Sat, Oct 29 2005 - Mount Indefatigable N Peak (View Original Event Details)
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The objective was to hike in and scramble to the North summit of Mount Indefatigable, and then scramble one KM across a narrow ridge to the South summit for an easy descent back to the trail-head. Total distance 9 KM.
Max elevation: 8,760 ft (2,670 m) Gross vertical elevation 3,510 ft (1,070 m) Sunrise 08:24 Sunset 18:15 Estimated round trip time: 9 hours plus a 1.5 hour drive time on each end.
At 9 AM we began the hike to the North summit of Mount Indefatigable under cool conditions and an overcast sky with the sun struggling to get through. The initial few KM were generally through predominantly larch forest on a narrow, rocky and rooty trail with occasional ridge views of the Kananaskis Lakes and surrounding mountains. Our access climb was consistently and heart-pounding steep so we warmed up rapidly as the temperature dipped and we gained elevation quickly. We began to get a light dusting of corn snow that continued for a couple of hours and there was evidence of heavy weather nearby that kept our attention. At the terminus of the established trail there were spectacular views and we took time for fluids, photos and a bit of rest before proceeding off-trial to traverse across the mountain side to access to the North summit. Following a further short trek through forest we emerged above the tree line into an open area with the North summit looming in front of us. Now on 2 feet (70 CM) of crisp and fairly good weight supporting snow we approached the face to the summit.
After a short walk across the valley we climbed through snow to the ridge and traversed to a route chosen for the final assault on the summit. The face was snow-covered and very steep, with occasional outcroppings of loose and ice encrusted rock. We began this arduous ascent with the lead kicking steps into the surface of the snow. The remainder of us followed in the footsteps, using soft steps and great care to avoid damaging the steps for those following. The climbing is done by ascending the steps with feet and driving the handle of the ice axe deep into the snow as a third anchor point. All of us were in full battle gear including rock helmets.
It took us over an hour to do the final heart thumping, adrenaline pumping 330 M (1,000 ft) climb to the cairn at the summit. We ate lunch at the summit which was unpredictably cool at -6 degrees C in a 30 KM/H breeze which brought the effective temperature to near -14 C. By 2 PM we had completed our brief and rapidly consumed lunch and began to work our way across the ridge. It was not long before we collectively observed this could be a very treacherous exercise. The summit of the ridge was heavily corniced with snow. It would be difficult to determine which bits had rock underneath and which would drop into space without extensive and continual probing of the surface. The other factor was time. The main factor was safety. The attempt was abandoned. But that left us with the only possibility being the descent of the north face we had just come up.
The steps we had created on the up climb were now too badly damaged to reliably support 8 team members on the way down so a new route had to be created down a 1,500 ft (492 m) parabolic snow chute from the top to the valley below. The team performed magnificently. Communication was very high. Focus on the task was intense.
Following a very careful, 600 ft (190 m) vertical descent of very steep snow, the slope tapered off so turning around and punching steps in a walk down was possible. The final half KM we sat down and slid on our butts down the snow chute, using the ice axe for steering and speed control.
The return hike was straightforward. We retraced the off-trail part through the forest. At the top of the trail, group photos were taken. We opted to avoid the original trail and hike off-trail down the more scenic ridge. It was good to get back to the trailhead about 4:30.
Barry Taylor