BOU AVENUE
Redoubt Mountain
On 2 September 2006, Kelly Wood accompanied me up Temple Fire Road in Banff National Park for a three-day visit to the Skoki area.  On two previous backpack trips into the area, we had been able to get a free ride up to the trailhead near Temple Lodge.  Unfortunately, our luck ran out on this day, and we had to trudge for about an hour up the easy but mundane road.  It took us about three hours to hike to Hidden Lake Campground where we set up our tent and relaxed for awhile in the warm afternoon sun.  At 2:24 PM, I left Kelly behind in camp and headed to Boulder Pass to scramble up Redoubt Mountain via Alan Kane's described route.  I had no problems scrambling up to the top of the north ridge, but instead of dropping down into the basin to get to the northwest ridge, I tried to stay high and traverse around the south end of the basin.  I was able to follow a beaten path initially, but a steep, avalanche-prone snow slope eventually forced me to descend partway into the basin before I could scramble back up to the crest of the northwest ridge.  Some fresh snow on this ridge resulted in one short but painful slip, but otherwise, I enjoyed the rest of the ascent and reached the summit at 5:31 PM.  Although I briefly contemplated trying Bob Spirko's route for my descent, I had neglected to review his route description and was unsure where exactly to go.  Given the lateness of the day, I simply retraced my steps.  I made it back to Hidden Lake Campground without incident by 8:03 PM.
Walking up this road sucks. Kelly walks up Temple Fire Road.
Hidden Lake Campground sucks a little too. This is the view of Redoubt Mountain from Hidden Lake Campground.
After numerous visits to this area, this was the clearest day ever for me. This is the classic view from Boulder Pass of (L to R) Fossil Mountain, Mount Douglas and Mount St. Bride across Ptarmigan Lake.
I basically made a beeline for the base of the cliffs before traversing left. This is looking up the north-facing lower slopes of Redoubt Mountain.
Heather Ridge is apparently an easy scramble. This is the view of Heather Ridge and Redoubt Lake from the slopes below the north ridge of Redoubt Mountain.
A fresh avalanche had already released on that snow slope at the far end of the basin. This is the upper part of Redoubt Mountain as seen from the top of the north ridge.  The northwest ridge is visible at far right.
Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sonny traverses around the south side of the basin.
Fun scrambling here, but care is needed if there is snow. Sonny heads up the northwest ridge.
Only another 20 minutes to the summit from here. Sonny approaches the summit block of Redoubt Mountain.
I wish that somebody would weed out the terrible rocks on Mount Redoubt. No longer I'd slide, I'd climb up with pride, and Dow Williams' ascent time I'd beat out! Sonny stands on the 2902-metre summit of Redoubt Mountain.
I'll get to those peaks later...hopefully. To the north are (L to R) Mount Richardson, Pika Peak and Ptarmigan Peak.  Hidden Lake is also visible below Mount Richardson.
Which peak would you rather climb? The view to the southeast includes Television Peak as well as distant Mount Assiniboine.
Skoki Mountain sure looks insignificant from here! Fossil Mountain dominates the view to the northeast.  Also visible are Ptarmigan Lake and Skoki Mountain (just left of Fossil Mountain).
What a gorgeous day to be up here! This is looking south toward Lipalian Mountain.  Numerous peaks stretch across the horizon including Mount Ball at far left and Mount Temple at far right.
It certainly looks like a defensible stronghold from this perspective. Redoubt Mountain looks brilliant late in the day.  At right is the northwest ridge.