CR2016: Windtower! (Third Time's the Charm)

Yesterday's rain bequeathed Sunday with clouds blanketing the valley where Mt. Engadine Lodge nestles; at times the far side of the meadow would disappear. By breakfast the fog had begun to rise a bit, while the forecast was for a 40% chance of 1-2 mm of rain.

Joan and I decided that today we would tackle Windtower, which had thwarted us twice before, in 2014 due to a late start, and in 2015 due to the weather. The elevation of the top is a matter of disagreement between web sources, but let's use 8850 feet. The altitude gain from the parking lot is almost 1,000 meters, or about 3,240 feet. Definitely uphill!

Joan and I lingered at breakfast longer than we intended but, after a 20-minute drive from the lodge, were only the second car at the trailhead. The route starts with a hike to West Wind Pass, gaining the first 381m/1,250 feet of altitude.

The very beginning of the trail is steep and rooty, climbing above the deep cut of Spurling Creek.

Mists still filled the lower elevations.

As Joan and I chugged uphill we emerged out of the fog zone.

The view towards the east from West Wind Pass wasn't much; clouds were piled against the slope.

To the west, the way we had come, the Spray Lakes remained cloud-covered as well.

To the south of the pass was our goal, the peak known as Windtower, showing its vertical face.

By hiking along the flank of the mountain we could reach the less intimidating southern slope, as hinted at in this 2015 photo.

Here's an 3-D image of the trek overall, adapted from this source.

There is no official route beyond West Wind Pass. Instead, the hiker chooses from a plethora of boot-beaten paths, as shown in another 2015 photo.

The paths weave through trees, open areas, and rock bands that may require use of hands and feet to clamber over. After the first couple of rock bands we spotted an opportunity to hike to a higher route also marked with tape and cairns. Joan and I had read an on-line account that higher was better in this section, so we tried it.

One rock band was uncomfortably tricky to climb; we managed to avoid it on return. This popular hike merits an official trail so that hikers would not need to guess where to cross each rock band.

As we proceeded the mists above the Spray Lakes began to dissolve.

Two women were a short distance behind us, but Joan and I slowly pulled away.

We reached the point where the trail swung to the east and north and more steeply up, as seen in this photo from the lakeside (click on the photo to enlarge). It was a slog the last time and it was a slog this time. It will always be a slog. Many sections demand deliberate placement of the feet, taking into account the scree depth, steepness of the slope, and dampness of the path (one day after the rain). Huffing and puffing, we climbed.

We appreciated our hiking poles and every bit of training acquired on this trip, and even so, we had to pause at times to catch our breath and let the blood flow refresh our legs. So far we had met only one other party, two women on their way back down.

Joan at the top!

The valley carrying the Trans-Canada highway is more than a mile below us.

Another small promontory is a stone's throw away.

But not easy to reach.

Rita and Margie took their turn checking out the view from the top seat. We learned later that a registry is buried in that pile.

They didn't break a sweat.

A small windbreak was a good spot to have our lunch.

More hikers arrived. We walked over to check out the "nose," a smidge lower than the top.

Behind us, other hikers reached the summit.

Clouds were snagging on Mount Lougheed (about 10,200 feet) as we began our return.

The scree wasn't as bad headed downhill, because sometimes the gravel was thick enough that we could crunch through it like a snowfield. But smaller scree rolled easily and was treacherous.

West Wind pass was spilling over.

No dark clouds, please.

Joan and I encountered more hikers headed up. One young woman was dressed in a tank top with a thin, knit, off-the-shoulder sweater and long feathery earrings. This wasn't mountain dress, but she had come this far and clearly intended reach the top alongside her boyfriend.

Then we encountered the mountain biker.

He was pushing his bike up the mountain for the ride down! Joan asked, "Does your mother know what you're doing?" We would see him later.

Sightseeing helicopters of several colors were busy this afternoon, some flying close to the deck through West Wind.

We continued to descend. In this photo clouds are billowing up to the south. The picture also illustrates one of the rock bands.

The hikers that arrived at the top after we did began to shoot by us on the way down. The pass gradually drew closer.

Just as we left West Wind pass the mountain biker whirred by. Given that the trail often clung to the ravine's edge, we hoped he dismounted and walked those sections.

