The weather did not look promising when we left Calgary early on the morning of 25 March 2016.  Overnight snowfall blanketed much of the countryside, and snow continued to fall even as we arrived at Leitch Collieries which is the starting point for the southern approach.  After briefly wandering through the ruins of the failed coal processing plant, we left the interpretive displays behind and hopped a fence to ascend an open slope to the north leading to a grassy plateau.  While Spirko had done a clockwise loop which entailed ascending another ridge further to the west, we decided to do his loop in reverse by first ascending the south ridge of Tallon Peak.  After crossing the plateau, we settled into a moderate but steady climb up the lightly forested ridge.  Fresh snow made for slippery conditions at times, but the route-finding was not too complicated.  We still had to contend with a couple more annoying fences on the way up though.  Because of cloud cover, views from the summit of Tallon Peak were disappointingly non-existent on this day.

Without much else to see, we dropped down the west ridge of Tallon Peak far enough to circumvent some cliff bands before continuing along the connecting ridge to Robertson Peak.  Along the way, we encountered a few snow patches that were still deep enough to post-hole, but thankfully, these were short-lived and of little consequence especially after Zosia broke trail for the rest of us!  We also hiked over an intervening unnamed high point which someone like Vern Dewit might count as a separate summit!  When we arrived at the summit of Robertson Peak, we were rewarded with a partial clearing of the cloud cover which afforded us our first somewhat expansive views of the day.

After heading over to the west side of Robertson Peak, we took a short break to consider our options for our return trip.  Firstly, none of us were interested in returning the way we came.  Secondly, completing Spirko's loop would have entailed having to drop and regain about 200 metres of elevation to reach the crest of his ascent ridge--a somewhat unappealing prospect for us.  Thirdly, we considered just descending the valley directly south of Robertson Peak.  This was the most appealing option, but we were uncertain if we would encounter a lot of deep snow or nasty bushwhacking in the valley bottom.  We decided that it was at least worth investigating and that, at worst, we could always escape the valley and climb up to the crest of Spirko's ascent ridge.

When we resumed hiking, Zosia carefully led us down the largely open south side of Robertson Peak.  Most of the fresh snow that covered the ground earlier in the day had melted by now, but I was still finding my footing to be somewhat unreliable while descending the rubble-strewn slopes here.  When we eventually entered the forest in the valley bottom, we found the snow cover to be minimal and the bushwhacking light, but best of all, we stumbled onto an exploration road which we easily followed all the way back to the grassy plateau near the start.  Unfortunately, getting from the plateau to the parking lot at Leitch Collieries turned out to be more complicated than expected since we took a slightly different route than the one we started with at the beginning of the day.  Regardless, it just added more adventure to an already enjoyable and fun-filled day which was due in no small part to the excellent company I had.

	Sonny approaches one of the ruins of Leitch Collieries. Photo courtesy of Ali Shariat
	Ali, Asieh and Sonny hike up a slope before a grassy plateau. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny and Zosia investigate an adit located at the edge of the grassy plateau. Photo courtesy of Ali Shariat
	The group marches steadily up the ridge.
	Zosia carefully negotiates the slippery snow-covered rocks.  Ali is barely visible further down the ridge.
	Sonny, Zosia, Asieh and Ali celebrate reaching the summit of Tallon Peak (1843 metres).
	Robertson Peak appears briefly through the mist.
	Views from the top of Tallon Peak are limited on this day.
	The group carefully descends the west ridge of Tallon Peak.
	Here is a look back at the rugged northwest side of Tallon Peak.
	Ali and Asieh do a bit of post-holing along the connecting ridge between Tallon Peak and Robertson Peak.
	Asieh and Ali stand on the 1822-metre unnamed high point between Tallon Peak and Robertson Peak.
	Zosia is still all smiles despite the soupy visibility ahead.
	The mist begins to clear, revealing the east ridge of Robertson Peak
	Sonny and Asieh follow in Zosia's tracks up the east ridge of Robertson Peak. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia approaches the summit cairn of Robertson Peak.
	Sonny, Asieh, Ali and Zosia jump for joy on the 1903-metre summit of Robertson Peak.
	Zosia and Asieh stare in awe as the sky begins to clear to the south.

Ali, Asieh and Zosia show their approval of the blue sky over the summit.

 

	Sonny is also overjoyed to see blue skies.
	At the west end of Robertson Peak, the group stops to contemplate their return route.  The forested ridge just beyond was Bob Spirko's ascent route for Robertson Peak from the south.
	The group descends in hopes of finding an easy hike out through the valley bottom.
	Zosia is elated to find an exploration road at the valley bottom.
	Zosia, Asieh and Ali walk across the grassy plateau near Leitch Collieries.
	Ali uses Sonny for support as he climbs over a barbed-wire fence. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Ali climbs the fence surrounding the Leitch Collieries.
	The last obstacle of the day is a five-foot high retaining wall near the parking area.
	Total Distance:  13.6 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  6 hours 55 minutes Total Elevation Gain:  930 metres GPX Data