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GR303619* |
| Elevation 2090m Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Heading west from Highway 1 GR303619 is the pointy summit sandwiched between Loder Peak and Goat Mt. This is a good early-season tune-up scramble, and combined with Loader Peak makes for an entertaining day. From Highway 1A head west past the Seebe exit (1X) and continue for another 5.5km. At the T-junction with Graymont Lime on the left pull off the road and park on the grassy shoulder (GPS reference 51d04m17s N, 115d08m08s W). A stake across the road marks the trail head. Loder Peak is the mountain ahead and slightly to the right. Go north past two power lines until you reach the access road. Turn left and then quickly right at a wide trail. The path takes you through light forest towards Jura Creek. The trail exits trees and continues on the right berm of Jura Creek. Just before the trail enters trees again cross the creek and look for a trail heading back up into tree cover. This is a handy bypass to get around the lower canyon when there's water flowing. After about an hour of trudging up the rocky stream bed on occasional trail you come to a false fault. Here huge bare slabs plunge from the right under cliffs on the left. You'll initially need to walk up some narrow ledges on the slabs. When it appears that there's nowhere else to go, cross over to the left side and clamber up the trail to bypass the next section. Five minutes after emerging at the top of the false fault a wide rocky drainage (dry) intersects from the right (GPS reference 51d05m24s N, 115d09d27m W). You'll want to take this branch. The other way leads up valley to the source of Jura Creek. From the forks a feeble trail lingers on the right bank for the next kilometer or so, then it traverses to the left bank and quickly vanishes. You're now on your own. The gully gets narrow at places, and there's little choice but to boulder hop your way up the middle. At the next fork (GPS reference 51d05m53s N, 115d08m52s W) stay left and enter a shallow canyon. Continuing on, you will encounter four pitches of steep slab scrambling at the bottom of the canyon. The longest section is perhaps some 10m long. Take care if there's water flowing as the rock can be quite slick. As you gain elevation the you get improved views of the striated south face of Goat Mountain. When it appears manageable exit the canyon and start up the hillside to your right. Work your way up to the ridge top through several rock bands. Once you crest the ridge it'll become obvious where you are - you should be overlooking (and far above) the gully which is the normal ascent route to Loder Peak. Keep wandering up through the last strands of trees until you reach steep slabs sloping down to the right. At this point you can duck back down on the left side below the ridge line for a no-nonsense trudge to the top, or you can stay atop the ridge for a more exhilarating finish. Both routes re-join at a clearing before turning left. A few more steps and you're on the summit (GPS reference 51d05m47s N, 115d08m19s W). All of the eastern Bow Valley unfolds before you. Looking north, a faint trail continues on the ridge towards Goat Mt. It is not clear whether it can bypass the numerous overhanging rockbands guarding the summit. Yamnuska can be seen just to the right in the background. Almost directly west the high point is Mt. Fable. Across the valley between McConnell Ridge and Heart Mt. you can see just a corner of Barrier Lake. To the southwest you can pick out Pigeon Mt. and the Three Sisters. Rather than to return the same way, you can complete a mini-loop by incorporating Loder Peak. Return to the clearing and go around the slabs that you came up on via the left side. Head towards the saddle (GPS reference 51d05m40s N, 115d08m26s W) atop the Loder Peak ascent gully. Pause here to catch you breath. The remainder of the way is easy scrambling except for a 3-5 meter high rock band. There's no apparent easy way to get around this step without losing elevation, so pick your spot. Make sure you take note of where you came up for the return trip. We followed the base of the rib almost to the top before scrambling up a crack. A few more minutes of walking puts you at the summit cairn (GPS reference 51d05m34s N, 115d08m26s W). Below you is puny Door Jamb Mountain and yet another alternate descent route. We decided to go down the Loder Peak ascent route, which in retrospect was not the best thing to do - not because of time or distance, but because the gully is debris-strewn and uneven, making it quite grueling for already-tired ankles. *GR numbers are references used in topographic maps. The six-digit designation is split into two pairs of three: The first trio of digits reference the vertical (N-S) grid lines while the last 3 digits reference the horizontal (W-E) grid lines. For each 3 digit set the first two numbers are whole numbers, while the last digit is a decimal place number. For the peak named here, GR153311 can be found between the 15 and 16 vertical grid lines and 31 and 32 horizontal grid lines (see below). The object 'B' would have a reference of GR157317.
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