During our break, we began eyeing the approach to Purple Mound via its northwest ridge and had some concerns about the steep slope just below the top.  Given how stable the snow had felt throughout our ascent of Wolverine Ridge, we felt that the questionable slope was worth risking a closer look.  After our break, we skied back along the length of Wolverine Ridge and dropped briefly into a dip before climbing up the broad northwest ridge of Purple Mound.  As we would learn, the upper slope is indeed steep, but again, the snow felt very stable with a thin layer of fresh powder overlying a bomb-proof hardpack.  I was already anticipating some nice ski turns even before we both reached the summit of Purple Mound.  Although Lipalian Mountain looked enticingly close, waning daylight precluded extending our trip, and we simply turned around and skied back down the northwest ridge.  Well before the dip, we veered to skier's right and coasted down gentle powder slopes into the heart of Wolverine Valley.  We eventually regained our up-track near the entrance to the valley, and after a brief but challenging descent through the trees, we turned west along the Skoki Lodge snowmobile track which took us back to the ski runs above Temple Lodge.  An ice flow across the ski-out on this day required some care to get by, but otherwise, our return to the parking lot was uneventful.

Zosia and I later met up with Aga Sokolowska and Daniel Dufresne at Melissa's Missteak in Banff townsite for dinner to cap off a thoroughly enjoyable day in the mountains.

	Zosia waits for a snowboarder to go by before traversing across a ski run above Temple Lodge.  Behind the ski run is Wolverine Ridge.
	Zosia enters Wolverine Valley with Unity Peak on the left.
	Zosia breaks trail on her way up Wolverine Ridge.
	Zosia gains the crest of Wolverine Ridge.
	Sonny and Zosia balance on the high point of Wolverine Ridge (2429 metres).
	Most of the great peaks of the Lake Louise area are visible to the southwest.
	Notable peaks that are visible to the west include Mount Carnarvon, Mount Bosworth, Mount Niles, Mount Daly and Mount Balfour.

Zosia continues skiing to the far end of Wolverine Ridge with Whitehorn and Mount Hector dominating the view to the northwest.

 

	Mount Richardson (centre) and Pika Peak (first bump to the right of Mount Richardson) round out the view to the north.
	Zosia stops for a break near the far end of Wolverine Ridge.
	Zosia retraces her tracks along the top of Wolverine Ridge.  Unity Peak commands attention to the east.

Zosia begins to descend from the top of Wolverine Ridge and heads for the connecting ridge to Purple Mound (right).

 

	Zosia approaches the northwest ridge of Purple Mound.
	Sonny climbs up the northwest ridge of Purple Mound.  Visible behind Wolverine Ridge (left) are Whitehorn, Mount Hector, Mount Richardson, Pika Peak and Redoubt Mountain. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The slope gets steep higher up. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia climbs up the steepest part of Purple Mound's northwest ridge.
	The angle of the slope finally relents near the top. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Zosia takes the last few steps before the summit of Purple Mound.

 

	Sonny and Zosia stand on the summit of Purple Mound (2670 metres).
	Lipalian Mountain is about a kilometre to the west.
	Notable peaks to the northeast include Fossil Mountain, Unity Peak, Mount Douglas and Mount St. Bride.  Part of the route for the famed Pumpkin Traverse is also visible here (heading to right below the southeast slopes of Unity Peak).

The spectacular cliffs of Protection Mountain dominate the view to the southeast.  Also visible on the horizon at far right is Mount Assiniboine.

 

Sonny makes a few turns coming down from the top of Purple Mound.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

 

	Zosia skis down the northwest ridge of Purple Mound and heads for the bowl at far right.
	The sun slowly disappears behind the ridge.
	The whole of Wolverine Ridge can be seen to skier's left of the exit route taken by Zosia and Sonny.
	Zosia glides down pristine powder.
	Zosia flies down the ski out late in the day.
	Zosia and Aga are eager to try the Brownie Conspiracy at Melissa's Missteak.
	Daniel helps celebrate Sonny's birthday. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance:  17.4 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  6 hours 42 minutes Net Elevation Gain to Wolverine Ridge:  727 metres Net Elevation Gain to Purple Mound:  968 metres GPX Data