Back
HomeGusty Peak
|
Back Home |
Gusty Peak |
|
Trip No. 112 Elevation Height
Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent
Ascent |
Gusty Peak is an intermediate scramble on steep rubble. If there is snow in the upper sections an ice axe is highly recommended, as a slip on the high angle slopes can easily kick you off the mountain. Be especially careful on the descent, the loose angular rock are ankle-breakers. Drive south from Canmore on the Smith-Dorrien Spray Trail. At the south end of Spray Lake keep going past Mt. Engadine Lodge for another 6km or so and park at the Chester Lake parking lot (GPS reference 50d47m26s N, 115d17m56s W) on the east side of the road. Alternatively, you can drive south on Kananaskis Trail (Hwy 40) until the Kananaskis Lakes turn-off. From there follow signs for the Smith-Dorrien Spary Trail and head north. If you're coming from Calgary this later option is less dusty, but longer. At the north end of the parking lot behind the information shelter follow the road for Chester Lake. For the first 2km the trail is shared with mountain bikers. Be on the lookout. A leisurely half-hour stroll puts you at a trail sign and some bike racks (GPS reference 50d48m17s N, 115d17m58s W). You've gained 200 vertical meters up to this point. Take the left branch at this junction and head into forest. The road narrows to trail, but the going remains easy. Chester Lake is 2.4km away. The trail takes you past a couple of meadows as you get closer to Chester Lake. Finally you arrive at a clearing. The lush green slopes on the southwest ridge below Mt. Chester is ahead on your right. The rest of the mountain resembles a stack of tilted pancakes. As you proceed you can clearly see the approach route for Mt. Chester summit via the open gully. Gusty Peak is directly ahead, but the summit is hidden from view for now. On reaching Chester Lake (GPS reference 50d48m43s N, 115d16m29s W) circle the lake clockwise. Ignore the first couple of trails intersecting from the left. Towards the back of the lake (before reaching rocky slabs) head left on a clear trail up into trees. Over a short rise you arrive at a small clearing. Ahead is the first headwall which guards the upper valley between Mt. Chester and Gusty Pk. There are no problems as the trail winds its way up the rocky slopes. As you gain elevation you get better views of the layered cliff bands below Mt. Chester. Continue up valley towards Mt. Fortress. When you are within a couple of hundred meters of the circular lake at the head of the valley head left up rubble slopes. Initially the going is relatively tame. As the slope ramps up higher on the mountain, the rubble becomes loose and tedious. Get to the top of a large hump. There may be water flowing off to the right of this feature. As soon as you're on top you should see two summits ahead. Due to foreshortening the lower summit on the left appears slightly higher. Aim for the summit on the right. There are two possible routes separated by a short band. Either will go, but both are equally steep and trashy. If there is snow around you'd probably want to take the lower path. There are no recognizable trails up here. Just pick the most stable path and grind your way up towards the summit. The angle is sustained for the entire distance. The summit (GPS reference 50d49m51s N, 115d15m24s W) is not exactly spacious. There isn't even room to put a cairn. There is a medium sized boulder which offers a bit of shelter from the wind. The view at the top of this 3000m mountain is very respectable. Across the valley you can see hikers ascend the backside of Fortress Mt. towards its muffin-cap summit. The always-popular summit of Mt. Chester is equally crowded with people. Prominent to the west is Mt. Assiniboine. Mt. Sir Douglas is in the southwest above the Haig Glacier. Directly south is Mt. Joffre and the Mangin Glacier. Mt. Bogart is in the distant north behind Mt. Galatea, while the broad side of Mt. Kidd South is to the northeast.
|
|
