Sentinel Peak

Sat. 4 August:  Sentinel Peak

A perfect summer’s day in the mountains – and a worthy peak to tackle.  Sentinel Peak sits at the far southern edge of Kananaskis Country, and has a fairly long approach to it.  So I would imagine that, for this reason, it receives less visitors than other well-known mountains in K Country.  For if it was closer to Calgary, it would be as popular as Moose Mountain.  The approach is easy, but the summit is a spectacular vertical cliff on two sides.  The views are widespread, only limited by the mass of Plateau Mountain directly to the west.

The secret to Sentinel Peak is to bring a bike with you, to shorten the 5.5 km approach route, as well as to enjoy a lightning-fast return at the end of the day.  So J, R and I loaded our three mountain bikes onto my sturdy bike rack for the car journey south through Longview, and west along Hwy 532 over the bumpy Hump mountain pass, to the junction with the forestry trunk road.  Our adventure began at the locked gate across a gas well service road, with its large sign warning of dangerous sour gas!

We made good progress along the road, curving up into the hills, and into a creek where the old Hailstone Butte fire road branched off to the right.  Soon we left our bikes in a handy cover of trees and headed into a narrow gap in the hillsides northwards towards our destination.

The meadows leading to the foot of Sentinel Peak were a delight, albeit a bit lumpy to walk through.  Ahead of us the lower slopes soared upwards to the sky.  Near the end of the meadows we picked our route up onto the forested slopes, heading up to the gentle rounded Sentinel Pass.  There was no clear trail, although we did pick up an old, overgrown trail through the trees higher up the slopes.  It was not difficult, as the trees soon started to thin out, and we could choose our own route up onto the pass and then onto the mountainside. 

Sentinel Pass itself is a mix of scattered trees and open meadows, and is wide and flat.  It sits below the ramparts of Plateau Mountain to the west and Sentinel Peak to the east.

We wandered through the trees, up onto the open slopes, and contoured up towards the bare summit ridge.  Below us a small herd (or is it a flock) of mountain sheep wandered casually towards us, hesitated for a moment, then continued their journey across the mountainside directly below us.  As they crossed over the ridge to our left, they formed a noble silhouette.

The final section of our ascent was on totally bare mountainsides, not unfamiliar to R and myself from long-ago hikes in the Yorkshire Dales and in Scotland.  But this mountain summit lay at over 7,700 feet!  And its summit was spectacular.

Reaching the top, we found ourselves standing at the edge of a gigantic cliff, dropping thousands of feet to the valley below.  Northwards the 8,038 ft peak of Mt. Burke was prominent, the abandoned Cameron fire lookout building visible on its tiny summit. But it was just one of many pointy peaks on display all round.  The high flat summit of Plateau Mountain dominated the western views, with the sharp peaks of the Elk Range sticking out above the plateau.  We could see the ice cave on its steep eastern slopes, seemingly unreachable from the hillside above it.  But I had stood in the cave entrance last year, so I knew it could be done.  To the south, the line of ridges stretched to Hailstone Butte and its fire lookout, and to many peaks much further south.  It was a little hazy out across the prairies, although the downtown skyscrapers of Calgary were just visible.

We stayed over fifty minutes on the summit, relaxing in the sun, with only the slightest breeze blowing.  Reluctantly we started back down, this time following the steep eastern edge of the cliffs the whole way back down to the meadows far below.  There were plenty of opportunities for exciting photo shots of one or other of us standing on a dangerous looking ledge high above the forests below.  As we dropped down the final slopes, we met a couple making their way up, and curious to know if there was a route through the trees below Sentinel Pass.  We gave them a few ideas.

Our return was an enjoyable stroll through the meadows, followed by a fast bike ride down roads which seemed to be downhill almost the whole way back (with one short uphill section).  And the breeze we created helped to cool our sun-smacked faces.

There was, of course, a dessert of melon awaiting the team, as has become an occasional tradition over the years.  Despite this being a statutory holiday long weekend, the traffic back to the city was light.  On such a beautiful weekend, no doubt most people were relaxing somewhere enjoying the perfect weather – before it’s all over for another year!

  

Statistics
Sentinel Peak
Sat. 4 August
Total Dist.	6.5 km (hike) + 11.0 km (bike) = 17.5 km
Height Gain	1,634 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,785 ft.
Time	6 hrs. 5 mins.

Other Stats.
Start bike:      7.54 am Start hike:     8.59 am Ar.Summit:  11.02 am Dp.Summit: 11.57 am Bikes:            1.31 pm Ret. to car:     1.59 pm	Temp: + 9 C to + 24 C Almost cloudless, hardly a breeze, warm Round trip (car) =  252 km