BOU AVENUE
Mount Livingstone
Linda Breton, Dan Millar, Kelly Wood and I headed to the Livingstone Range of southwest Alberta on 6 May 2006 to scramble up Mount Livingstone.  With very little route information about this peak, we relied on a makeshift topographical map that Linda painstakingly cobbled together from a GPS website.  I had initially planned on scrambling up Mount Livingstone via its northwest ridge, but as we drove south along Highway 940, the south ridge looked like it would entail less bushwhacking.  We decided to explore this option, and luckily, we were able to drive up the rough road alongside Beaver Creek almost to the end of Mount Livingstone's south ridge.  This certainly saved us some distance and elevation gain, and we were soon working our way up a steep slope adjacent to a broad gully draining the south end of the peak.  Although the gully itself looked like a feasible ascent route, we opted to save it for the return trip.  Instead, we scrambled up some mildly exposed rock bands to gain the crest of the south ridge.  Continuing up the entertaining ridge, we eventually broke out of the trees onto a large scree slope on the upper mountain.  It took us about another twenty minutes to ascend this slope and gain the summit ridge.  From there, we easily surmounted a couple more rock bands to reach the south summit of Mount Livingstone.  There is an enormous cairn on the slightly lower north summit about ten minutes further.  It would have been remiss of us not to pay a visit.  For our return trip, we retraced our steps a little before descending the aforementioned broad gully.  Although we were a little disappointed that the rubble in the gully was not really conducive to plunge-stepping, the descent was nevertheless straightforward.  Our round-trip time was 5 hours.  To top things off, we enjoyed a Peking duck dinner at the Willow Park Ginger Beef Restaurant back in Calgary, Alberta. 

Be sure to check out Linda's trip report here.
Free camping here, but watch out for live ammunition! Kelly and Dan begin hiking beyond the end of the drivable road near Beaver Creek.
It's possible to ascend this gully, but the ridge crest is so much more interesting. This is the broad gully on the south side of Mount Livingstone.  The crest of the south ridge is to the left.
And I thought Mount Livingstone was gonna be nothing but a long scree slog! Dan picks a fairly difficult spot to gain the ridge crest.
Maybe further up where there are more trees to grab onto...or to break your fall! Kelly and Linda hike up further to find an easier way through this rock band guarding the ridge crest.
Watch out for ticks! The ridge crest is quite narrow in some places.
This ain't the summit, but it's windy enough to be mistaken for one! Kelly and Linda break out of the trees.
Not as tedious as it looks. Linda and Kelly head up the large scree slope on the upper mountain.  On the right is a false summit.
There goes Dan, the quantum-leaping man! This is a zoomed-in shot of Dan surmounting the first rock band guarding the summit ridge.
Doesn't look so bad! Here is another view of the first rock band guarding the summit ridge.
Mount Livingstone is turning out to be a really fun scramble. Linda scrambles up a weakness in the rock band while Kelly watches from above.
The views are not bad for such a diminutive peak. Linda is only minutes from the south summit.  Some of the peaks on the horizon include Gould Dome, Tornado Mountain, the Cache Creek Elevators, and Mount Lyall.
666 metres height gain according to Linda's GPS. Linda and Kelly reach the 2423-metre south (true) summit of Mount Livingstone.  Dan is just barely visible below and to the right of the summit cairn.
Or "The Shaddle" if you like... The twin peaks of Saddle Mountain are visible to the northeast.
Too easy to pass up! Kelly and Linda head for the north summit in the far distance.
A good place to contemplate life's mysteries... Having already visited the north summit, Dan waits patiently just below the south summit.
Wonder why they built such a big cairn on the lower summit... Linda and Kelly climb up a short rock band just before reaching the north summit.
Size matters! This is the enormous cairn at the north summit.
Ummm, isn't that going to throw the elevation data off a little?? Linda climbs atop the north summit's cairn to get a GPS reading.
A future scramble...for sure. This is Mount Lyall as seen from Mount Livingstone's north summit.
I'll be right behind you girls...sorta! Linda and Kelly head back to the south summit.
That's "Coffin", not "Coughin'"!! This is looking south to Coffin Mountain from Mount Livingstone's south summit.
Watch out for ticks...again! Linda leads the way down the broad gully with Kelly and Dan following closely behind.
A much more interesting scramble than the view from the road would suggest. Here is a view of Mount Livingstone from Highway 940.  The ascent route via the south ridge is shown.