Back
HomeRimwall
| Back Home |
Rimwall |
| Elevation 2620m Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Head south on
Smith-Dorrien Spray Trail; 1.4km past the access for Driftwood pull off and park on the
lake side of the road (GPS reference 50d58m14s N, 115d19m44s W).
If you go past the Spurling Creek road sign you've gone too far. Across the
road, a cairn marks the trail head on the left bank of a dry creek. Looking up, the
objective can be seen in the distance to the left of the West Wind Pass gap. A few minutes into the hike the trail splits. Take the left branch. In another 20 minutes or so at a cairn (GPS reference 50d 58m48s N, 115d18m55s W) keep right. The trail continues up above the creek into thinning forest. You can check your progress through clearings on your right. When you are about level with the gap leading to West Wind Pass make your move: angle left through a short stint of trees towards the first rock band. If the wall looks impenetrable you may want to head up/down a little until you find a suitable break. A short pitch of steep hill side takes you to the second step. Again pick any convenient spot which will allow you to transfer to the next bench. Continue to angle left until you come out of tree line. Low to moderate angle slabs are everywhere. Head towards the right side of the false summit (true summit hidden from view) in the distance. As you gain elevation you have to overcome numerous rock bands, but these should pose little trouble for the intermediate scrambler. What is more annoying is the loose rubble sitting on top of slabs. If you're not careful these patches will send you face-first into the scree. It is not necessary to top out on the false summit. Some 20-30 vertical meters from the top you can start traversing left. Once you gain sight of the true summit the way is obvious. All is well until you finishing crossing the orange coloured section mid-ridge. From here on the terrain is brutally steep. Where the ground is not littered with loose debris it is rock-hard dirt that requires you to be on your toes. Head for a notch in the rock band ahead. There are a couple of light-coloured boulders at the top of the clef. More groveling up another section of scree and you're at the last rock step. Follow the base of this section to the end, then scramble left up a short stretch and you're suddenly at the summit (GPS reference 50d59m56s N, 115d18m59s W). The view from the top of Rimwall is not nearly as impressive as the view of Rimwall itself from West Wind Pass. Laid out in front of you to the northwest are the familiar Three Sisters. You can catch a corner of Canmore to the right of Little Sister. The bright-green slopes of Wind Ridge is to the northwest. To the east is Windtower and Mt. Lougheed. In the distance are the familiar mountains in the Front Range: Grotto, Exshaw, Yamnuska, McGillivray, Pigeon. Goat Range flank the west side of Spray Lake; the two nearby summits are Mt. Nestor and Old Goat Mt.
|
|
