Canada16: Mount Temple - the biggy!
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:16 pm
At a total height of 3,544m (11,627ft), Mount Temple is the 3rd highest peak in the southern Canadian Rockies and the highest in the Banff/Lake Louise area... plus it's actually do-able for mere walkers who like scrambling as opposed to full-on climbers We'd done a lot of research on this and felt it was within our capabilities - distance and ascent-wise, it wasn't as big as our usual walks at home!
As the day went though, we got through Larch Valley without spotting any bears and up the zig-zags ('switch backs') to the col known as Sentinel Pass. Chilly in the shade, some of the path was snow-covered or even iced over but the sun was beating down and it was heating up. Amazing views everywhere We'd seen a few people behind us on the path up to this Pass, but none followed us much beyond that for the rest of the day.
The route from here to the summit is known as 'the vertical mile' on account of its gradient.. and approx distance For a long time it felt like we could almost touch the top yet we weren't getting much further from the bottom We passed through the rock bands with no issues or concerns. Actually, we thought it was probably easier today as the snow had filled in some gaps.
Eventually, at 3, 435m (11,269ft) we'd had enough... just 109m down from the summit (plus around 0.5km still to go along the top). It was after 3pm and we'd set off at 7am long since in a cycle of climbing a few steps then stopping for a rest. Scoob's GPS showed we'd been walking for just over 4 hours, but stopped for almost the same time Happy we reached our goal of climbing to 11,000ft we turned and headed slowly back down.
It was only when we reached the lake underneath Sentinel Pass that I felt my face burning; neither of us had even thought about sunscreen - and even if we had, we didn't have any with us today I think I managed to get sunburn on my eyeballs had a swollen face for days and was left with white helmet strap lines under my chin What an awesome day though... we'll be back!
For an even better 'picture' of our day, here's Scoob's video
As the day went though, we got through Larch Valley without spotting any bears and up the zig-zags ('switch backs') to the col known as Sentinel Pass. Chilly in the shade, some of the path was snow-covered or even iced over but the sun was beating down and it was heating up. Amazing views everywhere We'd seen a few people behind us on the path up to this Pass, but none followed us much beyond that for the rest of the day.
The route from here to the summit is known as 'the vertical mile' on account of its gradient.. and approx distance For a long time it felt like we could almost touch the top yet we weren't getting much further from the bottom We passed through the rock bands with no issues or concerns. Actually, we thought it was probably easier today as the snow had filled in some gaps.
Eventually, at 3, 435m (11,269ft) we'd had enough... just 109m down from the summit (plus around 0.5km still to go along the top). It was after 3pm and we'd set off at 7am long since in a cycle of climbing a few steps then stopping for a rest. Scoob's GPS showed we'd been walking for just over 4 hours, but stopped for almost the same time Happy we reached our goal of climbing to 11,000ft we turned and headed slowly back down.
It was only when we reached the lake underneath Sentinel Pass that I felt my face burning; neither of us had even thought about sunscreen - and even if we had, we didn't have any with us today I think I managed to get sunburn on my eyeballs had a swollen face for days and was left with white helmet strap lines under my chin What an awesome day though... we'll be back!
For an even better 'picture' of our day, here's Scoob's video