July 13, 2018
Mountain height: 2530 m
Elevation gain: approximately
800 m
Ascent time: 2:15
Descent time: approximately 3
hours
Solo scramble.
Hard to believe that thirteen years had passed since I last stood atop
this peak. A return to the beautiful environs of Window Mountain Lake and the
mountains that surround the lake was long overdue and so I set off to repeat
the trip, a much grayer and slower man than in 2005. While the lake and Mount
Ward were certainly the focus of the trip, I also wanted to see if it was
possible to make a loop route out of it by basically circling the lake on the
ridge high above it.
The easy hike to Window Mountain Lake did not disappoint and as expected
the lake itself was very beautiful (I may be slower than the thirteen years
younger version of myself, but my appreciation for mountain scenery has increased
to compensate!)
I was kinda’ hoping that, in the intervening years, a well-worn trail up
Mount Ward had been pounded into the scree, but such was not the case – at the
least for the rubbly and tedious upper half that leads to the ridge. Nevertheless,
the ridge view of Window, Crowsnest and The Seven Sisters more than made up for
the steep, unstable, and relentless grind.
After a short but gratifying summit stay I descended the southwest ridge
of Ward and kept going on towards the highpoint northeast of Mount Allison. That
highpoint was not easily gained, requiring a fair amount of annoying
side-hilling on steep, loose rubble. From there, south goes to Allison Peak and
north goes to the ridge that circles Window Mountain Lake – I went north.
This part of the trip was much easier than the section from Ward to the
highpoint and featured outstanding views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
I soon found myself on familiar terrain, recalling a relatively recent ascent
of Mount Racehorse. At the end of the ridge,
instead of continuing north to the Racehporse Pass trail, I turned southeast
and made my way down fairly steep slopes back to the lake. Of course, I then
felt compelled to hike around the opposite side of the lake to maximize the experience.
While Window Mountain Lake is no Moraine Lake it certainly
has a wonderful charm of its own.
Upon completing the trip, I decided that a quick visit to another
Crowsnest area lake I had never seen before was warranted. Chinook Lake provided
pleasant scenery and the trail around it 2 km of easy, stress-free walking – an
excellent way to end an excellent day.
Wildflowers and the southeast ridge of Racehorse Peak
Great trail and Mount Ward
Window Mountain Lake
Clearly someone has placed these rocks here to make access to the island easy
On the island and looking at the ascent route for Ward (right to left)
The scree/rubble ascent route up Ward. Starts off gently but gets steep higher up.
Looking back to Window Mountain Lake
The view that awaits at the ridge. Window Mountain is pretty obvious!
Nice, east ridgewalk to finish the ascent
Racehorse Peak is about 150 m higher than Ward
Window Mountain and Allison Peak. The traverse from one to the other is exhilarating!
The summit cairn of Mount Ward. The Seven Sisters and Crowsnest Mountain are two of the highlights of the view.
Descending Ward's southwest ridge
The route to the highpoint northeast of Allison
Looking back at Ward and Window
Window Mountain Lake is only body of water visible from the ridge. This lake lies to the west of the highpoint
Close-up of the lake
Looking back to Ward
At the highpoint, with the ridge to Allison to the south
Summit view to the north from the highpoint. Mount Racehorse on the left.
Distant but distinctive Mount Washburn
Hard to ignore The Seven Sisters and Crowsnest
Typical terrain, while descending from the highpoint
Typical views, while descending from the highpoint
Approaching the next highpoint along the ridge. This one connects to Mount Racehorse.
The only real scrambling between highpoints
Looking back to where I came from
Most of the route up Ward and the traverse are visible
Window Mountain Lake becomes the unequivocal highlight for the remainder of the trip
Mount Racehorse. Ascending the peak from this direction would be very cool.
The long northwest ridge of Allison Peak looks very interesting
The view of the lake changes enough to warrant much photo attention
Almost the highpoint of the ridge northwest of the lake
Someone has built a cairn there
Aerial views of lakes are almost always super cool!
Heading down
Steep descent back to the lake
Back at the island
A fisherperson
Another fisherperson nears the lake outlet
Chinook Lake
The south side of the lake features good views of the upper half of Crowsnest Mountain
Parts of Mount Tecumseh and some unnamed peaks are seen from the east side
The rest of Tecumseh
Pleasant shades of green and blue
The trail is excellent and stay near the lakeshore on the north side of the lake
View from the west end
Lots of activity on this beautiful day
Canoers
The End
