The chilly wind and
lateness of the day prompted me to get moving after only seven minutes at
the summit, and I was back at the false summit by 6:10 PM.
Descending the break in the rock bands, I glissaded down the aforementioned
avalanche-prone terrain and in the process triggered a small slide that
went crashing over the cliffs below. After that, I angled back over
to my ascent route and plunge-stepped the rest of the way down to the
drainage. An easy plod out had me back at my car by 7:21 PM.
![My route goes up somewhere on the far right before angling left up to the false summit.](observation01.jpg) |
This is Observation Peak as seen from
the parking area. The true summit is the flat top at left. |
![Anyone wanna scramble up Caldron Peak with me in the future?](observation02.jpg) |
Here are Caldron Peak and Peyto Lake
as seen from the lower slopes of Observation Peak. |
![Not a great place to linger on this day.](observation03.jpg) |
These are the "short cliffs" about
halfway up the mountain as described by Kane. |
![Sigh...morning light would have been better for photographing these peaks!](observation04.jpg) |
Further up the slope, Mount Forbes
(left) can be seen to the northwest. At right is Howse Peak. |
![Another classic butt shot!](observation05.jpg) |
Sonny works his way up to the false
summit. |
![I really hate false summits!](observation06.jpg) |
This is the view of the true summit
(left) from the false summit. |
![I wish I had skis here!](observation07.jpg) |
Sonny trudges along the very broad
summit ridge. At left on the horizon is Mount Willingdon. |
![It's very tempting to go peer over the edge...](observation08.jpg) |
This is one of the overhanging
cornices near the summit. |
![This was as far as I dared to wander onto the summit cornice.](observation09.jpg) |
Sonny plants his ice axe on the
snow-covered summit of Observation Peak (3174 metres). |
![There is much here for further exploration!](observation10.jpg) |
This is the view to the north from the
summit. At right is Isabella Lake. |
![And if you look really closely, you can also pick out Mount Assiniboine way off in the distance.](observation11.jpg) |
The view to the south includes more
familiar peaks such as Mount Hector (left) and Mount Temple (right). |
![I wonder what this mountain would look like without all the snow...](observation12.jpg) |
Here is another look at the cornices
on the east side of Observation Peak. |
![Rather beautiful, isn't it?](observation13.jpg) |
This is looking back at the false
summit from the broad summit ridge. |
![Frozen waves?](observation14.jpg) |
The wind can create some interesting
patterns in the snow. |
![It's 6:10 PM!! What am I still doing way up here?!](observation15.jpg) |
After climbing back over the false
summit, Sonny retraces his steps down the ridge. Bow Lake is
barely discernible in the shadows at right. |
![Yep, that's Mount Assiniboine again on the horizon just left of Bow Peak.](observation16.jpg) |
Twilight descends upon the Canadian
Rockies. While Bow Peak (middle) is completely in shadow, Mount
Temple (right) still has some alpenglow. |
![I'm a little wet at this point but still going strong! Eleven minutes to the car from here.](observation17.jpg) |
Sonny hikes down the drainage in the
growing darkness. The false summit of Observation Peak is
visible behind him. |