Mt. Lefroy & Glacier Peak with Sara

Had a great trip up to Abbot Pass Hut on Thur/Fri last week with Sara from Lake Louise. Our main goal was the west face of Mt. Lefroy. The hike up to the hut went smoothly, snow is currently covering most of the scree on the approach and makes for much nicer travel. There were a dozen other climbers in the beautiful Abbot Pass Hut and everyone spent the evening swapping climbing stories & laughs.

Incredible sunrise on Mt. Lefroy, Mt. Victoria behind.

Up before dawn, we started up the West Face of Lefroy and were treated to one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever witnessed. Conditions on the route were fantastic and we moved quickly op the 30 to 45 degree slopes. Near the top the route steepened and we climbed up some steeper snow gullies and a final bulge of snowy rock to the tiny summit.

Climbing in the steeper gullies near the top of Lefroy.

With conditions good and lots of time left we decided to try traversing to nearby Glacier Peak. This involved descending about halfway back to the hut and then making a long exposed traverse on a steep snow band for over an hour. Closer to the summit, we were able to follow near the ridge to the top of this rarely climbed peak. We were psyched to have climbed two big mountains in one morning!

Looking across the last section of the snow traverse with Glacier Peak in the clouds behind.

After reversing the steep traverse and downclimbing to the hut, we descended back to Lake O Hara in the rain and caught the bus back to the cars. Overall it was a super fun trip to one of the Rockies great mountaineering destinations!

J. Mills

CRAG Head Guide

http://www.cdnalpine.com/