August 27, 2025
Mountain height: 2696 m
Elevation gain: 1200 m
Ascent time: 5:00
Descent time: 3:10
Scrambling with
Doug and Brian.
After a
harrowing attempt on Mount Mercer two days earlier and a challenging day on
Surprise Station three days before that, it was time to let Doug pick an
objective. 
He picked Warden Rock in the Ya Ha Tinda area and a fine choice it
was. Joining us was Doug’s friend (and soon to be mine also) Brian.
Of the two popular
routes to the summit of Warden, we chose the east side route. This one starts
with about 6 km of easy biking (even easier, given that our trio had e-bikes)
and then a short hike to what is often the crux of the day – getting to the
other side of the deep and wide Red Deer River. Obviously, that wouldn’t be the
case in late August. And also obviously, I was completely wrong about the
obvious! The river was shockingly high. 
I wore my hip waders but had to
tiptoe at several points to avoid having them filling up with water – never a
good thing! Doug and Brian wisely crossed without waders.
On the other
side we were surprised to find a myriad of trails. And the trail up towards
Warden Rock was the best of them. No route-finding on this trip needed once you
hit that trail. Eventually we escaped the confines of the forest, with a
wonderful landscape below the summit of Warden unfolding in front of us. We
decided to follow a drainage up towards the Warden Rock ridge. While initially
this was a terrific route, that solid rock in the drainage eventually succumbed
to annoying Rockies rubble. We each took a different ascent line to avoid
having to dodge potential rockfall.
Surprisingly we
eventually ran into a very prominent trail in the rubble - definitely an option
for descent. The ridge was reached soon after. Though a bit hazy, terrific
views of Barrier, Gable, and Wapiti were granted. From the ridge getting to the summit
of Warden amounted to an easy but longer than expected hike. We enjoyed a
long gratifying summit stay before retracing our steps down the mountain.
Re-crossing the
river seemed a little easier on return – not because it was lower, but because
we knew what to expect and I did not use my hip-waders. Of course, the return
bike ride went with speed and ease.
Great day with
two great guys – Doug, you chose well!
Paragliders (photo by Doug)
Near the start of the bike ride. Warden Rock is just left of centre (photo by Doug).
The old road is a pleasure to bike
Brian cruising across a creek (photo by Doug)
Doug's turn
Looking for a place to head down to the Red Deer River
There's the river
Approaching the opposite shore, after almost filling my waders (photo by Doug)
Brian's turn (photo by Doug)
Warden looks close, but it is a fair distance
Looks even closer now!
Doug and Brian appear to be wading through thick foliage but they are on a nice trail
The trail is now heading up
Out of the trees for a brief section
View in the other direction
Fungi
First view of Warden (left) and an outlier of Warden
More comprehensive view of the area
Yet another close-up of our objective
Our ascent route would go up the gully on the far left
Part of the long ridge between Warden Rock and Barrier Mountain (photo by Doug)
Brian leads the way across this beautiful landscape...
...and points out a potential path to the ascent gully
With more time and energy, running up the outlier (right) may have been worthwhile
Pleasant terrain to hike
Close-up of a distant and interesting group of pinnacles
Another good view of the beautiful surroundings
In the ascent gully
Brian is up way there somewhere - he's fast!
Caught up to him, as he contemplates which way to tackle this step
Passed one step and onto several others
Same as above
Still enjoying fun travel up the gully
Another interesting step
Looking back to where we came from
Lots of animals trails in the scree
Cool crystals
Onto the most unfriendly terrain of the day
On the ridge
There's a minor highpoint to the east that Brian and I are quickly going to check out
Brian and the summit block of Warden Rock at the right
The highpoint
Doug spots Brian and I waltzing to the highpoint (photo by Doug)
The view to the east includes (right to left) Wildhorse Ridge, Maze Peak, Eagle Peak, and Evangeline Peak (photo by Doug)
Brian and parts of the Gable/Barrier massif
Brian and I at the highpoint (photo by Doug)
View to the southeast from the highpoint
A more comprehensive view
View in the other direction
Here comes Doug
Cool, little rock window
A little lichen to the left and the summit of Warden
A little human to the left and some lichen (photo by Doug)
Time to tackle the hike to the summit of our objective
But first, another look at Barrier Mountain
Close-up of Warden's steep east face
Easy and pleasant travel again (photo by Doug)
Same as above
The false summit of Warden
Looking up the lengthy Red Deer River valley
Massive Wapiti Mountain to the northwest
The true summit comes into view
Now within striking distance of the top
Wellsite Mountain
Doug can just be seen to the right of the false summit
Pano from near the summit
Outfitters?
The long ridge to Barrier Mountain
At the summit
Doug's views of Brian and me at the summit (photo by Doug)
A couple of summit panos
Looking down the scary east side
Here comes Doug
Big distant peak to the southwest. Not sure which one it is.
Another glance down the precipitous east face, with the river (photo by Doug)
Summit pano from Doug
Close-up of the winding Red Deer River
The best view of Wapiti Mountain (photo by Doug)
Time to go home
The descent featured some cool clouds forming over the area
Thankful for the easy terrain
Nice section of orange rock underfoot
On the good trail we crossed on ascent and hoping for much better footing
Exactly what we got. Following the traversing/descending trail adds a little distance to the descent but is well worth it.
Doug and Brian (lower left) are dwarfed by the surroundings
Some of the impressive walls of Warden
More of them (photo by Doug)
Nice cloud
Terrific view of valley we will soon be back down to (photo by Doug)
A few interesting pinnancles that may be worth checking out
Yes they are
Doug ascends one
Close-up of the rock
The most interesting of the lot
Doug between the pinnacles
Continuing the descent
Cool ridges east of Warden
More of those neat clouds
Same as above
Parting look at Warden and its outlier
Re-crossing the Red Deer River
Almost waist-deep in places
Beautiful horses at the end of a beautiful day (photo by Doug)
The End
LOG
