| Mount Lougheed |
July 2007 |
| Elevation: 3107m | Gain: 1400m | Difficulty level: Moderate |
| Ascent time: 5 hours | Total trip time: 9 hrs | Conditions: Dry |
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Parking area: 11km south of the bridge at Goat Pond dam (Smith-Dorrien)
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| This was an ACC trip led by Kris Thorstiensson. I had bumped into him last year on Gap Peak, where I was extremely impressed by his elite register making skills. Mount Lougheed had been a major objective for me. Until now, it had been inaccessible, since the fabled non-technical route remained shrouded in mystery. Also, an opportunity to scramble with Kris was not to be turned down. For those who don't know, Kris was there in the Beginning; before scrambles were scrambles, back in the day when the Book of Scrambles was being formed. |
| ROUTE | |
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From Canmore, drive south along the Smith-Dorrien. The trailhead was on the left side of the road by Spencer Creek; exactly 11km south of the bridge by Goat Pond dam. |
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Follow the surprisingly well defined trail to
the left of the creek, until it abruptly ends. From here on, bushwhack in
a line parallel to the creek. Staying above creek level makes for faster
travel, but at some point you will need to descend to the creek; which
will then necessitate multiple creek crossings.
The creek ends at a natural amphitheatre (see below). Take the first scree slope up on the left. Mount Sparrowhawk towers to the right. |
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| Follow the scree slope up (staying left) until you come across a rockface with a waterfall. Head right through a weakness in the rock, which then allows access to a gently sloping ridge. Kris was good enough to mark the turn off point with red flagging. | |
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Once on the
ridge, its an easy walk to Peak 2 (the official summit of Mount Lougheed).
The day began with the threat of rain, however, as we reached the summit, we broke through the cloud cover; exposing blue skies with the tips of mountains just peeking above a sea of clouds. The views were absolutely breathtaking. We ended up spending close to an hour up top |
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| Peak 3 beckoned, and following some mad scree skiing down a seemingly impossible line (to the right of the snow patch), we reached a plateau separating the two peaks. A quick run (Kris ran, while I gasped) up a steep scree slope, and the Peak 3 objective was reached (45 minutes peak to peak) |  |
| We traversed along the green line back (careful not to lose elevation), and followed the ascent route back once at the original turn-off. | |
| BACK TO HOME | |
