Mount Jimmy Simpson

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Mount Jimmy Simpson

On 16 September 2017, Marta Wojnarowska, Zosia Zgolak and I headed up the Icefields Parkway in Alberta's Banff National Park to scramble up Mount Jimmy Simpson. Numerous trip reports on the Internet attest to the popularity of this peak which offers amazing views from its easily attainable summit. Starting from Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, we hiked the easy trail along the northwest shore of Bow Lake and continued south into the big bowl below Bow Glacier Falls. Before reaching the base of the falls, we left the trail and headed up a partially forested ramp which rises gradually along the eastern flanks of Mount Thompson. We endured a short stretch of bushwhacking here before scrambling up successively higher ledges en route to a hanging valley just south of Mount Jimmy Simpson. Aiming for a broad saddle at the head of the valley, we enjoyed a nice stretch of easy hiking before churning up some steep treadmill scree. Along this section, we steered clear of cliffs to climber's right where ice and rocks were frequently raining down from above. Near the top of the saddle, the angle eases, and at this point, we were just left with an easy plod up a broad ridge to the summit. After taking an extended break at the top, we pretty much retraced our steps down the mountain. Besides running into a lone scrambler still on his way up, we enjoyed a mostly uneventful descent and hike back to Num-Ti-Jah Lodge.

	Mount Jimmy Simpson is visible behind historic Num-Ti-Jah Lodge.
	Visible across Bow Lake are Mount Olive, St. Nicholas Peak, the Onion and Portal Peak.
	Marta and Zosia approach the inlet creek for Bow Lake. The trail climbs briefly through the trees here only to drop back down to the gravel flats. It is possible to avoid this unnecessary elevation gain by staying close to the creek and heading around the trees to the far left.
	Marta and Zosia climb big steps just before the junction with the trail to Bow Hut.
	Marta and Zosia enter the bowl below Bow Glacier Falls (left). At top right is Portal Peak.
	Zosia and Marta climb up the ramp which grants access to Mount Jimmy Simpson.
	Zosia and Marta pass some interesting rocks higher up the ramp.

Now we're cookin'!

The ramp grants this comprehensive view of Bow Lake. At upper left is Cirque Peak, and at upper right is Dolomite Peak.

	Marta and Zosia enter the valley south of Mount Jimmy Simpson.
	Marta finds some nice hands-on scrambling while progressing up the valley.
	The most unpleasant part of the ascent is climbing the rubble slopes below the saddle.
	The views really open up behind Zosia as she grinds up tedious rubble.
	Marta makes her way up loose rubble between short cliff bands.
	The angle of the slope relents a bit as Marta and Zosia approach the top of the saddle.
	The final trudge to the top is long but easy.

Marta, Sonny and Zosia wield their ice axes on the summit of Mount Jimmy Simpson (2967 metres).

Maybe I'll get to a few of these in the future...

Noteworthy peaks to the south include Mount Balfour, Mount Olive, St. Nicholas Peak, Mount Gordon, Portal Peak and Mount Thompson.

Mistaya Mountain is high on my to-do list...

Caldron Lake and Mistaya Mountain (right) garner much attention to the west.

	A small section of Peyto Lake can barely be seen to the north. Also visible are Mount Patterson (left) and Mount Weed (right of centre).
	Cirque Peak (centre) and Mount Willingdon (left) are among the many peaks visible to the east.

Looks a bit daunting with all those crevasses!

The view to the west includes Mount Baker (centre) and Trapper Peak (far right).

Best view of the day.

The view to the southeast is largely dominated by Bow Lake.

	Marta and Zosia descend amidst some of the finest scenery in the Canadian Rockies.
	Zosia and Marta make their way back down the ramp. The prominent peak in the background is one of the northwest outliers of Crowfoot Mountain.
	Total Distance: 16.3 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 9 hours 29 minutes Net Elevation Gain: 1018 metres GPX Data