It’s Wednesday, August 31, and our annual blast of winter-preview weather has arrived. It’s 4°C at our house in Canmore. It’s been raining all day. The clouds are so low, the mountains ringing our town are obscured. Tonight, the rain will likely turn to sleet or snow. And when the clouds clear, the summits will be white. But the clouds will clear. The lashings of wet snow will melt off the peaks. Summer weather will return—soon. This is just the annoying-yet-motivating reminder notice we always receive this time of year from those capricious Weather Demons who lord it over the Canadian Rockies. “Take full advantage of optimal hiking weather,” they’re saying, “because those days—numbered to begin with—are now fiendishly few.”
Weather info sources that will help you plan the remainder of the 2011 hiking season:
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html
http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/cams
http://www.skilouise.com/conditions/mountain-cam.php
http://www.skimarmot.com/conditions_webcams.html
Posted on August 31st, 2011.
Tags: Banff, best hiking blog, Canadian Rockies blog, Canadian Rockies hiking, Canadian Rockies webcams, Canmore, current weather, Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, hiking Canadian Rockies, hiking weather, Jasper, Lake Louise, Opinionated Hikers, Sunshine, weather, weather forecast, webcams, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies.
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Minnestimma Lake, beneath Sentinel Pass
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Pinnacle Peak, above Sentinel Pass
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Scrambling on Mt. Temple
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Paradise Valley, from ascent route
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Final ascent
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Moraine Lake, from summit
This past week in the Canadian Rockies, enough snow has fallen at high elevations and the daytime temperatures have remained cool enough that scrambling season has clearly ended. Sure, any summit is accessible any time of year, if you’re a black-belt mountaineer. But a patina of snow and/or ice makes a long, steep, rough scramble significantly more challenging and possibly dangerous for most of us. So between now and ski season, it’s wise to hike rather than scramble.
Our final scramble of the season was Mt. Temple. We did it on the last, truly summer day of what has been little better than a mild winter these past four months here in Canmore and Banff.
Looming above Lake Louise, 3543-m (11,624-ft) Mt. Temple wears a helmet of ice. From the lake, the peak appears insurmountably vertical. But from the other side, starting at Moraine Lake (1884 m / 6181 ft), a pedestrian glideway of a hiking trail leads to 2373-m (7785-ft) Sentinel Pass. From there, it’s only a moderate scramble to the summit of Mt. Temple. Total elevation gain: 1659 m (5442 ft). We completed the round trip in nine hours.
As you can see, the summit panorama is glorious. And the ascent, though taxing, is enjoyable. If you’re an outdoor athlete with a head for heights and enough scrambling experience to be comfortable on steep talus and scree, you should find Mt. Temple a reasonable goal. The ideal time to do it is late summer, once the route is snow free. Wait for three days of perfect weather. Plan your trip for the middle day. Bring a helmet and, just in case, an ice axe. Pack enough clothing layers that you can enjoy sitting on the summit for an hour even if the wind is screaming. And try to get an alpine start, so you won’t be racing down the mountain at sunset. You’ll want plenty of time to choose the optimal route—particularly on the descent.
Our thanks to Ken, Tracy, John and Ian — our companions on Mt. Temple — for ensuring we didn’t sleep in that morning, as is our slothful tendency.
Posted on September 8th, 2010.
Tags: Banff National Park, Canadian Rockies, Kathy and Craig Copeland, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Mt. Temple, Mt. Temple scramble, Opinionated Hikers, scramble, scrambling Mt. Temple, Sentinel Pass.