BOU AVENUE
Dolomite Peak
Taking the afternoon off from work on 16 July 2004, I met up with Vern Dewit and headed up the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park to scramble up Dolomite Peak.  Starting from the trailhead at 3:14 PM, we hiked for about 40 minutes along the good trail leading to Dolomite Pass before heading up an obvious avalanche slope directly below towers 3 and 4 of Dolomite Peak.  After a long slog up the slope, we eventually reached the mouth of the gully separating the two towers.  Some lingering snow and ice in the gully forced us to scramble over some steeper ledges, but we generally had no serious troubles getting up to the top of tower 4 (true summit).  Going up the gully, we encountered three guys who were on their way down.  Despite making it that far up the mountain, only one of them succeeded in reaching the summit while the other two were unnerved by the exposure.  Speaking of unnerving exposure, these three also happened to be scrambling in their underwear!  Now if only more women would do crazy things like that...  After signing the summit register, we both headed over to tower 3 where Vern proceeded to devour what seemed like an endless number of oranges magically appearing out of his pack.  We essentially retraced our steps for the descent and made it back to the trailhead at 9:24 PM.

Check out Vern's photos of this trip here.
This is a no-nonsense approach. Vern hikes up the broad gully directly below towers 3 and 4.  Tower 2 is also visible at left.
Stay alert for rockfalls in this area. This is the basin leading to the gully (centre) separating towers 3 and 4.
Is that guy wearing a red thong?? These are the two guys who were unnerved by the exposure, so to speak.
Left (tower 3) or right (tower 4)? Vern reaches the col separating towers 3 and 4.  Click here to see Vern's and Sonny's route up tower 4.
Thankfully, they're fully dressed! Vern and Sonny stand on top of tower 4 (2782 metres).  Vern is actually standing on the higher pedestal.
Limerick time again! Vern checks out the summit register.  Tower 5 is visible behind him while snowy Mount Hector garners some attention in the distance.
Only another 15-20 minutes to tower 3! Vern heads toward tower 3.  While Vern would traverse below the cliffs and head up the cleft just left of centre, Sonny would prematurely scramble up the rock bands further to the right only to find himself having to backtrack and follow Vern's correct route.
This is a good place for a nap! Vern relaxes beside the cairn on tower 3.  Cirque Peak and Observation Peak are visible in the distance behind tower 2.
You could wander for hours or days down there! The headwaters of Dolomite Creek invite further exploration.
This is actually a lot of fun! Vern descends a tricky step in the gully.
No more difficulties from here! Vern emerges from the basin below tower 4 (upper left) and descends some more rubble.
Despite the warm weather, that creek is still bloody cold! Vern fords an icy Helen Creek on the return trip.