Mounts Niblock And Whyte

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Mounts Niblock And Whyte

On 11 August 2001, Dan Millar and I scrambled up Mounts Niblock and Whyte in the Lake Louise area. The toughest part of the trip was trying to find a good parking spot and then weaving through the hordes of tourists in front of the Chateau Lake Louise and also along the trail to Lake Agnes. Once we were past the teahouse, the crowds disappeared, and we made our way up to the Niblock-Whyte col without much fanfare. Shortly after, we reached the summit of Mount Niblock where we met a vacationing couple from B.C. Except for one other person we saw much later, there was nobody else scrambling up this supposedly popular mountain on this incredibly gorgeous day.

The route up Mount Whyte looked intimidating from the top of Mount Niblock, but we decided to at least go across the col and take a closer look. It turned out that the route was bone-dry, and the exposure was not as bad as we had anticipated. In fact, I found the scrambling to be so enjoyable that I was somewhat disappointed to reach the summit of Mount Whyte so quickly. On our return, we descended with some difficulty to the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail before making the long trudge back to the parking lot. The entire loop trip took us a little over nine hours to complete, but it was more than worth the effort.

Standard Postcard Photo I just couldn't resist taking this tourist photo of Lake Louise with Mount Victoria in behind.

Tourist-Free Zone Dan surveys the route up Mount Niblock.

Delightful Scrambling! Dan climbs up a break in the cliff bands near the top of the first scree slope (see previous photo).

Finders Keepers! The couple from B.C. left their packs at the col before continuing to the summit of Mount Niblock. Sonny checks for goodies to eat.

3.5 hours from the parking lot. Dan stands on the 2976-metre summit of Mount Niblock.

Not as tough as it looks. Dan walks across the col towards Mount Whyte.

Care to dive into one of the lakes? This is the view of Lakes Agnes and Louise from the summit ridge of Mount Whyte. Guess which one is fed by glacial meltwater.

About 45 minutes from the top of Mount Niblock. Dan reaches the 2983-metre summit of Mount Whyte. Mount Victoria dominates the backdrop.

Great Colours! From the top of Mount Whyte can be seen Mounts Niblock (bottom left) and Hector (in behind Niblock).

Not as bad as Mount Arethusa! Dan scrambles down a shallow gully on the less than trivial descent to the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.

	I just couldn't resist taking this tourist photo of Lake Louise with Mount Victoria in behind.
	Dan surveys the route up Mount Niblock.
	Dan climbs up a break in the cliff bands near the top of the first scree slope (see previous photo).
	The couple from B.C. left their packs at the col before continuing to the summit of Mount Niblock. Sonny checks for goodies to eat.
	Dan stands on the 2976-metre summit of Mount Niblock.
	Dan walks across the col towards Mount Whyte.
	This is the view of Lakes Agnes and Louise from the summit ridge of Mount Whyte. Guess which one is fed by glacial meltwater.
	Dan reaches the 2983-metre summit of Mount Whyte. Mount Victoria dominates the backdrop.
	From the top of Mount Whyte can be seen Mounts Niblock (bottom left) and Hector (in behind Niblock).
	Dan scrambles down a shallow gully on the less than trivial descent to the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.