BOU AVENUE
Thunder Mountain
I hooked up with Linda Breton and Antri Zhu on 30 September 2007 to scramble up Thunder Mountain in the Livingstone Range of southwest Alberta.  I got the idea for this scramble from Dinah Kruze and Bob Spirko, and like them, we ascended the long but easy north ridge all the way from the Oldman River to the summit.  A strong west wind was our constant companion all day, but the worst of it was near the start at the north end of the ridge.  In fact, we were often able to find shelter behind trees or on the lee (east) side of the ridge.  Pleasant views, great ridge walking, and excellent company made this a very enjoyable outing for me (round-trip time of over 7.5 hours), and the only misstep of the day occurred when we decided to have dinner afterwards at a mediocre Chinese restaurant in Nanton, Alberta.
It was tempting to call it a day right here! Antri and Linda trudge into the teeth of a fierce wind at the start of the trip.  The north ridge of Thunder Mountain rises up behind them.
Very pleasant, easy hiking here. This is looking south along Thunder Mountain's north ridge.  At centre is a false summit.
I find this scenery very soothing! The morning light enhances the undulating terrain northeast of Thunder Mountain.
Great ridge walking country! Here is an expanded view of the foothills to the northeast.
A chinook arch? An interesting band of clouds stretch away to the north.
I would like to hike up this lookout in the near future. Northwest of Thunder Mountain, Sugarloaf Lookout, the highest active lookout in Canada, sits atop this 2517-metre unnamed ridge.
One of the more enjoyable sections of the ridge. Antri hikes over some craggy sections of Thunder Mountain's north ridge.
This section required a bit of easy hands-on scrambling. Linda and Antri continue making their way up the easy ridge.
The ridge looks challenging in a few places, but it really isn't. Linda and Antri pause before tackling the last section of the ridge.  The summit of Thunder Mountain is visible in the distance.
You could opt to stay on the ridge crest for more interesting scrambling. Linda and Antri follow a pretty decent trail just below the crest of the ridge.
Looks kinda like Moose Mountain, n'est-ce pas? Antri gets closer to the summit block.
That's another lookout I want to hike up in the near future! The unnamed ridge (2172 metres) at upper left is the site of Livingstone Lookout.
This last section reminded me a lot of the lower slopes of Mount Kerr. Linda and Antri follow a beaten path up the summit block.
According to Linda's GPS, the south bump is about a metre higher than the north bump. Linda goes to check her GPS on the more southerly of two summit bumps.
Nice mix of primary colours! Antri, Linda and Sonny stand near the 2347-metre summit of Thunder Mountain.
That was a fun ridge walk. Now we get to do it again but in reverse! This is looking back at the north ridge from the summit.
The other bump always looks higher! Linda and Antri return to the more northerly summit bump.
More ridge walking please! The Livingstone Range stretches away to the south.
Next on my to-do list? Here is a close-up of Centre Peak (2549 metres), the highest point of the Livingstone Range.
And the bushwhacking probably isn't that bad, but I'm not gonna go find out! Autumn foliage makes for some dramatic scenery in the foothills to the east.
That's Antri on the ridge crest. Can you spot Linda in this photo? The sun illuminates the north ridge of Thunder Mountain.
Although you wouldn't know it from looking at this photo, Linda is still recovering from the bad fall she had on Tent Ridge a year ago. Linda scrambles down the ridge.
I'm starting to think about supper already! Antri and Linda bypass this rock outcrop on their way down.
I highly recommend this peak! Here is a last look at Thunder Mountain from the Oldman River Valley Road (Highway 517).