Having had my eye on this one for a couple years we decided to get out and give it a whirl. Small elevation gain to get over 10,000 feet and minimal ascent time to boot. Due to my GPS giving me some grief and having had some directions from others on the trail who had summitted before, we decided to take the climbers left gully and ascend the Lefthand ridge instead of the more popular Righthand ridge.
It worked out just fine for us (minus the scree groveling) and may actually be very similar time-wise to the top as the right-hand ridge offers. The only disclaimer on the left-hand ascent ridge is, Make sure you traverse left to right on the large cliff band you encounter and then head up left in the scree gulley. Otherwise, you will get cliffed out if you go all the way to the top of this ridge. Looks like Daniel Nakagawa (soistheman) did this as well on a snowshoe trip.
Amazing views of Peyto and Bow lake as well as many prominent peaks! A minimal effort to great reward kind of day.
Observation Peak is an 8.0 kilometer lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada that features beautiful wildflowers. The trail is primarily used for hiking, rock climbing, and nature trips and is best used from April until October.
Disclaimer - Always scramble within your own abilities. Thoroughly assess the situation and research the route. Just because I may have done this route at this time doesn't mean you can or should. GPS and/or a topo map are a valuable tool to help. Leave a route description behind with exact location should you not arrive home at a predetermined time. Have a way to contact rescue as well if you are in an area of no cell service(SPOT, Garmin, etc.). Also, if hiking in winter make sure you have the necessary skill and knowledge regarding unstable conditions and perform a proper risk assessment prior to engaging in this activity.
0 Comments