as I head upslope again
Same as above with McCarty near the right
A western outlier of St. Eloi Mountain
I must need oxygen
Orange lichen is also a good stopping excuse
Pano from a highpoint before another elevation loss
Nice peaks to the southwest; not sure what they are.
Hollebeke Mountain
Going up again. The summit is near the left.
Another view to the southwest
At the final highpoint, before an enjoyable ridgewalk to the summit
Tombstone Mountain peeks over the outlier
Packhorse Peak
St. Eloi SW1 - fantastic trip!
St. Eloi, with Mount Haig behind
The 2nd summit of Syncline Mountain
Start of the final push to the summit
Views of all the aforementioned mountains are good company throughout
Summit panos
My next destination
This ridge eventually leads to St. Eloi
All of the route there - it's a long way
North Kootenay, Darrah, and outliers
Another elevation loss, but it's not a big one
The highest summit of Syncline at the left
Looking back to the summit
Almost at the highpoint
There's a huge, vertical cliff on the north side of the highpoint
Highpoint panos
Returning
Another mysterious snow patch!
Wildflowers again but I'm to lazy for any close-ups
Round 2 of summit panos, just because
Looking back at the summit on descent
There's some red argillite
Rock that's been pushed up to an almost vertical orientation
I must be out of breath, yet again
One of very few rock bands I encountered close-up during the trip
Back to the flowers
Macdonald Pass Peak directly ahead
Another group of sheep, although they are likely the same ones I saw several hours earlier
Super easy terrain to the top
Summit panos
Mount McCarty looks close, but I don't have it in me for the day
Heading down
Picked up this terrific animal trail for the alternate descent route
Had to hike past this rock band before losing elevation to the trail
I need to be on the beige scree at the right
Last look at those outliers of Hollebeke
Descent route to the scree
Looking back at some of the descent route
Back at the pass
The west side of McCarty again
The north side of Macdonald again
Back at the start. McCarty, Macdonald, and Hollebeke are visible. An excellent day!
The End
LOG
