The Passionate Hiker: December 2019

TOP TEN (8)

More than three decades ago, between 1983 and 1987 the Passionate Hiker was busy setting the foundations for his career, and his family, in Alberta, but it didn't stop him from going on a number of exciting adventures in the Canadian Rockies.

Here is the eighth of his selected "Top Ten" trips during that time frame. The narrative comes from his diaries, written at the time. Several of the photos come from the original negatives and have never been printed before.

Summit with a view

SAT. 23^RD AUGUST 1986:

TEMPLE TRIUMPH (11,627 ft./3,544 m)

Background to this Story:

Mt. Temple dominates the area around Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. At 11,627 ft. it is the highest mountain in the area, and looks it. Yet there is a way up it for an enterprising scrambler, given good weather conditions. For some time, I had been interested in trying the ascent. And then an opportunity arose, and I took it. We were successful.

Mt. Temple stands out above the Bow River in the Canadian Rockies (photo from internet)

The mountain dominates the area around Lake Louise (photo from internet)

My Diary:

The crowning achievement of my hiking career! Never have I climbed so high and been able to look down on a sea of rock and ice stretching in all directions.

Mount Temple is the highest mountain in the Lake Louise area. Many famous climbers have made their way to the summit. There are several routes, ranging from the dangerous North Face, a 5,000 ft. cliff overhung by glacial ice, to the popular “tourist route”, the only route for the non-climber. However, even this trail requires some climbing and scrambling.

From Moraine Lake, already at 6,190 ft., you take the classic trail up to Sentinel Pass. At 8,566 ft., this is the highest hiking pass in the Canadian Rockies and leads down into Paradise Valley. From the top of the Pass, another 3,060 ft. of steep talus slope and cliff bands is required to reach the summit of Temple at 11,627 ft. – a total vertical ascent of 5,437 ft.

This beats my previous height gain record set on Mount Allan back in 1983 (4,458 ft.) and Ben Nevis in 1979 (4,400 ft.), and also beats the highest elevation achieved, by over 1,300 ft. (Mist Mountain, which I climbed in 1984, is 10,297 ft.).

Our team consists of Roger H, Ian L, and myself. Roger and I form the core of the ‘T-H hiking club’ while Ian is a veteran climber from many Scottish and Swiss peaks. We arrive late at the Moraine Lake car park and camp out in Ian’s comfortable van.

Saturday morning dawns clear. We’re not first on the trail but soon we are ready, with our ice axes and crampons tied to our backpacks. The familiar switchback trail climbs steeply up to Larch Valley, until we can see Sentinel Pass ahead, flanked by the steep sides of Pinnacle Mountain (10,062 ft.) on the left and Temple on the right.

From the pretty lakes below, the Pass looks like a vertical wall with zig-zags up it. Soon we are on the top of this narrow Pass, looking down the other side into Paradise Valley. Stage 1 of our ascent has been completed in about 2 hours, for a climb of 2,376 feet and a distance of 5.8 km.

Now begins the hard work! The steep slopes of Temple rise sharply from the pass to a cliff above. Under foot is loose rock and scree – quite the worst surface for ascending. For over a thousand vertical feet we toil upwards, until finally we are at the base of the cliffs. Already the view down to the pass is dizzying.

Now we find a gap in the cliffs and thread our way upward without too much difficulty. However, there’s another cliff band above, with the only way up being a steep gulley filled with hard packed snow. At last! An opportunity to use my ice axe. And I needed it too!

From this point on, it’s a straight-forward – but long and steep – southwest ridge route to the summit, still about 1,500 ft. above. The ridge soars up to the heavens. By this time, the ridge is dotted with people who have been steadily overtaking us all day – some people in running shorts and others in sneakers – most inappropriate in case of emergency.

Finally we are on the summit. I could feel the lack of oxygen in my lungs. No cairn, but a pile of stones in the shape of a rough shelter, and not much room. The Mt. Temple glacier drops dangerously off the ridge. We walk out onto the snow and ice, but with great caution. One slip and it’s a 5,000 ft. drop!

The view is breathtaking – a sea of mountains, glaciers and icefields. Mt. Hungabee dominates the head of Paradise Valley. At its foot is the Horseshoe Glacier. Across Paradise Valley is the glacier-covered Mt. Victoria. We are higher than Mt. Victoria, which dominates the view from Lake Louise. We had the grand feeling of being on top of the world.

Descent is tricky but fast as we slip and slide down the ridge. There must be over 25 people somewhere on this mountain today. Yet it is considered far too dangerous and strenuous to be included in any hiking book.

On our final steep descent to Sentinel Pass, we set off a small rock avalanche, a river of stone. Then we are safely down at the pass once more. An uneventful return back down to Moraine Lake, which is busy with trippers and coach parties. How funny to think that we have been looking down on the mighty peaks that surround this picture-book lake (and the picture on the $20 bill!).

This adventure had been achieved with surprisingly little trouble. My available energy was equal to the challenge. However, I needed the experience that only comes with time.

We celebrate with a meal at the Rose and Crown in Canmore, by now stiffening up and feeling a bit like Hillary after Everest perhaps! As for the North Face of Temple, I have no plans. 4 people have already lost their lives there this year.

Did we really make it all the way up there? Incredible! Fantastic!

STATISTICS:

Parking Lot = 6,190 ft.

Sentinel Pass = 8,566 ft.

Summit Elev. = 11,627 ft.

Height Gain = 5,437 ft.

Hike Distance = 16 km

Time on Trail = 10 hrs. 00 mins.

Time to Top = 5 hrs. 45 mins.