Thunder began to the south, dimly at first, then louder. We kept up the pace as much as the trail allowed and didn't stop. Joan and I reached the car ten minutes before rain showers started; our round-trip time on the hike was 6:10, not bad! Also at the parking area was a woman standing in front of an open car door, shielding her husband, who was changing his clothes.

We drove back to the lodge, where it had obviously rained much harder. We were thankful not to have had rain on the rocky/muddy/rooty West Wind pass trail.

To cap a great day, the moose visited the lodge in the evening -- two males!

Not feeling territorial. Yet.

CR2015: A Try for Windtower

Today, August 5th, was our day to tackle Windtower. Last year we'd run out of time before reaching the top, but this year the staff at Mount Engadine Lodge packed our lunches while we ate breakfast, and we were able to hit the road earlier.

The first section of the journey is the West Wind Pass trail.

There are two trails close together here, the good one that appears on the map and an old, nastier one that nobody recommends. As Joan and I approached the area of the trail head, we saw several parked vehicles, decided that they must mark the proper starting point, and we set off. At first the trail seemed merely odd, not quite matching our memories, but then we realized we'd started up the wrong trail, one likely to tire us out and slow us down. The thought of returning all the way to the trail head was also distasteful. Fortunately, we'd passed some work on the Trans Canada Trail; we ought to be able use it to cross over to the genuine West Wind Pass trail.

And we did. Perhaps the trucks were from trail builders.

The real trail climbs follows along and above Spurling Creek, so there were viewpoints along the way as we climbed through the forest.

We reached the pass but didn't linger long,

and started the traverse. Windtower's north face is a sheer drop, but by heading south for a while, an easier climb from the southwest can be reached. The following image was taken from another Windtower account. It's a GPS track showing the writer's outbound traverse (the lower blue line, clinging to the treeline) and return traverse, higher up.

The official status of the trail halts at West Wind Pass. From there, decades of hikers have created a multiplicity of starting options for the traverse (click on the photo to enlarge).

Joan and I started on one of the "middle" tracks. There are a series of short rock faces to negotiate, and we soon encountered a blue grouse atop one of them.

The views continued to open up, but clouds building just to the north worried us. The higher we would go, the more exposed we would be.

Here's a look back to West Wind Pass, in the lower right, tucked between our mountain and the one to the north.

Joan and I continued to eye the cloud buildup. We've hiked in the rain before, but the slopes here are challenging and, did I say, exposed? Here's a photo taken later, from a lakeside rest area, that shows the final section of trail. It's shale scree, steep and scrabbly in places, and utterly without shelter. The top is 8,842' altitude.

We decided to play it wise, and returned to the pass. Windtower would need to wait for next year. On reaching the pass we lunched, and discovered that, to make up for omitting the turkey in one sandwich yesterday, the lodge had put double turkey in our sandwiches today. Then we chatted with Wag, a 14-year-old cocker spaniel, and his master, who carries Wag when the dog tires. This is the view looking east from the pass.

Wag and his master started their return, and a few minutes later we stood to begin ours. However, a group of mountain sheep had reached the north side of the pass, and Joan and I were blocking their path to the south side.

We walked far enough to give the sheep room, but be able to still see them. They trotted across the width of the pass, with the biggest giving it a go first.

More followed.

The youngster came last.

As we descended there was still moisture from last night's rain on some of the foliage.

We arrived back at the trailhead -- the correct trailhead -- and saw these signs:

Don't forget the sheep:

Looking back, we could see clouds flirting with the Windtower. What a difference between the northern and southern faces!

Having ended our expedition early, Joan and I took the opportunity to explore the west side of Spray Lake. It's mostly camping sites, but offers a good view across the lake to the mountains we'd been in.

The clouds still can't make up their mind whether to rain or not.

We parked the car at the end of the road and walked down to the lakeshore. The beach of stones was wide, and we poked around a bit.

We drove back to the lodge, beating rain showers that came through about 5pm. Dinner was excellent, as usual.

And Mr. Moose visited again in the evening. The moose slurp up the muddy water for the minerals in it; someone suggested selenium. I couldn't ask, because I don't speak Moose.

Tomorrow we're off to Delta Lodge Kananaskis, on the other side of the mountain range we've been clambering on for the last two days.