Mount Yukness – July 22, 2009 

Mountain height:  2874 m
Elevation gain:     810 m (+ approx. 200 m)
Ascent time:        3:30
Descent time:      4:50                       

Scrambling with Amber and Scott.

If Paul Simon lived in Alberta he might have penned the song “A Hazy Shade of Summer” not “Winter”. Barring some very wet weather over British Columbia, the summer of 2009 could be a very hazy one, due to forest fire smoke.

Visiting Lake O’Hara has been on my “to-do” list for a long time. However, the logistics of getting there have prevented any ascents in the famous area. The day before our ascent, a warden at the Parks Office convinced me that we would have no chance of getting onto bus, so we went anyway. Luckily, she was wrong and Amber, Scott, and I managed to get seats on the bus by arriving 1 hour before it departed. The ten or so people who arrived at the bus departure kiosk after us were not so lucky. 

While the Lake O’Hara environs were very impressive, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the hazy sky and its deleterious effect on the views. Generally the route-finding up Mount Yukness was easy, thanks to a string of cairns. We did go past the correct ascent gully to the ridge, but judging from the well worn path in the scree, that mistake was common. Backtracking a little easily rectified the error. In general, the greatest source of interest throughout the ascent was the variety of colourful rock on the mountain, not the surrounding views. Forest fire haze sucks!!!

Views from the summit were not as impressive as I was expecting. Obviously this was partly due to the hazy sky, but it was also because many of the surrounding, taller peaks block the view. While Huber, Victoria, Glacier, Ringrose, and Hungabee were all spectacular, they did block the entire view to north, northeast, east, and southeast. Looking down on the beautiful greenish-blue hues of Lake Oesa was just as gratifying as anything else.

After a lengthy summit stay, we made our way over to the northwest summit. At this point, the hazy skies started to clear, improving the views quite a bit. This was more like it!

Given that we still had several hours before the bus departed, we decided to make the most of our visit and get a closer look at Lake Oesa. This part of the trip was definitely the highlight. It required some interesting route-finding (with a few lucky breaks in finding weaknesses through very steep terrain), and the scenery was incredible all the way to the lake, at the lake, and back down to Lake O’Hara. The multi-layered and multi-coloured forms of Huber, Victoria, and Lefroy were stunning, as were the numerous tarns before Lake Oesa. Oesa itself provided a serene foreground to the formidable peaks rising above it. With clearer skies, the vibrant bluish-green colour of Lake O’Hara really came out. 

Amber, Scott and I all agreed that the second half of the trip was far more rewarding then the actual Yukness scramble and we all expressed great interest to return to Lake O’Hara. It’s always a pleasure to hike with like-minded individuals.    

Cathedral Mountain reflected in Lake O'Hara (photo by Amber)

The plastic chair seems incongruous with the rest of the scene

Scott, with Opabin Lake below and Mount Biddle rising above

Just above the col, with the NW summit behind; Odaray, Stephen, and Cathedral in the background (photo by Amber)

Typical scrambling before the summit

Amber at the summit

All of us at the summit (photo by Amber)

Amber's "needle" pose

Mount Odaray in hazy conditions

The view to the north

Down-climbing (photo by Amber)

Walking the ridge, with the highly pinnacled summit block to the left (photo by Amber)

Scott makes his way to the "spectacular, steep diversion" mentioned in Kane's description

Scott and Amber atop the step

Scott

Amber's needle pose again; while many ascend the pinnacle, I bet that is the first time it has seen that pose!

Clearer skies, as we make our way down to the Yukness Ledges

Lake Oesa

Lake Oesa, part of Victoria, and Lefroy (right)

Hungabee

Biddle

Huber

Approaching a tarn before Lake Oesa

Same as above, with Oesa now visible

At Lake Oesa (photo by Amber)

Lefroy, Glacier Peak, and Ringrose Peak surround the lake

Lefroy

Glacier

The colourful tarn again (photo by Amber)

Yellow and purple flowers

Same as above (photo by Amber)

Lake O'Hara

Mount Yukness

Huber again

Yukness, Hungabee, and Biddle reflected in Lake O'Hara (photo by Amber)

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