Mount Ward
September 6, 2004
Mountain height: 2,530 m (8,300 ft)
Elevation gain: 625 m
Ascent time: 2:40
Descent
time: 2:20
Scrambling
with Linda Breton.
Drew's account:
Our objective was to summit both Mount Ward and Allison Peak, as is common with this trip. Having suffered through a torturous attempt of the west ridge of Mount Bogart two days earlier, that had wreaked havoc on Linda’s knees, we were hoping that they had recovered enough to make both summits.
The hike to and around Window Mountain Lake
was short and interesting. We especially liked the rain-forest-like
section just before the lake. From there we quickly ascended a talus
slope into the valley, where the summit of Mount
Ward could be seen to the left. Although Ward probably classifies as
one of the shortest and easiest scrambles in the book, it still sports
a fairly long rubble slope to the summit, that, like many scree slopes
in the Rockies, is quite unforgiving on the
knees. By the time we were getting close to the summit, Linda was
obviously in considerable discomfort and pain, and we decided to forgo
the attempt of Allison Peak. Our disappointment,
however, was immediately forgotten when we arrived at the ridge, and a
magnificent view of Allison Peak, Window Mountain and their connecting
ridge, and Crowsnest Mountain and the stunning Seven Sisters to the
left. The summit was minutes away and we enjoyed a lengthy stay,
admiring the panorama.
For
the descent, we stayed close to the ridge and then descended scree
slopes back into the valley. The terrain was a little better than our
ascent route, but was still tough on the knees. Once back at the lake,
the remainder of the descent was easy. Overall, yet another enjoyable
day in the mountains with a great scrambling partner. I’m definitely
looking forward to returning to complete Allison Peak and Window Mountain.
Linda's account:
Mt. Ward~ Sept 6, 2004
I
had initially decided on the double scramble of Mt.Ward and Allison
Peak because of the latter's difficult rating. After Arethusa, my first
difficult scramble, I wanted more of the same, and hopefully an
increased challenge. The bonus of this trip, I was to discover after a
closer inspection in the 'Scrambles' guide, was that there was very
little elevation gain to these peaks and a short approach. There was
actually hope I might complete both on this day.
The
drive up the narrow and rough road was eased by the unbelievable
suspension of the rental car I was driving. I highly recommend the 2004
Grand Am for any logging-road… heck, off-road approaches! With Andrew
Nugara as navigator, we hurdled over vast holes, pits, and smallish
boulders, and located the three vehicle parking lot about 1.3 km down
this stretch. The colourful hike to the lake began at this point. No
difficulties were encountered on this plod, except for maybe the odd
areas where the foul stench of rot permeated the air. We were unable to
locate the source of this odour, and chalked it up to decaying plant
material. At least, this is what we told ourselves, for Andrew had
forgotten his infamous bearspray.
After
a brief stop at the lake, we carried on around the right side and
headed in the direction of a steep gully. I realized half way up this
gully, I left my sunglasses back at the lake...aarrgh! We gained
elevation quickly, and noticed that it was going to be much cooler than
the blisteringly hot day we imagined it would be. The fleece and gloves
came out right away, and we proceeded to tackle the foreshortened
rubble slope directly to Mt. Ward. Drew climbed ahead, and I
started to feel the damage of Mt Bogart, from two days ago, in my
knees. I looked up and two crows floated above us, black against the
now racing clouds.
By
the time I hit the ridge, I was probably at the maximum limit of the
Vitamin I (Ibuprofen), and had strange wonderings if a drug-assisted
ascent took away from the style and purity of this pursuit. Andrew
waited for me here, and told me that when he had arrived, there had
been an unusual sight of a crow on each of the two summit cairns. They
left before he could get a picture.
The
view from the summit was exhilarating (not in Alan Kane's 'exposure'
kind of way though). There was a stunning panorama of the Seven Sisters
and Crowsnest Mt., a view that inspired about a dozen pictures in each
of our cameras. The portal through Window Mt was visible, and the
decaying connector ridges to Allison, and then to this peak were in
plain sight. There were spectacular unknown mountains to the west,
unknown to me anyway. The desire to know more about them kept my
eyes riveted to their distant faces. After a lengthy rest at the
summit, I thought we would bag Allison Peak this day yet....so close.
As
we descended the ridge, I realized things were far worse off than I had
anticipated. Mt. Ward, maybe the easiest summit in the book, had
finished me off. (Oddly, Ha Ling had also done me major damage; I'm
going to stay away from those easy ones from now on.) I had a
moment of terrible frustration there; there would be no real hands-on
scrambling today, and I would be cutting Andrew's day short when he
could easily finish the scramble. He said he would return with his
brother and finish all three summits. I was grateful he turned
back with me, his pleasant company helped keep my mind off the
disappointment. And my lost sunglasses...
When
we got back to the lake, I found my glasses, but they did not look much
like they used too. Someone (probably me) had stepped directly on them,
and they were mangled. On the trail back to the rental-mobile, we
turned to look at Ward, and witnessed a curious cloud illusion above
the mountain. This was the second time this season I had seen bizarre
cloud effects. After all was said and done, driven over and
stepped on, it had been another amazing day in the mountains with the
best of company. Yet another 5 out of 5, using Drew's Scale.
Beautiful colours at the beginning of the trip; Mount Ward is in the background (photo by Linda)
Linda making her way up the ridge; the route to Allison Peak (left) can be seen behind
Looking down on Window Mountain Lake
Linda and me at the summit (timed photo by Linda)
Window Mountain (at the right....obviously!); The Seven Sisters and Crowsnest Mountain at the left
Heading down the ridge (photo by Linda)
A closer look at the window of Window Mountain (photo by Linda)
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